The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[h2oratt]

Why do you heat up the bran?

 

[getaclue]

All dry grains, even when ground, are exposed to bugs, and tend to have bug eggs. Trying to store grain products for an extended time, tends to allow the eggs to hatch. Freezing does not always kill the eggs, but suspends their activity, until the grain product is returned to room temperatures. Since the mealworms are going to live in the bran for an extended time, it should be sanitized, and all bug eggs destroyed. I have several casserole dishes I use for this, but cake pans can be used too...pour the dry bran into them, as much as they will hold without making too big a mess, and heat in the oven at 175 - 200 degrees for about 20 minutes. Remove, let cool some, then store in gallon sized zip lock bags. Repeat until all the bran is done. This will disinfect the bran, and kill any bugs, or their eggs.

 

[getaclue]

I buy 50 lb. bags of bran, which last quite awhile. I do about 10 lbs. each time I bake, and can disinfect, and bag the whole 50 lbs. in about 5 - 6 hours.

 

[h2oratt]

I buy 50 lb. bags of bran, which last quite awhile. I do about 10 lbs. each time I bake, and can disinfect, and bag the whole 50 lbs. in about 5 - 6 hours.

Thank you.

 

[speckledhen]

Please think good thoughts for my son. He just had a setback on his road to a new, healthier life.

He called last night, but this was his FB post:

Mike Bacon Blew a vericose vein in my leg and couldn’t stop the bleeding. Got rushed to Gwinnett medical....lost a couple quarts of blood...

Our oldest son was at work yesterday at his restaurant, was in the bathroom (thankfully, not in the actual front of the restaurant) when a vein burst in his leg -he has terrible varicose veins that he cannot have fixed because his adulterous wife, as you know, left her job and him to fly off to England to be with a boy-toy she met on the internet over 30 years younger than she is, taking his medical insurance away. The job he does, standing on his feet all the time, exacerbates the condition and being a fairly new job with a family-owned company, it doesn't have an insurance that will cover it or his carpal tunnel surgery and he is currently without any insurance. He did not even feel it, just looked down and saw a lot of blood on the floor. It literally burst through his skin. He lost a lot of blood, one of the workers at his restaurant had to use an apron for a tourniquet and get him to the hospital.

So, now a man who was just out of debt will have a medical bill he cannot pay and conditions that cannot be treated. I certainly cannot help. I could drain every dime I have, which is not much, and still, he'd be behind the eight ball on medical bills. He's going to have to get some type of insurance and the company has indicated it may pay half of any medical bills, but that's up in the air.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, looks like I may be losing Emily, my Black Rock, same group/age as Neela, Alice and Tiny (and the late Rita, who passed suddenly about 2 years ago). They're all 8 1/2 years old. This morning, at pen clean up, I noticed Emmy sitting in the corner, not paying attention to any scratch offerings. Then, she began to stand up and her neck wobbled over her back like she had no control of it, throwing her off balance. She looked around like she was dazed. I think she's had a stroke, seen it quite a few times over the years. And she's way up in years, of course, hasn't laid an egg in maybe three years. She has never been ill in her life, only had recurring bumblefoot due to her odd gait, made that way because she somehow got tendon damage in her leg and walks flat-footed on one side. She has good weight, but is not bloated at all. So, it may just be her time.

 

[getaclue]

He's in my prayers. Tell him to get some of these, and wear them while awake. They will make a big difference, especially over time. https://www.amazon.com/Compression-...27&sr=8-16&keywords=medical+compression+socks

Another thing he needs to be aware of are the condition of his shoes. It's ok to get the cheaper non-slip shoes designed for restaurant workers at Wal Mart, but when they begin to show wear on the soles, replace them.

 

[speckledhen]

He's in my prayers. Tell him to get some of these, and wear them while awake. They will make a big difference, especially over time. https://www.amazon.com/Compression-Medical-Socks-Running-Fitness，Pregnancy-Maternity-15-20mmHg/dp/B075H9LC3F/ref=sr_1_16/132-0306864-6378031?ie=UTF8&qid=1541336627&sr=8-16&keywords=medical+compression+socks

Another thing he needs to be aware of are the condition of his shoes. It's ok to get the cheaper non-slip shoes designed for restaurant workers at Wal Mart, but when they begin to show wear on the soles, replace them.

If I remember correctly, he does have proper shoes for his work, not sure about the sock thing, but he was beginning some treatment for the vein situation at some point, then his former company was bought out, he lost his insurance with them and had to find another job. This one has some sort of insurance, but nowhere near what he used to have so he got on with his wife's PetSmart plan. Then, you know what happened with that situation.

 

[getaclue]

When I was in my junior year in high school, I got a summer job as a waitress. My aunt came to visit a short time later. She had been a waitress at the same restaurant in her home town for many years. The next day when I got off work, she told me to come with her. We went to the store, and she bought me 5 pairs of "old lady sup hose", and a pair of shoes. Being polite, I thanked her, but had no intention of wearing the sup hose. The next day, before I went to work, she made me go put on the sup hose. She showed me her legs. My gosh, they looked worse than a map of the city of Tampa. She explained the importance of wearing support hose at work. Good shoes helped too. When I got home that evening, I had to admit, I could tell a difference in the way my legs felt. A couple weeks later, I went to work one day without wearing them. It was NOT my imagination, those hose made a huge difference. I never worked a day after that, without wearing them. Later, when I became a hair stylist, I wore my support hose, and Nurse Mate shoes. I don't have any varicose veins, and I don't have any back problems associated with being on my feet all day long term.

 

[getaclue]

If it's a choice between the shoes, or the compression socks, get the socks. They actually make the most significant difference.