Advice request for transition and healing ideas

[Dorothy]

I'm sorry Tyler, what I wrote was probably too long so misunderstood. I said that chickens are meant to eat some grains so won't be hurt like ruminents are from even a small percentage of their diet being grain - and that chickens mostly need protein so would love Zi's meat leftovers that she mentioned and her son could catch or raise them bugs to eat. I also said that the good grain mixtures have a high percentage of fish meal.

My chicken expert friends say that they think chickens in nature would eat at least 50% bugs and other proteins but that it would depend on the time of the year. I find that with my chickens the more protein I give them, the happier they are and the better they lay and the better the eggs. They also need greens. That's why I won't get any more fowl until I have my bug production running smoothly enough and the spring when the grasses are growing and the yard is filled with bugs. But if Zi has meat leftovers and bugs she could get some proper high protein (no soy or gmo) chicken food and would be good to go. Her son could even grow them wheatgrass for their greens if there are none in the yard. It would be such a fun project for a young boy like her son I would think. I was saying that if he uses a good mix as a base but takes into consideration the chickens' other needs he wouldn't be disappointed or get sick from the eggs.

And another thought........ maybe if he sees the chickens eating the bugs he raises and catches, maybe he might eventually try them too! The boy seems to really need some good proteins and fats and maybe he might get used to the idea of eating bugs if he feeds them to his chickens.

[RawZi]

    Son may eat the bugs, that's what he has said, that he might.  I think he's leaning more toward that then him actually eating the eggs, so far.  He mentioned it again yesterday, perhaps half jokingly.

[Dorothy]

Oh - that's really good Zi! It might be worth getting the birds and raising the bugs just to have them there for your son so he can try it without any pressure if he so happens to want to one day. That could make all the difference for him.

From what people tell me (and lizards tell me - hee hee) superworms and crickets are some of the tastiest of bugs and both are fairly straight-forward to raise. You used to have a cricket I remember right? One that lived like a million years!

[RawZi]

    Took great care of that cricket, offering at least four different kinds of fresh nice organic fruit and veges every day.  Kept in a glass tank with pulled grass bedding.  Lived about six months, if I remember right.  We had plenty more, but that one was obviously special.  Always stood out near/amongst the rest of them.

    Sounds good.  The chickens can be available, eggs available, and not being pushed to produce, as only eaten from when we need.  I'm paying as much attention as I can to slaughtering too, so I'll be able to do it in a compassionate way when I start that part.  We've lived with chickens before too, didn't eat any then, no one ate them, more like a hobby farm.  He was great at catching them and "hypnotizing" them (calming them intentionally and gently).  They did eat some corn.  He helped feed them that every day.  He wasn't a whole lot bigger than them then more or less, possibly less than ten times their weight, and they were a small variety that were good at flying.

[Dorothy]

You and your son probably know more about chicken raising than I do! 
I know that I will never be able to eat my chickens so don't be too surprised (if he loves animals that much and they become pets) if your son won't eat them either or get really upset if you want to. You will still have the eggs and the bugs/worms though for him available whenever and if ever! Don't forget to make sure to get pullets not quite yet producing so as to have the longest period you can of production. There are some breeds that don't produce as much but produce longer. If you and the rest of the family/pets don't eat many eggs that's probably best as it's always a good idea to get at least 3 chickens in case something happens to one the remaining one won't be messed up. They are such social animals.

How many chickens did you have and what size is your yard?

I'd love to see your son hypnotizing a flighty chicken!

[PaleoPhil]

    He is sick Phil. He makes raw butter and acquires fresh fantastic milk and more. That has really helped. I hope becoming a hunter gatherer helps him. He's sick like I said in the previous post and we live in a filthy part of a major city that has traffic every hour of the week. As soon as we can we'll live somewhere he can get live animals besides stray cats, rather than buy our meat. Hopefully then we can make a hunter gatherer environment, rather than me waking to him being yelled at in the middle of the night. In the meantime, he is not well enough to go on hunting trips yet.

