Kai: Almost a year ago I acquired 4 homing pigeons from a man at the keepers of the old ways expo in Blountstown Florida. When we got them home, I found that it had been a stressful move for the younger bird, and I had to nurse him back to health because he’d lost a lot of weight. The 4 birds had to gain back their muscles after being in quarantine, and once they were finally released into the coop, I found their behavior hard to follow…for months and months, all they did was fight and claim perches.
Continue reading First time Breeding PigeonsTag Archives: Animals
Baby Quail Hatch Update
Kai: The baby quail are 2 weeks old now. Out of the 8 that hatched, 7 have survived to this point and are looking good. One that still remains has a bit of a longer story though, as when he or she hatched, they were born with splay-leg. This condition can be fixed if caught immediately, and so luckily l recognized it shortly after hatch day – but at the same time, I had absolutely no experience with it.
Continue reading Baby Quail Hatch Update
Baby Quail Hatched!
Kai: We recently acquired an incubator, and began the fascinating process of hatching quail!
Continue reading Baby Quail Hatched!
Keep out the Chemicals!
Kai: Our family discontinued the use of many chemical cleaners nearly ten years ago when we started keeping birds. We had always stayed away from many toxic household products, but we ditched the last few by the time I got my first parrot.
Continue reading Keep out the Chemicals!
Eat Clean, Both You and Your Animals!
Kai: I have never been a fan of buying premade pet foods. We like to keep everyone’s diets clean in this household, yet pre-packaged organic products can be expensive. However, having a garden has made this a lot easier – as well as the “co-op” between animal and permaculture systems. Our hens eat greens and veggies from the garden, while our dog and cat benefit from their eggs! The chickens also receive feeder fish from our aquaculture, and worms from our earthworm farm. Our turtles also get fish, but the majority of their diet are the pests in the garden!
Continue reading Eat Clean, Both You and Your Animals!
This Animal is a Headache!
Kai: On our homesteading journey, we’ve acquired many animals. I love our chickens, pigeons, rabbits, and fish. Everything has its chore load, but they all get taken care of, and have their own values and place in the permaculture ecosystem. Aside that, many are beloved pets. However, there will always be that one thing that makes you crazy.
Continue reading This Animal is a Headache!
The Art of Bird Watching – Ebook
Kai: I just finished my very first non-fiction book! The Art of Florida Birdwatching.
Being a bird watcher all my life, I knew I wanted to create a work of non-fiction themed around my knowledge and experience.
In addition to the information, I was still able to utilize my more aesthetic side, using art and photography as the pictures.
This book features over 30 species of birds that can be found right here in Florida, and includes an artistic depiction, fun facts about the bird, and stories about my personal encounters. Many were photographed at Grand Lagoon State Park, Myakka River State Park and Wakulla Springs State Park.
I really hope you enjoy this book, as it is one I am quite proud of. These are the wild birds I know best, many of which are quite dear to me. If you are interested in birds, or are just getting to know them, I hope you’ll take a look at this book and be inspired to continue your birding journey!
Welcome to our Aviary!
Kai: Here is a tour of our aviary/coop! It’s home to our chickens, quail, and pigeons. I am excited to have added all these wonderful birds to our mini homestead, as I feel my personal connection and place in the permaculture world is really through the animals. I have watched birds and nature far longer than I have propagated plants, so working with animals feels a lot more natural to me. I should also mention that our Pensacola permaculture endeavors are in a city-chicken approved area, so our miniature homestead is not rural, believe it or not. It really doesn’t take much space to get started with chickens/permaculture gardening if you get creative! .
I hope to capture our progress as we move further into spring, as I am hoping to hatch some chicks this year. But for now, enjoy the tour!
Your New Friends: Chickens
Kai: Our chicken keeping experience has been both fun, challenging, and surprising, especially with the appearance of a neighborhood rooster that showed up not long after we got our first two girls, a Brahma, and a Wyandotte. Later in the year, we felt we could afford to expand, and adopted two other ladies, our beautiful easter egger chickens. Throughout all of this, that little neighborhood rooster stole our hearts, and has kept the girls safe from hawks despite his size. In thanks, we’re keeping him warm this winter, and he has been paid in many treats.
While we’re still mastering even the basics of chicken keeping, I think we’ve learned a lot in just one year. We still hope to expand in this area of permaculture, but for now, we shall take care of our small flock. If you are a bird lover, or just want an interesting addition to your backyard garden, I highly recommend this pleasing, and colorful domestic fowl. I feel like they are a great tool to help children learn about animals, nature, and the “backyard” ecosystem. Be sure to get hens from a crazy chicken lady if you want a sweet bird you can pet and hold!
The book is written by me, and illustrated by Arianna and I. Digital effects were created by Avery.
The Your New Friends series was created for the love of good things and pleasant learning experiences. I offer this digital book for free because I believe in home education.
Spirit Animal Meditations
“Spirit Animal Meditations” is a project we started last year. We released the first set of meditations in August 2020, with the 2nd set released later that November. The first album consists of three tracks- “Mother Bear”, “Loving Dog”, and “Magical Rabbit”. The 2nd album was Ocean themed, consisting of- “Peaceful Whale”, “Happy Dolphin”, and “Wise Sea Turtle”.
Continue reading Spirit Animal Meditations
Awaken the Wild Soul 