#Mediterranean chicken breed

[homeofhousechickens]

do you think buff orpingtons or australorps would be ok to have in a mediterranean climate? (summers very hot and dry, winters mild/cool and rainy.) apparently a lot of heat-tolerant breeds are more independent/flighty, whereas i would ideally like my pet chickens to be more affectionate, but first and foremost i want them to be healthy, and i've seen conflicting information on whether orps can tolerate heat. also idk if humidity factors in to heat considerations for chickens, is a dry heat better or worse for them? i've never had chickens and want to choose the right breed. tysm in advance

If you could find some breeders in your area and ask they wpuld be able to give you a more accurate answer. That being said i wouldnt discount your native chicken breeds.

Each chicken is an individual and if you raise them with plenty of handling any chicken can make a good pet and Mediterranean breeds are known for their loyalty and curiosity towards their owners. Also some of your native breeds are becoming endangered or more rare and i think its important for people to always look at the birds that have been raised in their climate for generations first before any other breed because there is a reason those breeds have thrived and have been raised there.

Minorcas for example are standard Mediterranean breed that has actually been crossed with orpingtons multiple times in their history to give them a larger size while retaining their egg laying capabilities. Since these birds are primarily show chickens i dont see how they couldnt make a good pet chicken either.

Leghorns are also a Mediterranean chicken breed and they are one of the nost popular house chickens due to their prevalence in the egg industry in America but also for their cheeky personalities.

All im saying is that orps and australorps would probably be fine but also give your native breeds a chance!

[despazito]

thoughts on the chantecler chicken? to me they're like funny bald men

i have a soft spot for chanteclers because iirc they're the only heritage breed originating in canada

they were developed by quebecois monks and have minimal combs and wattles to protect against frostbite during our very cold winters. there's a reason all the breeds with the biggest floppiest combs/wattles/earlobes happen to be from the mediterranean region lol.

i'm not really into solid white birds which are the most common variety (meat producers prefer white birds bc the white skin makes a more commercially appealing carcass) but i'd totally raise some partidge chanteclers

they're robust dual purpose birds bred specifically for my climate

[bayara]

Paprika the Spice: A Flavorful Journey

Culinary experts here would know the importance of spices for every cuisine. Some add flavor, some are good for their aroma, some extend a vibrant color and some do all three of these. One such spice that is a pantry staple around the world now is Paprika. While some may argue that paprika is mostly known to be sprinkled over dishes, this global spice has culinary uses that extend well beyond the seasoning of fried chicken.

What is Paprika?

Paprika is a brilliant, scarlet-colored spice made from finely ground red peppers that were allowed to ripen on the vine. Paprika is best known as a mild-flavored spice. This Paprika though often sweet and mild, does have some varieties that are spicy and hot or flavored with smoke. 

Paprika can be made from several different varieties of the chile pepper family Capsicum Annuum, though the different peppers all tend to be of the relatively long, tapered kind with thinner flesh. Fat, thick-fleshed sweet peppers, like a standard Bell pepper that you’ll find in your average grocery store, often don’t dry well enough to make a ground product and are prone to mold. They are valued for their bright red color as much as--or even more than--their flavor. The American Spice Trade Association, or ASTA, came up with a scale to measure paprika's color. The ASTA score goes from 50-180; 85 is a standard-grade color value. As the numbers go up, the color of the paprika is more saturated and vibrant.

Origins of Paprika

While paprika is closely linked with Hungary and Hungarian cuisine, paprika peppers did not arrive in that part of the world until the mid to late 16th century. The origin of all peppers can be traced to South America, where they grew wild and were distributed throughout South and Central America, mostly by birds. Capsicum Annuum species are indigenous to Central Mexico and have been in cultivation for centuries. Early Spanish explorers took red pepper seeds back to Europe, where the plant gradually lost its pungent taste and became "sweet " paprika. 

When Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492, he was the first European to have an encounter with any sort of chile pepper plant. He brought the ancestor of all paprika back with him to Europe and specifically to his patrons, the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella who sent them further along across Spain and Portugal. From there, chile peppers made their way across Europe. Some peppers stayed spicy, like those in Calabria, but other European cultures experimented with their breeding and created the sweet and flavorful varieties of peppers that give us paprika today. 

Paprika is considered the national spice of Hungary, where it was introduced by the Turks in 1569.  Hungarian paprika is available in eight different varieties ranging in color and pungency.  In 1937, the Hungarian chemist Albert Szent-György won the Nobel Prize for research on the vitamin content of paprika. Pound for pound, paprika has a higher content of Vitamin C than citrus fruit.

