New Build a Chicken Coop, Save a Chicken

I am like any other American. I eat eggs and my dinner plate often includes some chicken. I would have never guessed that the eggs we eat and the chickens we get meat from would be kept in such horrible conditions.

Last year I heard about people building chicken coops in their backyards. I will admit I thought it was a little silly at first. Why would you want chickens in your backyard? But then I read about all of the health benefits of eggs from the chickens raised in backyards. It was some time later that I learned that not only were the eggs I got from my chickens tasted better and were better for me and my family, I discovered that they were better for the chickens too.

Did you know that chickens are smashed into small cages, appropriately called battery cages. Chickens kept in these conditions more than often lose their feathers because of the tight conditions According to a Canadian study, it is possible to build poultry houses that are more humane but the farmers often do not want to go to new practices. Another study found that chickens in these poultry houses "have significantly higher levels of stress measured by the hormones in blood".

In a state that supposedly has the highest animal safety and treatment standards. Hidden Cameras have caught cruel treatment in a California poultry hose. Keep in mind WE actually eat eggs and meat from these animals.

The poultry houses where we get eggs and meat from are dirty. There is poor air circulation. The chickens are treated badly and the physical effects are obvious. Feathers falling off, beaks damaged, skin rashes, broken bones, disease. Can you believe we eat these animals and their eggs?!?

So what can you do?

By now if you are like me and have even a tiny bit of compassion for living beings. You are probably disgusted right now. what can you do? You can do a few things. If you are of voting age, you can vote on local ordinances to stop this kind of treatment. You could also stop consuming products that support this kinds of treatment of chickens. The best option and (most fun!) is to build your own chicken coop right in your own backyard. You do not have to be an expert to raise chickens. They are very easy to care for and very inexpensive to maintain. Plus you get the added bonus of free eggs year around. And you will sleep easier knowing that the eggs you eat and give to your children are the most nutritious available, they come from a clean environment and they are from chickens that are treated humanly. Go ahead build a chicken coop

Lovely Energy Efficient House Design - Save Big, Save Now

You work hard to save money; why shouldn't your house do the same? Enter the concept of energy efficient house design.

An idea that has been around for some time, energy efficient house design puts the focus on making your house as energy friendly as possible. An energy efficient home has many advantages - the most obvious is, of course, saving on power bills. Other benefits include increased comfort thanks to improved ventilation and the use of natural light, better resale value of your house (believe it or not, more and more homeowners are looking for energy efficient homes), and the satisfaction you get from knowing you are helping out the environment by decreasing your use of fossil fuels.

Any home can be made energy efficient. Typical features of such a house include:

a carport placed on the south side (this creates pockets of cooler air, which will come handy for cross ventilation during summers);
quarry tiles or dark ceramic used for flooring;
minimal glazing on south and east walls (plus no glazing whatsoever on the west wall);
plants, particularly dense evergeen, planted next to the west wall (this provides barrier against those cold winter winds and protection from the hot summer sun);
large windows that face the north (these capture free solar energy from the sun);
air sealing (great air-sealing alone may reduce power costs by 50%!);
controlled ventilation (this reduces the risks of exposure to indoor pollutants and at the same time, lowers the odds of structural damage caused by moisture build-up).

Many homeowners take the concept of energy efficient house design further by investing in their own generator.

But if you think you have to be wealthy to own a wind or solar generator, think again. You can build one yourself, using materials you can pick up from the local hardware. Earth4Energy provides blueprints you can use to start generating your own solar and wind power fast. Imagine how much you can save and even earn when your house actually starts producing more energy than it uses up!