Baby Chickens for Sale in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts
Baby Chickens for Sale in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts
What Swedish Chickens Tell Us About DNA
For a long time, the conventional wisdom was that our DNA is fixed; whatever genetic characteristics we were born with are the traits that will characterize us throughout our lives. While DNA changes do occur, we have thought that they occur only very slowly—over millions of years, like the evolutionary changes that enabled small-brained primitive primates to develop into homo sapiens. This means if we were born with the genes that predispose us to heart attack or obesity, we are doomed to be fat and short-lived.
Not true. Or rather, it is true that the DNA we were born with doesn’t change, but it turns out that DNA isn’t the whole story. A new field called epigenetics has shown that lifestyle and conditions you are exposed to in life can change how your DNA is expressed—and those changes can sometimes be inherited by your offspring.
Epigenetics refers to heritable changes in the “wrapper” of proteins that surround the DNA. It does take many generations for the genome to change, but the epigenome can be changed by the addition or subtraction of a methyl group. A good analogy is that DNA, or the genome, is the hardware (hard to change) and the epigenome is the software (easy to change).
A methyl group is one carbon atom attached to three hydrogen atoms. When a methyl group attaches to a specific spot on a gene, it can change how the gene is expressed; it can dampen the gene’s effect or turn it off–or it can turn a gene on or boost its effect. This process is called DNA methylation.
So where do the Swedish chickens come in? In 2007, researchers at the University of Linköping in Sweden created the henhouse from hell, designed to stress the chickens that lived in it. The experimenters manipulated the lighting, causing the chickens to lose track of when to sleep, when to eat, and so forth. The discombolulated birds demonstrated a significant decrease in their ability to negotiate their way through a maze to find food.
When the chickens were moved back to a non-stressful environment, they conceived and hatched chicks that also demonstrated poor skills at finding food in a maze—even though they had never been stressed. The research went on to demonstrate that the mothers’ exposure to stress had resulted in a gene expression that the chicks inherited.
The chicken experiment is only one of many animal studies that have proved the validity of epigenetic theory. Another study, this time focusing on human beings (coincidentally, Swedish humans), also proves the point. In the 1980s, a preventive health specialist, Dr. Lars Olov Bygren, studied the effects of feast and famine years during the 19th Century in a remote population of people living in northern Sweden. He wanted to see if there were long-term effects, not just on the people who had experienced the feast or famine years, but also on their children and grandchildren.
Bygren discovered that people who had gone from normal eating to over-eating during the times of overproduction produced children and grandchildren who lived significantly shorter lives than those whose progenitors had endured famines.
So what does this all mean to us on a day-to-day basis? Epigenetics is a new science, and while the human genome has been mapped, the human epigenome has not yet been fully deciphered. We don’t really know enough to be able to say, “Do this” and “Don’t do that.” But we do know—thanks to the Swedish chickens and people—that stress and nutrition play major roles in epigenetics.
The best we can do with this new knowledge is actually old wisdom:
- Eat a wide variety of fresh foods and stay away from highly processed foods such as sugar to assure getting enough vitamins and minerals, and also to avoid additives (whether or not additives can influence epigenetics is not known)
- Don’t eat too much
- Get plenty of sleep
- Reduce stress as much as possible
The last point—stress reduction—has a previously unrealized link to weight loss. As we mentioned last week, researchers have discovered that dieting—especially crash dieting—can inhibit weight loss or even cause weight gain. This is because the stress created by dieting triggers the body to produce cortisol. Cortisol is the “fight or flight” hormone, and it can inhibit weight loss in a variety of ways—especially in an individual who is chronically stressed (and may not even be aware of it because “stressed out” feels normal). Cortisol floods the body with glucose, delivering a quick jolt of energy to the large muscles needed for flight. At the same time, cortisol suppresses insulin to prevent glucose from being stored, as the body under stress needs to use that energy immediately. (Remember, all these mechanisms evolved when a threat meant more than being a few pounds overweight; it meant becoming someone’s dinner.)
Elevated cortisol levels can retrieve triglycerides from storage and relocate them to visceral fat cells (those that lie under the muscles deep in the abdomen), causing the fat cells to grow. Cortisol can also stimulate appetite and craving for high-calorie foods. This is because the body’s logic tells it that if you are under threat, you need to keep the calories coming.
So reducing stress can have a positive effect on weight loss, especially if you follow a reasonable regimen aimed at losing weight gradually over a long period of time. Weight lost quickly via crash diets merely triggers the body’s cortisol mechanisms, resulting in the yo-yo weight loss/weight gain cycle we all know so well.