Yes, I understood that he is sick but I have no idea what the rest of your post means, so I'll just leave it at that and wish you luck.

[RawZi]

I know that I will never be able to eat my chickens so don't be too surprised (if he loves animals that much and they become pets) if your son won't eat them either or get really upset if you want to. ...How many chickens did you have and what size is your yard?

    He told me today he wants to raise a few (dairy) goats, and if they have twins, he plans to sell them as pets or to be dairy goats, and will not let me eat them.

    We didn't own the property, but we were the people who lived there, so we didn't own the chickens.  I would say there were about thirty.  It was on three acres, and there were lots of juicy bugs and lizards to eat etc.  Presently my back yard is maybe six feet by twelve feet.  The front yard has no fence.  It's maybe twenty-four by twelve feet.  I believe it turns out to be completely illegal to have a chicken here.

[RawZi]

Yes, I understood that he is sick but I have no idea what the rest of your post means, so I'll just leave it at that and wish you luck.

    Sorry if my post was defensive or sarcastic in any way.  Internet has its limits.  It can't fully replace the tribe, wish as I may that it can.  As it stands, he really deserves to choose what he chooses, he's a person who feels the deepest need to make his own decisions, although he does take into consideration what I know etc ... I hope he's ready and willing to post himself.  Until then, I prefer to post for me, and only post for him when it's his idea.  Thank you for the good wishes!  I will convey them.

[PaleoPhil]

Maybe it'll help to explain dat I was raised in the olde school. Me parents felt I deserved to choose what they pleased and if I felt the deepest need to make me own decisions it would have been out to the cats I'd have been thrown. The new wave of kids doin' what they please is incomprehensible to me, try as ye may to explain it. Please forgive my backwardness and thickheadedness.

I do understand that hunter-gatherers give their children freer reign, but then there are fewer bad foods and other problems for them to deal with, or at least there were.

[RawZi]

    By the way, I love that part of the video you posted where that little boy looovvved the taste of the half grown duck egg.

Maybe it'll help to explain dat I was raised in the olde school. Me parents felt I deserved to choose what they pleased and if I felt the deepest need to make me own decisions it would have been out to the cats I'd have been thrown. The new wave of kids doin' what they please is incomprehensible to me, try as ye may to explain it. Please forgive my backwardness and thickheadedness.

    I had no choice either.  My parents chose what I ate and if I ate.  I don't know how many children you have, but they can have very individual personalities etc.  This one has to have choices.  I know we might all feel better with choices, but some have a spirit like that way more than others. 

I do understand that hunter-gatherers give their children freer reign, but then there are fewer bad foods and other problems for them to deal with, or at least there were.

    This is a second marriage ... before I only kept healthy foods around, had son's friends over all the time who loved my food ... and I made as balanced natural meal as possible at regular times.  This time I'm with a great guy who loves a different lifestyle and more importantly is very strong in it and resistant to everything to the end (constant noise of many sorts at one time and lots of the fakest foods possible etc etc).  Son realizes now that my partner's food choices are almost as unhealthy as humanly possible, but son is way past a lot of things.  He is concerned his step dad may get sick/incapacitated from the tons junk-food he buys every day.  If you want and son wants, talk with him.  Maybe you can understand if explained, maybe not.  But it would be up to him to do it if he wants.

[PaleoPhil]

I don't have children, but I have nephews. I have Paleo nephews and junk food nephews, so I see both sides of the coin and the difference is mainly in what foods the parents have in the house. The earlier the children are started on Paleo, the easier it is, the later, the harder. One of my Paleo nephews once asked for "more broccoli, please," which is the only time in my life I've ever heard that request.  The Inuit advise to make sure to give your children organs before they reach eight years of age. They believe it becomes impossible to get them to eat organs after that. It's not impossible, but difficult.

