Lofty M

I bought 2 silkie (think crossed with bantam) chicks for my kids - 1 is doing well, but the other is smaller and it seems to have trouble with poos. The poos are quite loose and sticky and seem to get caught on its feathers. I realise that bird poos are loose naturally, but it seems a bit different to the other chick. Overnight, and if I am unable to check regularly, the poos harden and stick to the chicken - this makes it difficult and obviously a little stressful for the chick when I try to clean. I am not sure if I am worrying too much (my first time with baby chicks) as it seems to be happy enough otherwise. Is quite a lot smaller than the other chick though - not thriving or just a smaller chick? Should I be worrying? I have been feeding a pullet grower mix with some crushed oats and pumpkin seed - I have also been adding a little bit of seed to the mix. Thanks to anyone who can advise me.

Eeeek!! My son tipped a bottle of liquid hand soap onto our carpet. It is a light coloured carpet and there are dark stains. We have tried using warm water and soaking up with towels which helped only a fraction. Because it is a wool carpet, I was hesitant to use boiling water. As it is in the traffic area of the room, it is picking up dirt and looking really untidy. The soap is now dry.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Eeeek!! My son tipped a bottle of liquid hand soap onto our carpet. It is a light coloured carpet and there are dark stains. We have tried using warm water and soaking up with towels which helped only a fraction. Because it is a wool carpet, I was hesitant to use boiling water. As it is in the traffic area of the room, it is picking up dirt and looking really untidy.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The questions: “What are you doing? What should you be doing? What are you going to do now?” are often associated with William Glasser and Choice Theory. From Glasser’s perspective, what is the purpose of such questions?

How did you celebrate bringing in the New Millenium? My daughter is Ethiopian/Australian and I am interested in finding out how this holiday was celebrated. Thanks for all responses.

Happy New Year (Enkutatash!)

My daughter is from Ethiopia, with softish, fine, reasonably tight curls. I would love for anyone to provide info on any free websites with instructions or own ideas on styles that would suit. I am only a beginner at braids, but can do basic cornrows.

Would like to keep her hair looking great with products that are as natural as possible. Have been using olive oil and Dove brand shampoo and conditioner.

Any advice will be most appreciated.

I am really keen to homeschool both my children. My daughter is 3 and my son is 1 but I am trying to research as much as possible now before we start. I have a problem in that their father is will be graduating as a teacher the year my daughter begins school. Our daughter is adopted from Ethiopia and our son is biological.

I originally considered h'schooling because I know that boys benefit more from beginning formal schooling when they are a little older. After some research, I now want to homeschool both to help provide strong moral (Christian) grounding for both children.

My husband's family are very anti-homeschooling giving the reason that although the children might be ahead academically, they miss out socially. What has other people's experiences been.

I was unsure as to whether to post on adoption forum, but hoping to get some advice from parents who have adopted and are homeschooling on this forum.

Is h/schooling the wrong decision because of my husband's career choice?

This one isn't counted! :)

I have heard that many Chinese clothing manufacturers lace the material in Formaldehyde (Formalin) so the clothes are less likely to crease. Formalin is a poison and the amounts that are being used in the clothing is many times above the safe limit (is there a safe limit?). 5 parts per million causes skin irritation, 20 ppm can lead to cancer and in one New Zealand study, it was found that the levels in some clothing was between 8000ppm and 18000ppm. What other manufacturers use formalin and are there brands that we can feel sure that formalin has not been added? I have also heard that some shampoo companies have formalin in their ingredient list. Is this true? What other poisons do we consume or wear without knowing?