Today, Hungary, Spain, South America, the Mediterranean, India, and California are all major producers of paprika.

Health Benefits of Paprika

This bold red spice has plenty of health benefits, thanks to the valuable nutrients and natural compounds contained in the peppers used to make the spice. Paprika is particularly rich in vitamin A, vitamin B6, and beta-carotene, which can help maintain healthy skin. Paprika also has high levels of potassium, which can help to increase blood flow and reduce blood pressure. Also rich in copper, iron, and vitamin E, paprika can help to increase new red blood cell formation.

Types of Paprika

There are three different types of paprika; this spice is either sweet, hot, or smoked. Understanding these three characteristics often helps determine where a particular kind of paprika is from. Here we’ll explore the difference between the varieties of paprika while highlighting a couple of recipes that put certain types to use.

Sweet Paprika

Sweet paprika or simply paprika is the most common variety available.

Most Capsicum annuum plants produce sweeter peppers, more so when grown in cooler climates. The heat of various chili peppers is concentrated in their seeds, and sweet paprika is typically ground only from the flesh of the pepper without including its seeds. The “sweetness” of sweet paprika is subtle, however, and should not be treated as something that adds perceptible sweetness to a dish. The naturally earthy tones of paprika are supported by a round richness of flavor in sweet paprika, rather than sharpness, smoke, or heat. Add paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder to season the flour with fried chicken and get a unique color to this scrumptious meal.

Use Bayara paprika which is delicious when added to cheeses, chicken, duck, and egg dishes, especially deviled eggs, hors d'ouvres, rice, salads, smoked foods, vegetables, and cottage cheese. It’s also terrific in salad dressings, where it not only adds color but also acts as an emulsifier.

Hungarian Paprika

Hungary’s national dish — chicken paprikash — is built around paprika, so the cultivation of peppers for use in Hungarian paprika is a serious business. Technically, there are about seven different varieties of paprika made in Hungary, with such labels as Noble Sweet and Pungent Exquisite Delicate, They range from különleges, sweet and mild, and a brilliant red, to erős, which is spicy and a dusky orange-brown color that can be as hot as the hottest jalapeno, so if you’re spice shopping in Hungary proper, you might want to find a Hungarian resident to guide you.

In a typical chicken paprikash preparation, paprika typically functions as a rub for the chicken skin, which then combines with a tomato, mushroom, and sour-cream-based sauce for a rich, earthy, and bright flavor.

Hungarian Paprika is often found in casseroles, white cheeses, chili, egg dishes, marinades, salads, and stews and it also goes well with most vegetables and rice dishes.

Smoked Paprika

Paprika naturally brings a little smoky character to the table with its distinctive, complex flavor. In smoked paprika, however, this is intentionally amplified by actually smoking the peppers during the drying process. Much like its spicier cousin, this sweet paprika is made by drying freshly-harvested, ripe, red peppers in low-lying, adobe smokehouses.

Smoked paprika is a great component to use in place of smoked meats in vegetarian versions of dishes such as baked beans or stewed greens. It can also tease out smoked barbecue flavor when an actual smoker isn’t available. It’s also wonderful in Spanish-style stews, on roasted chicken or fish, and in a classic Spanish romesco sauce, blended from tomatoes and bell peppers and thickened with bread and almonds.  Try Bayara smoked sweet paprika to maximize your meals’ flavor.

Pro tip:

Gently heating (or blooming) the paprika in oil releases its flavors, a practice well-known in Hungary.

Unless a recipe specifies otherwise, you’ll maximize your flavor with paprika by adding it later in the cooking time. Prolonged exposure to high temperatures can degrade both the color and the flavor of paprika, creating a less attractive dish. 

Common spices and herbs to pair with paprika are garlic, onion, saffron, ginger, allspice, turmeric, caraway, cumin, black pepper, oregano, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, and basil.

There is a wide range of flavor expressions just within paprika: sweet, earthy, smoky, slightly bitter, and fiery flavors. Bayara carries a fantastic range of paprika online that adds vitality to any dish.

