Baby Chickens for Sale in Mapleton Depot, Pennsylvania
Baby Chickens for Sale in Mapleton Depot, Pennsylvania
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.
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Baby Chickens Near Me in Mapleton Depot, Pennsylvania
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Mapleton Depot Pennsylvania, 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. Mapleton Depot Pennsylvania also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in Mapleton Depot Pennsylvania, 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 Mapleton Depot PA.Baby Chickens Eggs in Mapleton Depot, Pennsylvania
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Mapleton Depot Pennsylvania 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
Mapleton Depot Pennsylvania * 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 Mapleton Depot
Pennsylvania * 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 Diet in Mapleton Depot, Pennsylvania
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 Mapleton Depot Pennsylvania 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 Mapleton Depot, Pennsylvania Baby chicks are extremely cute and difficult to withstand, however it's best to plan for their arrival prior to you obtain them. Prepare initially by compiling not just the proper materials, but also the correct expertise to look after them. Raising baby chicks is reasonably basic, you just have to give them with the following: A tidy and cozy environment A lot of food and water Attention as well as love Environment Your environment could be an easy box, fish tank, feline service provider, or guinea porker cage. Line it with old towels and also blankets (with no loosened strings!) to start, as well as after a few weeks make use of straw over newspaper. Keep in mind: Avoid making use of only paper or other slipper surfaces-- or your chicks legs can grow malformed. You likewise need something to provide food and also water in, such as a chicken feeder and water meal from the feed shop, or a pickle container cover for food and an animal bird water dispenser from an animal store. Likewise, as the chicks grow older you can introduce a perch right into the habitat to obtain them trained on setting down. Warmth To maintain your chicks warm you need to give them with a warmth source. This can be as easy as a 100 watt light bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp from an equipment shop, or an infrared reptile heat bulb additionally work very well (my suggestion). Chicks need this heat 24/7 till their downy fluff is replaced with plumes (which could use up to 2 months). The recently hatched out need a temperature level between 90 as well as 100 degrees, and also each week this could be reduced by around 5 levels or so. The heat source should be on just one side of the cage to permit chicks a variety of temperature levels. The chicks are your finest thermometer- if they are hiding in the other corner of your warmth light, you should reduce the temperature. If they are surrounding each various other under the heat (not simply curling up), you should add some warmth. Housekeeping Tidiness is essential as well as it keeps your chicks healthy and balanced. Make sure to transform the bed linen usually and also consistently supply tidy food and also water Food as well as water. Chicks grow very quick which requires lots of clean food and water. Supply sufficient whatsoever times and also examine typically to stop thirsty and also hungry chicks. Chick food is various compared to grown-up chicken food, as well as it can be found in both medicated and also non-medicated selections. Feed chick food for the first 2 months, then switch over to a raiser food (~ 17 % protein) for an additional 2 months, and then to a somewhat lower protein feed or a layer feed (if you have layers). Soil Some chicks want 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 enclosure, introduce a tray of sand or dirt for them to bathe in. Interest and also love There are a couple of benefits to hanging out with your chicks. First off, they will more than likely bond with you and also not flee as grownups. Second, if you examine your chicks daily as well as enjoy their actions, you could catch ailment or various other issues earlier. Watch out for wheezing, hopping, or various other harmful signs. Be sure to likewise take a look at their poop, as looseness of the bowels could bring about matted plumes as well as blocked cloaca. Finally, it is essential to look out for social concerns, such as the littlest chick getting picked on. Empty nest syndrome So your chicks are currently fully feathery and also its time for them to leave the safety of your home as well as relocate outside right into a cage. Have a look at our area on chicken cages to learn more about coops and appropriate cage environments.Baby Chicks Hatchery Baby Chicks Coop
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