* * * *
Tired of being stressed? Download , the iPhone stress management app:
Share this:
Like this:
Baby Chickens Facts in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in South Yarmouth Massachusetts, including Sussex Chickens, Welsummer Chickens, Turken Chickens and more. Be sure to check out the Bargain Specials, as you can combine different egg layers in smaller amounts and buy as an assortment. South Yarmouth Massachusetts also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in South Yarmouth Massachusetts, bantams for sale, ducks for sale, geese for sale, turkeys for sale, guinea for sale, peafowl for sale, pheasant for sale, chukar partridge for sale, bobwhite for sale, many different breeds of baby chicks for sale in South Yarmouth MA.Baby Chickens Sale in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in South Yarmouth Massachusetts catalog is a yearly traditions in many houses. My kids and I eagerly await the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog. We love looking at all the cool and different chicken breeds available. Catalogs are free so head on over to their site and request one if you are interested.Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
and bantams. Bantams are fun hardy little chickens, they lay tiny eggs
that kids especially love collecting. Bantams typically weigh less than 2
pounds when full grown. Just like ordering anything online there are pros
and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in
South Yarmouth Massachusetts * Big Selection - If you are wanting a large
variety of different chicken breeds and egg colors, you will find the best
selection at an online hatchery. * Both Bantams and full sized chickens
available * You get to choose what sex you want. If you want a mixture of
both male and female then choosing a "straight run" will save you money
and you will get a mixture of male and female chicks. You can also choose
all males or all females too. * Weekly specials. Hatcheries have sales on
chicks, you are likely to get a good deal if you are flexible with the
breeds you are wanting. Cons of buying baby chicks in South Yarmouth
Massachusetts * Order early to get the best selection. Certain breeds sell
out fast, sometimes as early as 6 months in advance of shipping! If you
are wanting a certain breed it's best to order your chicks in the fall
before their orders sell out.
Baby Chicks Order Online in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts
Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in South Yarmouth Massachusetts is easy and has always been a very pleasant experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts Baby chicks are very adorable as well as difficult to stand up to, but it's best to plan for their arrival prior to you obtain them. Prepare first by compiling not just the right products, but likewise the proper expertise to care for them. Raising baby chicks is reasonably basic, you simply need to provide them with the following: A tidy and also warm and comfortable habitat Lots of food and also water Interest as well as love Environment Your habitat could be a basic box, fish tank, feline service provider, or guinea porker cage. Line it with old towels and also blankets (with no loosened strings!) to begin, as well as after a few weeks utilize straw over newspaper. Note: Avoid making use of only newspaper or various other slipper surface areas-- or your chicks legs could grow malformed. You also require something to dish out food and also water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water dish from the feed store, or a pickle jar cover for food as well as a pet bird water dispenser from a pet dog store. Likewise, as the chicks grow older you can introduce a perch right into the environment to get them trained on perching. Heat To keep your chicks heat you should provide them with a warmth source. This could be as basic as a 100 watt light bulb in a reflective clamp style light from an equipment store, or an infrared reptile warmth light bulb likewise work effectively (my referral). Chicks require this warmth 24/7 up until their downy fluff is replaced with plumes (which can occupy to two months). The recently hatched require a temperature in between 90 and also 100 levels, as well as each week this can be reduced by about 5 degrees approximately. The heat source ought to be on simply one side of the cage to permit chicks a variety of temperatures. The chicks are your best thermostat- if they are hiding in the other edge of your warmth light, you need to decrease the temperature. If they are smothering each other under the warmth (not simply cuddling), you need to put some warmth. Home cleaning Tidiness is vital and it maintains your chicks healthy. Make certain to transform the bedding usually as well as constantly provide tidy food and also water Food and also water. Chicks grow very quick which needs lots of clean food as well as water. Supply enough in any way times and inspect often to avoid thirsty and also hungry chicks. Chick food is different compared to adult chicken food, and it is available in both medicated and also non-medicated selections. Feed chick food for the initial 2 months, after that switch to a grower food (~ 17 % healthy protein) for one more 2 months, and afterwards to a slightly lower protein feed or a layer feed (if you have levels). Dirt Some chicks prefer to get a head start on taking dirt baths, while others will not use up that task up until they are older. If you have the space in your chick room, present a tray of sand or dust for them to bathe in. Focus and love There are a few benefits to spending time with your chicks. First of all, they will probably bond with you and also not escape as adults. Second, if you analyze your chicks daily as well as enjoy their habits, you could catch health problem or various other troubles previously. Watch out for hissing, limping, or various other harmful indicators. Be sure to likewise consider their poop, as diarrhea can cause matted feathers as well as clogged up cloaca. Last but not least, it is necessary to keep an eye out for social problems, such as the smallest chick obtaining picked on. Empty nest disorder So your chicks are now fully feathered and its time for them to leave the safety of your home as well as move outside into a coop. Take a look at our area on chicken coops to get more information regarding coops and also proper coop environments.Baby Chicks Supplies Baby Quail Chicks
More Posts
Baby Chickens for Sale in Gill, Massachusetts
Baby Chickens for Sale in Beverly, Massachusetts
Baby Chickens for Sale in Maynard, Massachusetts
Baby Chickens for Sale in Newburyport, Massachusetts
Baby Chickens for Sale in South Carver, Massachusetts