[backyardchickennews]

What Is the Minorca Chicken Breed? Do Minorca Chickens Take Flight? What Makes Minorca Chickens So Hardy? How Many Eggs Does Minorca Lay? How Friendly is the Minorca Chicken? Discover the Unique Features of Minorca Chickens! Saving Minorca Chickens: Can We Reverse Extinction? Minorca chickens are flighty, hardy, and friendly. They lay large, white eggs. Read on to learn more about these unique chickens. These are part of the Balearic Islands and are part of the Mediterranean region. You can buy them at most pet stores and breeders. https://backyardchickennews.com/what-is-the-minorca-chicken-breed/?feed_id=6081&_unique_id=66698133c3472

[poultryabc]

How to clip chicken wings to stop flying Safely

While many heavy breeds of chickens cannot fly high, a modest fence height will keep them within bounds. However, it’s a different story with the Mediterranean light breeds, which possess impressive flying capabilities and can soar over a substantial six-foot fence. This article shows how to clip a chicken’s wing to prevent it from flying. There are various reasons why one might consider…

[homeofhousechickens]

Fav chicken breed and why?

Production Leghorns

They are short lived birds full of life and personality that most people never understand or get to see. Most people see their flighty nature and think of them as a stupid hateful chicken breed when they were originally a landrace meant to fend for themselves. They still retain that sense independence you might not see as strongly in asiatic chicken breeds. It's sad we took this breed already known for naturally high egg production then min maxed it, discarding the birds ones they reach 2 years of age. If you like white store bought chicken eggs, it was likely laid by a white production leghorn or her descendants. To be loved by a leghorn feels like something special to me. They are funny, intelligent, and very sensitive birds.

Also big face meats which isn't a trait I want in my bantam breeding project but it's something I like to appreciate in mediterranean breeds like leghorns.

Honorable mentions

-Ayam Cemani

-Phoenix

-Brahma (bantam or standard)

-Cornish Game bantam

-Serama

[maxwellatoms]

If Nergal can lay eggs, what other chicken-like traits does he have?

Comb: The comb is the little fleshy growth on top of a Nergal’s head. It regulates body temperature, and many breeds use it to determine if a mate is suitable. Some breeds feature a single comb and others have two side by side.

Wattle: The wattle is the fleshy growth that dangles under the Nergal’s belly or chin. The size of wattles can vary greatly.

Earlobes: The earlobe is behind and below the eye on the side of the head. They come in four colors — white, black, blue, and red — and are sometimes an indicator of the breed’s egg color.

Breed Groups

There are four groups of large Nergal breed, classified by their geographical origins: Asiatic, English, Mediterranean, and American. Nergalss are also grouped by physical characteristics, such as feather type and length of tentacle.

Mesopotamian Nergals are any variety of small Nergal, sometimes called "Nerglings". They are usually one third to one half of the size of a standard Nergal but display all the same traits. Nerglings are an excellent option for those who want to raise Nergalss in a smaller space, as they are smaller versions of the larger breed.

[kedreeva]

Hi! Do you have backyard chicken breed suggestions for places that get hot af?

We moved closer to the desert, and now we have highs over 100°F for a good chunk of the summer (and occasionally over 110°F). Our chickens were Not Pleased. We ended up giving them to my parents, who live somewhere with more reasonable summers

Probably one of the Mediterranean breeds like minorcas (but not leghorns in the US, they ARE very tolerant of heat being white and having a huge comb, but also... we fucked them up something fierce for egg production in the US), or something like an Egyptian fayoumi. Something that was bred in heat. If you're just looking for pets, the bantam breeds keep better in heat usually, but they might not be as cold hardy depending on how hard your winters swing. I don't really deal with the heat-hardy breeds since I'm in cold hell so I don't have a lot of experience.

You know who handles the heat well? peafowl. they're out fuckin' sunning themselves on scorched earth when it gets above 100F. Luxuriating. They're from the fucking sun.

[pangur-and-grim]

Re: rabbits and cats and dogs. It's funny you mention it bc my dog (lab mix) will often push the door and lock himself out and not be able to figure out what's happening and forget to bark to let us know, meanwhile my bunny learned how to open his cage without too much trouble, so i guess it depends on the animal?

that’s definitely true! I’ve also met some dim, DIM cats

not gonna name any names. not gonna specify. but WOOF.

I think re: rabbit & chicken intelligence, there’s massive variation between breeds. 2/3 of my hens are exhibition birds, meaning they’ve been selectively bred to look lovely in a judging cage. breeds that are known for foraging, are less tolerant of confinement, and are closer to wild-type (game and Mediterranean breeds come to mind) will have a LOT more going on in their little skulls!

[flippysquid]

Some day I will actually figure out how to use Blender and make appropriate chickens for Skyrim’s climate. The base Skyrim models look like modern egg production chickens from mediterranean stock. They would have all lost their combs to frostbite the first winter.

