Ra Kenworth

Things have changed a lot since I got my music degree and teaching degree in the mid 80s in Canada.

I didn't have the ability to pursue biology and geology and I was expected to get a degree, so after the first year, I transferred I to a 3 year program which put me almost half finished because I had taken music performance on top of my required credits, requiring 2-3 hours daily practice and keeping me out of trouble, and I took a music education summer evening course while I was working as a teaching assistant, having volunteered as one the previous summer. It was suggested I take the concurrent education that was new and I did.

I never regret that I did this, and had many fun years teaching music.

Now tuition is even expensive in Canada, but I have a friend who worked as a store manager up.north before it's reorganization, and he doesn't have a high school diploma. In his case he asked and I recommended he try to get in to any college program as a mature student, because then he won't need the high school diploma. I suggested he might consider personal support worker, a thankless job but in high demand and some colleges are even offering it free. The main reason would be he wouldn't likely need any upgrading courses. So why spend time doing high school credits when you can at least be employable which is his main concern.

So it depends. If you are new to your country or didn't finish high school and need credentials, yes, get some post secondary  courses. I also told him about all the open university courses available throughout the world, plus Athabasca university offers the option to challenge for credit which is way cheaper (it turned out I was a computer programmer whiz so I took a bunch of credits by reading the text book and writing the exam -- and made some real cash doing that in between music teaching cintracts)

I really don't know if getting into debt is wise though. I went the gert route as soon as I could in my early 40s and have been debt free for 20 years.

I would say every situation is different, but if you think you can handle nursing, that's a great skill that is guaranteed to provide a job in the rat race but also has transferable skills in an alternative lifestyle. That's what my son did, but tuition is as close to free as is possible in Quebec (called CEGEP) and we did it debt free.

Well it's snowing now in the Gatineau mountains, the barrels are all upturned and waiting for next spring and I have a well.
My system is very low tech: about 25 black plastic barrels that came from the Canadian forces that used to contain olives, under the eaves of 1000 sq ft, and a relay system of barrels about 40' apart from those points, all over, additiinal scrounged blue and white barrels and pumped to those locations, no gravity feed. I don't do much watering but all for growing food
My system is still low tech because I don't really have engineering skills, but I do make up for this in enthusiasm.

I hope some of you who haven't seen this film yet get a chance to watch this while it is available today for free.
Edit: You will apparently not have to provide them with an email. It's totally worth watching!.
https://grow.foodrevolution.org/screening/

My power is Hydro Quebec.
They have a reputation but at least the power comes from water gravity, not coal or nuclear. If it was something else, I wouldn't use it.

20 years ago, when I bought my 850sq ft humble abode, yes, small makes the best of any heat source, I replaced the most used baseboards with newer ones -- smaller and more efficient.

I also added house wrap -- house was still black joe.

Soon thereafter, roof job and new insulation.

I recently replaced the stove outlet with a 220v utility heater under the kitchen, and the oven was replaced with my small thrift store $10  110v portable oven, and I use the conduction single unit, which is part of my outdoor summer kitchen equipment, crock pots, and camp stoves for the cast iron etc.

Now I am only going to use the wood furnace if there is a power outage which happens less frequently these days, but I am well equipped for this -- making the best of electric anything I think includes making sure you aren't totally dependent on it!

Interesting new fact for me!
Pigeon chicks don't generate dander if that's the right word, until they are much older. They are born hairless, and if the temperatures are warm, they stay that way for quite a while, with the flight feathers being the priority. So if kept indoors it's not a problem even as they reach the 3-4 week self serve stage (before which they must be hand fed and watered if their parents aren't doing it.)
I tend to keep them in plastic cages which keeps the straw contained.

Maureen Finn wrote:Consider yeast

Excellent point! That would explain why the most chronic back rashes I have seen were on dogs eating high sugar kibble

I have pigeons and I am pretty sure they get the same mites: little little skinny black 3mm lines that wiggle up under the wings especially.
I do everything mentioned already, plus I check youngsters regularly and anyone looking sedentary, and give them a blood temperature water bath dunking in a sink or bucket.
It is crucial to keep the head above water at all times --
Pigeons don't have a coughing reflex.
I give it about five minutes and that drowns the little suckers!
The adults will bathe themselves and couples preen each other, but the young ones vary in their ability to self groom.
Unless it is really hot out, I let them dry off inside a plastic cage beside a heater indoors  otherwise in the sun until they look dry..
If one is lousy, which can happen with young ones on occasion, perhaps 3% max, I will quarantine them, keeping the bedding clean every day and dunking every 2-3 days until they are clear, with healthy poop.

This is a brilliant discussion!
I ordered two books
Veterinary guide for farmers
1975: 9780910990615

Merck Veterinary Manual
1986: 9780911910537

I have recently discovered that almost all dog kibble is baked at temperatures that are too high, and degrade ingredients. The only way around this being freeze dried according to that information.
I have a ton of medium grade chow that my new puppy is getting, along with homemade food, but mainly so I can keep up with his growth, which is good as I am cleaning out freezers! I probably won't buy more.
The old boy is only getting homemade food, lots of raw eggs, and he gets first dibs on baked fish heads and tails,etc before the puppy finishes things off.

My old boy has more energy than he had a couple of months ago, when I started cutting back and finally eliminating kibble over the past few.weeks. He has never had skin issues, but had chronic diarrhea when I adopted him a decade ago being his 4th owner, but probiotics, weeds, peelings, animal fat, raw pig heads, and cows feet, homemade bone meal from healthy meat, and second-broth after some for the humans, cooked with lentils and whatever, cleared his diarrhea in no time. My dog had a stress component though as well and all that settled down quickly but when I was away up north, he wasn't getting daily his freezer care packs of homemade food -- we are still going through all that now. So he was getting pure kibble half time. I gave him one more winter, but he is starting to get playful already! 75-85 lbs and 13 years old.

I have known dogs with skin issues and they all were eating kibble. High sugar being the worst.

I would try picking up red split lentils which cook up as quickly as rice, and get ground fennel for digestive enzymes. Make your own food, and raw eggs, raw, meat buy whole fish and feed the heads, try tapering off the kibble for a while and just see?

I am very curious how things went if you do try this.

PS it is way way cheaper to feed them this way.

What will I be doing with my nettles after making tisane? Chopping them up and throwing in the freezer in rewashed ziplock bags. The nice tender shoots I shall use like spinach for myself, but the rest will go in the dog food over the next few months. Then ditto in Spring!

You can also slow cook your turnip skins, sluggy celery, etc, and save the water and use up whatever you want to cook in the water for yourself, you and the dog, then fine slice the slush and again, care packs for dog food!

I hope this helps
The short list of bad dog foods are grapes and raisins, allium, especially raw onions, chocolate and cocoa.

The Boston Mass PBS series Victory Garden began in 1975, starring James Underwood Crockett and I watched it as a pre teen recent immigrant from my TV in Kingston Ontario, probably coming from Watertown NY, until 1979 when he died. My maternal grandfather had a victory garden but didn't have the time of day for us children. I loved that show, learned so much, and hardly ever missed it and was pretty disoriented when he died. The show went for 35 years. That's how I learned to victory garden.
Most of the rest I learned from permies books and from this website. I have learned sooo much here!