[RawZi]

One of my Paleo nephews once asked for "more broccoli, please," which is the only time in my life I've ever heard that request.  The Inuit advise to make sure to give your children organs before they reach eight years of age. They believe it becomes impossible to get them to eat organs after that.

    Son in question always liked all the vegetables and fruit and grains etc, other parents asked me how I got him to eat them, but he just liked those foods.  He doesn't like certain spices.  The only candy he really had before age of eight was spoons of molasses or one ingredient peanut butter, unless you count a package of prunes and their seeds.  Organs though, that's a problem.  I hope that's not true.  I would like him to start eating liver.  I ate organs before eight.  Maybe therein lies the problem.

    He can't eat many foods now, he gets too much reaction, no more grain and few vegetables.  It bothers him somewhat, as he would like to eat them, especially because he only feels somewhat healthy now if he doesn't eat veges cooked.

    My partner used to hunt, but discard all the organs.  On the hunting trips he ate his snack foods, chips and such.  Brought the meat all home for steaks only, from what he tells me.  I doubt he ate even a bite of organ in his life. He would not touch many veges before we were heavily involved, unless they were canned and then heavily spiced with normal north american spices (onion garlic peppers salt pepper etc) fried etc.  At least he less often touches canned and frozen now.  He appreciates that fresh is healthier now.

    I grew up eating vegetables from fresh, with only salt for seasoning on them if I chose at dinnertime at the dinner table.

[Dorothy]

Looks like it's not only a D3 problem for hubbie (or maybe his levels aren't up there yet). Yesterday was a really bad day. His blood sugar went too far down, his pulse went really low as did his blood pressure and his temperature was low. I was able to bring him out of it with my little box of herbal tricks - but....... it was scary as hell. 

We came to an agreement to give my food ideas a real trial. He's going to not eat any grains, any cooked tubers or squashes (too much carbohydrates) and really give this raw paleo thing a try. I'll eat whatever I have to as long as I have to to be a support to him as long as what I'm eating doesn't get me too weak or sick to be able to help him.

So this morning we had my "pie crust" which is soaked nuts and seeds of all kinds dehydrated, put into my food processor and then dates, water, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon added. On top of this berries including black, goji, blue, straw and raspberries. We had a few grapes later on.

Right before lunch there will be a carrot-based juice and then hamburger meat with egg yolk on it - his might be lightly cooked if he's not yet up to eating enough quantity of fully raw. He likes to put cumin and other Indian seasonings into the meat. It does taste good.

Then for dinner we will have salad and raw fish with avocado and sauce and some of my raw veggie soup.

We need to go out and get some marrow.

He said that he would continue in this vain for awhile and give it a good shot.

I now muscle test before taking any supplement or eating anything at all.

Fingers crossed!

[Dorothy]

Does anyone here have any experience or knowledge of shark liver oil?

[Dorothy]

Not one soul here has tried Shark Oil?!

Hubbies allergies are better but it is unclear what might be helping - even that we got some rain - probably a combination - but.........

my premonitions of things to come for him have changed. Dreams, visions, feelings - all have stopped.

I am pretty sure this is because of the vitamin d3. I think we're going to be ok now.

The allergies - well - worse come to worse we'll move to Hawaii.

[PaleoPhil]

Not me, sorry.

[RawZi]

Not one soul here has tried Shark Oil?!..

my premonitions of things to come for him have changed. Dreams, visions, feelings - all have stopped.
..

The allergies - well - worse come to worse we'll move to Hawaii.

    I saw it in the stores over twenty years ago.  I was vegan so I didn't even look at the price, which I probably would have had a trying time paying for anyway.  Sharks are amazing animals.  Should be good.  I heard alligator or crock blood to be fantastic too.  I'm not into snake oil though, so Idk.  Said son may.  He seems to know everything about nutritional stuff, even though he eats "ethically" instead, like I was, fearing the meat, but not for parasites but for the soul or something.  I'll ask him if he knows about shark oil tonight.