Appropriate cold weather adaptations would be:

Small button shaped combs, feathered feet, feathered crests, beards, small gular wattles, and please let’s move away from the solid mahogany colored animals they all look like rhode island reds or hybrid egg laying strains like golden comets.

My ideal Skyrim chicken would be based off pavlovskayas. The progenitor of all crested and feather footed breeds in the west.

on a quest to mod as much lore-friendly wildlife into skyrim se as possible. crows. ravens. more ravens. boars i can buy as an invasive species (such is the power of the pig). ditto with pigeons. seems plausible for woolly rhinos to roam the same steppes as mammoths so in they go. the housecats in the mod i found could stand to look a bit less like modern housecats and a bit more like the rugged little guys that the vikings bred for mousing + farmed for fur but who could possibly resist the allure of a bards' college cat with a little hat

[rederiswrites]

Mmmm! Time to start thinking about spring! @turtlesandfrogs  post has me inspired. 

If I want to get my hands on good quality stock of green and blue egg layers, I have to find and order them now. If I want bees, I have to find and order them now. 

And I do, oh, I do. Having that swarm of bees for about a hot minute last summer and then losing them really stung (ha! ha!). I was so happy to have bees again for about three days. Plus my daughter loves them and it would be great for her to work with them more. She’s big enough now for the heavy lifting, so she and I can work together and get things done quickly. Plus, in the last five/ten years there’s been a lot of really intensive research and now there are new treatments for so many of the intractable problems beekeepers have been facing. That’s pretty exciting to be a part of.

And collecting and using those chocolate brown eggs every day (we’ve gotten nearly a dozen eggs a day all through the winter!! I would have expected to be getting close to zero by now!) is such a pleasure, but the green and blue layers I got are all so pallid that you can only tell them from white if there’s an actual white in the mix. We can do better. (I say that, but apparently my mother adores the greens and favors them like I favor the browns.)

Then there’s all the trees and shrubs I want to plant--some I got last year and never planted, many I still need to order. The biggest thing is my work to create a hedge/treeline along the road front, which should help cut the incredibly vicious winds that come across the surrounding fields all winter. That will not only reduce that winter evening sensation that a vast wild creature is trying to rip my house apart, but it should increase the survivability of the Mediterranean herbs in my front garden. Well, in like, five years when it’s filled in. I’m continually amazed by how 1. being older and 2. living in a place you fully intend to Stay extends your viewpoint and makes long-term projects feel more tangible. Now, five years feels like “Eh, well, I’ll be busy and then they’ll be grown and I’ll be like ‘nice’.”

I love the ducks, and look forward to expanding the flock. They are quiet, undemanding to care for, and incredibly charming to watch. I haven’t gotten a single egg yet but I’ve had duck eggs and they’re excellent. What purpose do the ducks serve? Uhhhh. Butt wiggle cute?

As for obtaining more of a very rare sheep breed, I think the best I can do is still to message round to the keepers I know of and ask them to keep us in mind when the lambs come. Hopefully any road trips we might need to make to get them will be more feasible and less fraught with pandemic concerns by the time the lambs are ready to be separated from their mothers. The goal is to be able to do conservation breeding, which requires a flock of a dozen or more to be effective. We’ve got a long way to go before we have a genetically diverse flock that size.

The vegetable garden? My brain is not ready for all those variables yet. Augh. I already feel behind. I wanted to put wood chips over the whole thing. I don’t know whether it’s still worth it now, knowing that in two/three months I’ll be raking it back to make seed beds. Probably I should just Do It Anyway. Then I think, “Straw would break down faster” but honestly, straw mats and gets slimy. But at least if I do a mulch it’ll stifle all the grass and weeds to a large extent once spring arrives. That’s totally enough reason to buy a four inch cover of wood chips for a 40 x 60 foot area and then spread it?? Ugh veggie gardens are seriously the hardest.

I think I’mm��a not think about tomatoes and cucumbers for a little bit and shop for chickens instead.

[mellifexfarm]

on the topic of heat stress remind me to never ever ever be seduced by another largefowl featherlegged chicken again Wren is barely coping with the heat and it only started getting hot like a week ago. no more shall live here. bantam cochins and silkies are on thin ice. this is a bantam and Mediterranean breed only farm its only gonna get hotter 

[newstfionline]

Monday, August 2, 2021

Frustration as Biden, Congress allow eviction ban to expire (AP) Anger and frustration mounted in Congress as a nationwide eviction moratorium expired at midnight Saturday—one Democratic lawmaker even camping outside the Capitol in protest as millions of Americans faced being forced from their homes. Lawmakers said they were blindsided by President Joe Biden’s inaction as the deadline neared. More than 3.6 million Americans are at risk of eviction, some in a matter of days. The moratorium was put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the COVID-19 crisis when jobs shifted and many workers lost income. The eviction ban was intended to prevent further virus spread by people put out on the streets and into shelters. Congress approved nearly $47 billion in federal housing aid to the states during the pandemic, but it has been slow to make it into the hands of renters and landlords owed payments.

