Sunday, April 3, 2011

Spa Day on the Farm?

During the molting, I noticed that the chicken's combs were looking dull and dry.  Traditionally, farmers use vaseline during molting or the winter to prevent cracks. However, I don't use vaseline on myself (it is derived from peteroleum and prevents the skin from breathing) so there was no way I was going to use it on my chickens. Besides, what if they ate it somehow? Hmmmmm.... well after going through my drawer of beauty products, I decided to try my absolute favorite hand cream. The Body Shop
s Hemp Oil Creme. (Yes, the joke about my chickens being stonners has already been made.) Just two days later and the girls look 100% better. Their combs are back to the normal bright red and all the cracking skin is gone. I can't believe how well it worked!

Next up on the beauty treatment cycle was the ducks. Their stink was totally gagging me everytime I went into the office! Yikes! The solution- change the box and a bubble bath for the duckies. I fillled their swimming pool with warm water and added a little body wash (again from the Body Shop so it would be safe). My concerns about the ducks hating the bubbles quickly disappeared as I noticed they were swimming around after the bubbles and eating them! From watching them, you would think the green apple scent made the bubbles taste like apple! After they swam around in circles for about twenty minutes, much to their protest, I got them out of the bath. They smelled wonderful!

Lastly, I also deserved a little beauty treatment. One of the unique challeneges of being an urban farmer and having an office day job is the balance between looking professional but still being able to "get the job done" on the farm. My main issue is maintaing a decent manicure. I can't tell you how many times I have ruined my nails with gardening, building a chicken coop, etc. etc. So this week I opted for one of those new gel/shellac manicures. $35 and an hour and a half later, we will see how long this manicure survives farm life. (Yes, I see the irony in the fact that I won't use vaseline but will get a totally toxic chemical ladden manicure- vanity is an amazing thing!)

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