    If you want a computer or lots of clothes in HI you may need climate control, watch out!  They'll grow staining mold, if it rains all day every day hard. Does be have mold allergies?

[Dorothy]

    I saw it in the stores over twenty years ago.  I was vegan so I didn't even look at the price, which I probably would have had a trying time paying for anyway.  Sharks are amazing animals.  Should be good.  I heard alligator or crock blood to be fantastic too.  I'm not into snake oil though, so Idk.  Said son may.  He seems to know everything about nutritional stuff, even though he eats "ethically" instead, like I was, fearing the meat, but not for parasites but for the soul or something.  I'll ask him if he knows about shark oil tonight.

    If you want a computer or lots of clothes in HI you may need climate control, watch out!  They'll grow staining mold, if it rains all day every day hard. Does be have mold allergies?

Thanks Zi for asking your son for me. I've been doing some research - but you know how it is - sometimes best to ask some folks that you trust if they tried it. I look forward to hearing what he has to say.

Hubbie does have mold allergies and in Florida we had to keep the ac on to keep everything from turning to mold and rusting faster than you can blink. The mold problems have been much worse here in Texas than in Florida actually.  It might be exactly the same in Hawaii - BUT - he had no allergies in Florida except the dreaded red tide which made everyone deathly ill when it came in. He then could spend more time outdoors at least. But in Florida I had a florida room we ate every meal in and I got to spend at least 8 hours a day outside. I could have at least some part of a house in Hawaii where we could live a lot of the time without ac - maybe even sleep outside sometimes.

But the idea of moving is a last resort - lots of stress - many problems involved. It would be massively better just to heal the guy up instead .... if we can.

He's making his own raw meat foods and sauces - which is a gigantic step. Yesterday he made his hamburger much more raw than I had seen him do before (barely cooked at all) and he's really into putting egg yolks on top instead of using bread (making sandwiches) now. He's still eating cooked vegetables - but that's ok. I think I can figure out ways to sway him to raw vegetables because I'm used to making raw vegetables taste good - if that's even what is best - I don't know. It might be best to just let him get used to eating more and more raw meat and fish and continue to concentrate on expanding that repertoire. It really does seem to do him good. I've been making him juices, which seem to be a good addition - as long as they aren't over-done.

[RawZi]

the dreaded red tide which made everyone deathly ill when it came in.

    Sounds like the Nile turning to blood.

[RawZi]

He's making his own raw meat foods and sauces - which is a gigantic step.

    I hope mine next.  I'm a bit worried at the moment.  I'd love to see a man preparing to eat good raw meats anyway.  Good health is so integral.

[PaleoPhil]

Is the shark oil heated and refined? If so, I'll stick with raw fermented cod liver oil and raw wild seafood.

[Dorothy]

    Sounds like the Nile turning to blood.

It's a red colored algae that doesn't turn the water colors - but can turn your face colors! It moves in every once in a while and if you live on or near the ocean - nasty. No one tells you about THAT before moving there!

[Dorothy]

    I hope mine next.  I'm a bit worried at the moment.  I'd love to see a man preparing to eat good raw meats anyway.  Good health is so integral.

Worried about your man too? Sometimes it takes an extreme situation.

It isn't hurting that the feature article in his gym's magazine that he respects was on the paleo diet and that there was a big article on paleo in the Austin Statesman - both read yesterday!

Raw paleo was given a quick mention as part of it he said.

[Dorothy]

Is the shark oil heated and refined? If so, I'll stick with raw fermented cod liver oil and raw wild seafood.

This was a really big point you made here Phil! Looks like shark oil, although filled with things that can help with Hubbie's neck, also is filled with heavy metals and toxins that need to be removed and I wasn't able to find any with those removed and still raw.

Never mind.

Thanks Phil.

[PaleoPhil]

What was the magazine with the Paleo diet article?

I found the Austin Stateman article: http://www.austin360.com/food-drink/dining-at-home/adherents-to-paleo-diet-find-weight-loss-success-1956973.html