Breakneck pace of crises keeps National Guard away from home (AP) In the searing 108-degree heat, far from his Louisiana health care business, Army Col. Scott Desormeaux and his soldiers are on a dusty base near Syria’s northern border, helping Syrian rebel forces battle Islamic State militants. It’s tough duty for the soldiers. But their deployment to the Middle East last November is just a small part of the blistering pace of missions that members of the Louisiana National Guard and America’s other citizen-soldiers have faced in the past 18 months. Beyond overseas deployments, Guard members have been called in to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and protests against racial injustice. For many, it’s meant months away from their civilian jobs and scarce times with families. While Guard leaders say troops are upbeat, they worry about exhaustion setting in and wonder how much longer U.S. businesses can do without their long-absent workers. “This past year was an extraordinary one for the National Guard,” said Gen. Dan Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau. Does he worry about exhaustion setting in? “That’s something I’ve been very concerned with right from the start.”

Western Wildfires May Take Weeks To Months To Contain (NPR) Pockets of the American West continued to burn over the weekend, as another nine large fires were reported on Saturday in California, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. The 87 fires still active in 13 states have consumed more than 1.7 million acres. Just shy of 3 million acres have been scorched since the start of 2021, with months left in what experts predict will be a devastating fire season. In southern Oregon, the Bootleg Fire has become the largest active blaze in the country. The 413,000-acre inferno was contained at 56%, as of Saturday night. A fire line has been constructed around the entire perimeter, ranging from 100 to 150-feet wide between the burn and unburned areas.

Bacon may disappear in California as pig rules take effect (AP) Thanks to a reworked menu and long hours, Jeannie Kim managed to keep her San Francisco restaurant alive during the coronavirus pandemic. That makes it all the more frustrating that she fears her breakfast-focused diner could be ruined within months by new rules that could make one of her top menu items—bacon—hard to get in California. “Our number one seller is bacon, eggs and hash browns,” said Kim, who for 15 years has run SAMS American Eatery on the city’s busy Market Street. “It could be devastating for us.” At the beginning of next year, California will begin enforcing an animal welfare proposition approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2018 that requires more space for breeding pigs, egg-laying chickens and veal calves. National veal and egg producers are optimistic they can meet the new standards, but only 4% of hog operations now comply with the new rules. Unless the courts intervene or the state temporarily allows non-compliant meat to be sold in the state, California will lose almost all of its pork supply, much of which comes from Iowa. Animal welfare organizations for years have been pushing for more humane treatment of farm animals but the California rules could be a rare case of consumers clearly paying a price for their beliefs.

Why are so many migrants coming to one of Europe’s smallest countries? Blame Belarus, officials say. (Washington Post) Europe’s newest migration crisis is unfolding in one of its most unlikely places. Lithuania, a Baltic nation roughly the size of West Virginia with fewer than 3 million residents, hasn’t been known as a destination for undocumented immigrants: Each year, the country sees roughly 70 people unlawfully cross its border with Belarus. In July, the number skyrocketed to more than 2,600, consisting mostly of immigrants from Iraq and sub-Saharan Africa. Officials expect the numbers to grow in the coming weeks. This new flow of people did not begin organically, Lithuanian and European Union officials say. Instead, they say, it is the result of an audacious plan by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to weaponize migration in response to E.U. sanctions. In June, Lukashenko threatened to allow human traffickers and drug smugglers to stream into Europe. E.U. officials say they have evidence that his government is also encouraging immigrants to travel there: coordinating with a Belarusian travel agency to offer tourist visas, setting up flights and then transporting people from Minsk to the Lithuanian border. Lithuania, which has virtually no experience with large numbers of immigrants, has scrambled to construct a barbed wire fence along the border.

Thousands protest against COVID-19 health pass in France (Reuters) Thousands of people protested in Paris and other French cities on Saturday against a mandatory coronavirus health pass for entry to a wide array of public venues, introduced by the government as it battles a fourth wave of infections. It was the third weekend in a row that people opposed to President Emmanuel Macron’s new COVID-19 measures have taken to the streets, an unusual show of determination at a time of year when many people are focused on taking their summer break. The number of demonstrators has grown steadily since the start of the protests, echoing the “yellow vest” movement, that started in late 2018 against fuel taxes and the cost of living. An interior ministry official said 204,090 had demonstrated across France, including 14,250 in Paris alone. This is about 40,000 more than last week.

Turkey evacuates panicked tourists by boat from wildfires (AP) Panicked tourists in Turkey hurried to the seashore to wait for rescue boats Saturday after being told to evacuate some hotels in the Aegean Sea resort of Bodrum due to the dangers posed by nearby wildfires, Turkish media reported. Coast guard units led the operation and authorities asked private boats and yachts to assist in evacuation efforts from the sea as new wildfires erupted. A video showed plumes of smoke and fire enveloping a hill close to the seashore. The death toll from wildfires raging in Turkey’s Mediterranean towns rose to six Saturday after two forest workers were killed, the country’s health minister said. Fires across Turkey since Wednesday have burned down forests and some settlements, encroaching on villages and tourist destinations and forcing people to evacuate. In one video of the Bodrum fire filmed from the sea, a man helping with the evacuations was stunned at the speed of the fire, saying “this is unbelievable, just unbelievable. How did this fire come (here) this fast in 5 minutes?”

Afghans flee (NYT) A mass exodus is unfolding across Afghanistan as the Taliban press on with a military campaign and the U.S. withdraws. At least 30,000 Afghans are leaving each week and many more have been displaced. The Taliban have captured more than half the country’s 400-odd districts, according to some assessments, sparking fears of a harsh return to extremist rule or a civil war. The sudden flight is an early sign of a looming refugee crisis, aid agencies warn.

As the Taliban closes in, Afghan forces scramble to defend prisons holding thousands of militants (Washington Post) Huddled in brightly lit yards late one recent night, hundreds of inmates taunted a team of about a dozen special forces who were rounding the walls along the top of Kunduz prison. The appearance of elite soldiers was an anomaly, a sign to the prisoners that something was happening. “What’s going on?” they shouted. “Is tonight going to be our last night in here? Taliban fighters planned to storm the compound that evening, according to information gathered by local intelligence officers. Government forces hoped the show of force would spur prisoners—some in possession of smuggled cellphones used to communicate with the Taliban—to wave off the attack. Without enough fighters to hold the city’s front lines and reinforce the prison, the special forces’ move was a gamble. But it appeared to work: The night passed without incident. As Taliban militants close in on Afghanistan’s provincial capitals, they are inching closer to central prisons that house around 5,000 of their fellow fighters, leaving the government scrambling to secure the detention facilities. If just a fraction of the detainees were to escape, Afghan security officials warn, it would hand the militants a significant advantage on the battlefield, where they are already making steady gains.

Burkina Faso sees more child soldiers as jihadi attacks rise (AP) Awoken by gunshots in the middle of the night, Fatima Amadou was shocked by what she saw among the attackers: children. Guns slung over their small frames, the children chanted “Allahu akbar,” as they surrounded her home in Solhan town in Burkina Faso’s Sahel region. Some were so young they couldn’t even pronounce the words, Arabic for “God is great,” said the 43-year-old mother. “When I saw the kids, what came to my mind was that (the adults) trained these kids to be assassins, and they came to kill my children,” Amadou told The Associated Press by phone from Sebba town, where she now lives. She and her family are among the lucky ones who survived the June attack, in which about 160 people were killed—the deadliest such assault since the once-peaceful West African nation was overrun by fighters linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State about five years ago. As that violence increases, so too does the recruitment of child soldiers. The number of children recruited by armed groups in Burkina Faso rose at least five-fold so far this year, according to information seen by the AP in an unpublished report by international aid and conflict experts.

Behind the Rise of U.S. Solar Power, a Mountain of Chinese Coal (WSJ) Solar panel installations are surging in the U.S. and Europe as Western countries seek to cut their reliance on fossil fuels. But the West faces a conundrum as it installs panels on small rooftops and in sprawling desert arrays: Most of them are produced with energy from carbon-dioxide-belching, coal-burning plants in China. Concerns are mounting in the U.S. and Europe that the solar industry’s reliance on Chinese coal will create a big increase in emissions in the coming years as manufacturers rapidly scale up production of solar panels to meet demand. That would make the solar industry one of the world’s most prolific polluters, analysts say.

Americans Spend Nearly 60 Billion Hours a Year on Google (PC Magazine) Collectively, Americans spent 57.3 billion hours on Google per year. Its video equivalent, YouTube, comes in second with 29.6 billion hours, followed by Facebook with 9.7 billion hours.

[madwickedawesome]

YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!! ok so basically

poultry have different digestive systems to mammals which is one of the major differences between the two!!!! mammalian digestive system has food run straight through a tract to the intestines where its digested and then waste is sent through the end of the tract (haha Butt), whereas poultry birds have crops and gizzards!!!

gizzards act as the teeth for poultry (bc they only have beaks to grab and peck and whatnot), so they help to shred food w these little tiny shredder things

crops store food for later digestion for when the gizzard is full of food and everything else is busy!!!!!!!! like a little minecraft chest in their mouth

another major difference between poultry and agricultural mammals is they reproduce via oviposition (egg laying) thru their cloacal opening where egg-laying, mating, and . waste disposal all take place in the exact same hole. blegh

chickens who primarily produce eggs r called layers and their meat counterparts r called broilers; a young male chicken is a cockerel whereas a rooster is a mature male; a pullet is a young female chicken and a hen is a matured one; MALE DUCKS R NAMED DRAKE etc etc etc etc etc

leghorns r the most popular breed of mediterranean class in the u.s.!! go leghorns woohoo!!!!!!!!

look up polish chickens

also sexing chicks is super convoluted and impossible. u can sex them by either looking at their feather patterns (the easiest)(males have one-step curved wings and have even length wing feathers whereas females have two-step curved wings and have alternating lengths in their wing feathers), "venting" amng u (looking at their cloacal opening)(literally impossible), or looking at color markings for sex-linked traits in different breeds :]

look up polish chickens again

chickens have been, over the years, selectively bred and sometimes genetically modified to be much heavier (which is why old timey stuff has chickens only being able to feed like. 2 ppl)

chickens can get "woody breast" condition which is a muscle disease that fills a breast with fibrous veins, which i dont think affects the health of the chicken but it fucks the meat taste and quality (apparently)

look up polish chickens again

who wants to hear just So much about chickens (i am studying for my animal science test ☺️🤞)

[backyardchickennews]

Is Minorca a Breed Of Chicken? At BackyardChickenNews, we help people that want to raise backyard chickens by collating information and news blended with our own personal experiences. Minorca chickens are flighty, hardy, and friendly. They lay large, white eggs. Read on to learn more about these unique chickens. These are part of the Balearic Islands and are part of the Mediterranean region. You can buy them at most pet stores and breeders. https://backyardchickennews.com/is-minorca-a-breed-of-chicken/?feed_id=803&_unique_id=64e54b4df3112

[salixj]

BY EMILY PASTER | JANUARY 17, 2018

Winter is citrus season. The sweetest and juiciest oranges, lemons and grapefruits appear in stores just when we seem to need them the most. What could be more welcome on a gray January day than a sunny burst of vitamin C from your favorite citrus fruit?

Not only are citrus fruits delicious and healthy, but they also have a long association with the Jewish people. Humans have cultivated citrus fruits, which originally came from south and east Asia, for thousands of years. Indeed, we Jews are aware, if perhaps unconsciously, of the ancient connection between humans and citrus fruits because of how we celebrate the festival of Sukkot . An etrog — which in botanical terms is an ancient citrus variety known as a citron — is an essential part of that holiday observance. While the Bible does not mention the etrog by name, the citron was identified as the required “fruit of the goodly tree” as early as the second century B.C.E.

As Jews began to spread out into the Diaspora during the late Roman Empire, they had to ensure that, come autumn, they could still find a perfect etrog to use for this important religious observance. Thus, one of the many agricultural activities these settlers engaged in was cultivating citrons. (Interestingly, these early centers of Jewish population coincide with continued areas of citrus production in the Mediterranean today: southern Spain, Sicily and Calabria in Italy, the Nile Delta, the Levant and Algeria.) Many scholars attribute the continued cultivation of citrus fruits in Europe following the collapse of the Roman empire, and the ensuing chaos, to Jewish horticulturists whose need for the fruit was undiminished.

The cultivation of other citrus species was a byproduct of these early Jewish settlers’ need for citron. Almost all citrus varieties are sexually compatible with one another, and they are highly prone to mutation. Such traits allowed their genes to mix naturally for thousands of years and made it feasible for humans to cross-breed the different varieties. Indeed, just about every citrus fruit you have ever seen comes from just three ancestors: the citron, the pomelo and the mandarin.

From the 10th century onward, citron trees served as grafting stock for other kinds of citrus. By the end of the 13th century, fruits that we would recognize as oranges and lemons were widely grown in the land of Israel and by the next century Jewish merchants, through their contacts in the Levant began importing them to Italy.

Thus began the long association between Jews and the citrus trade in the eyes of Europeans. Starting in the Middle Ages, Jewish merchants traveled from the Mediterranean to northern and eastern Europe with citrons to sell to their brothers and sisters living in colder climes. This led to a thriving trade in all kinds of citrus, not merely etrogs, and not only to Jewish customers. Italian Jewish traders who settled in Germany used their contacts to import citrus from the Mediterranean to sell to any customers who could afford the high price. In 18th-century England, Jewish peddlers were known to specialize in citrus fruits.

Beginning in the 19th century, Zionist rabbis and other Jewish leaders began encouraging their followers to seek out citrons grown in Palestine instead of those grown around the Mediterranean. This was due in part to anti-Jewish riots on the Greek island of Corfu where many of the citrons destined for northern Europe were grown. Today, of course, Israeli farmers continue to grow and export citrus — more to Europe than to the United States, which has its own robust citrus industry — especially the famous Jaffa orange, which in the 1950s and ’60s was a symbol of pride for the young nation.

So, when you peel a perfect round orange or squeeze some lemon into your tea this winter, know that it is in large part due to the efforts of Jewish farmers and merchants from centuries ago that today we enjoy such a wide variety of citrus fruits.

In that spirit, at this bountiful time of year, do not limit yourselves to the familiar lemons, limes and navel oranges. Explore the whole range of citrus fruits from blood oranges and Key limes to Meyer lemons, pomelos and kumquats. Your local grocery store should have a wide variety of these novel citrus fruits available through March. Here is a guide to some of the best of winter citrus for your enjoyment.

Blood orange: There are three types — Moro, Tarocco and Sanguinello — with a flavor that ranges from tart to semi-sweet depending on the type and season. Named for the deep, beet red color of their flesh, blood oranges are usually smaller than navel oranges and have a dimpled peel. Because of its unique color, the blood orange is often incorporated into recipes, from cocktails to preserves.

Cara Cara: Chefs love this pink-fleshed navel orange. It’s slightly sweeter and less acidic than a regular orange and has a very delicate berry flavor. Use this variety in place of oranges in any recipe or add them to a citrus salad for extra color and brightness.

Seville sour orange: This variety is sometimes called the bitter orange and commonly used in the production of marmalade. The Seville is tart and grown throughout the Mediterranean, but can be hard to find in the U.S. It’s also the a key ingredient in the orange-flavored liqueur Triple Sec.

Meyer Lemons: This lemon-orange hybrid is the darling of the citrus world. Its rind is a vibrant, deep yellow and has a strongly perfumed, almost herbal aroma. Its flesh is darker in color than a regular lemon and more sweet than tart, which means you can use the raw segments in a salad, much like an orange or grapefruit. Delicious in baked goods, marmalade or lemon curd.

Key Limes: Smaller than its cousin, the Persian lime, the Key lime is particularly juicy and acidic. It has a smooth rind, a greenish-yellow color when ripe and lots of seeds. Key limes have a distinctive aroma and taste which make them a favorite of bakers everywhere. Of course, pie is what Key limes are best known for, but you can substitute Key lime juice in any lime recipe for a fresh twist.

Pomelos: Often the size of bowling balls, pomelos can look intimidating. The rind can range in color from yellow to green, and the pulp can be white, pink, or somewhere in between. The pith is very thick, so it’s best to cut away as much of the rind and pith as you can first before peeling away at its segments. Think of the taste of a pomelo as akin to a mild grapefruit—sweet and without bitterness. Pomelos are common in southeast Asian cuisine.

Kumquats: You can actually eat the skin of these tiny citrus fruits. About the size of a large olive, kumquats tend to be sweet on the outside and quite tart on the inside. You can slice them into salads, muddle them in a cocktail, candy them or even cook them down into a sweet and spicy chutney.

Buddha’s Hand: This citrus easily wins the prize for most bizarre looking. The fingerlike fruit has a complex lemon aroma and actually contains no pulp or juice—it’s made up of a yellow rind and white pith. The rind can be used in any place lemon zest is called for, or try candying the peel.

Craving some citrus? Try one of these:

Moroccan Orange and Black Olive Salad

Orange and Pomegranate Salad

Lemon Chicken Soup with Swiss Chard and Rice

Blood Orange Martini

Lemon Sponge Cake with Candied Citrus