My Experience with Mother Hens and Their Families Essay Example for Free

My Experience with Mother Hens and Their Families Essay The purpose of our sanctuary on the Virginia Eastern Shore is to provide a home for chickens who already exist, rather than adding to the population and thus diminishing our capacity to adopt more birds. For this reason we do not allow our hens to hatch their eggs in the spring and early summer as they would otherwise do, given their association with the roosters in our yard. All of our birds have been adopted from situations of abandonment or abuse, or else they were no longer wanted or able to be cared for by their previous owners. Our two-acre sanctuary is a fenced open yard that shades into tangled wooded areas filled with trees, bushes, vines, undergrowth and the soil chickens love to scratch in all year round. It also includes several smaller fenced enclosures with chicken-wire roofs, each with its own predator-proof house, for chickens who are inclined to fly over fences during chick-hatching season, and thus be vulnerable to the raccoons, foxes, owls, possums and other predators inhabiting the woods and fields around us. I learned the hard way about the vulnerability of chickens to predators. Once, a hen named Eva, who had jumped the fence and been missing for several weeks, reappeared in early June with a brood of eight fluffy chicks. This gave me a chance to observe directly some of the maternal behavior I had read so much about. We had adopted Eva into our sanctuary along with several other hens and a rooster confiscated during a cockfighting raid in Alabama. Watching Eva travel around the yard, outside the sanctuary fence with her tiny brood close behind her, was like watching a family of wild birds whose dark and golden feathers blended perfectly with the woods and foliage they melted in and out of during the day. Periodically, at the edge of the woods, Eva would squat down with her feathers puffed out, and her peeping chicks would all run under her wings for comfort and warmth. A few minutes later, the family was on the move again. Throughout history, hens have been praised for their ability to defend their young from an attacker. I watched Eva do exactly this one day when a large dog wandered in front of the magnolia tree where she and her chicks were foraging. With her wings outspread and curved menacingly toward the dog, she rushed at him over and over, cackling loudly, all the while continuing to push her chicks behind herself with her wings. The dog stood stock still  before the excited mother hen, and soon ambled away, but Eva maintained her aggressive posture of self-defense, her sharp, repetitive cackle and attentive lookout for several minutes after he was gone. Eva’s behavior toward the dog differed radically from her behavior toward me, demonstrating her ability to distinguish between a likely predator and someone she perceived as presenting no dire threat to her and her chicks. She already knew me from the sanctuary yard, and though I had never handled her apart from lifting her out of the crate she’d arrived in from Alabama several months earlier, when I started discreetly stalking her and her family, to get the closest possible view of them, the most she did when she saw me coming was dissolve with her brood into the woods or disappear under the magnolia tree. While she didn’t see me as particularly dangerous, she nevertheless maintained a wary distance that, over time, diminished to where she increasingly brought her brood right up to the sanctuary fence, approaching the front steps of our house, and ever closer to me but not too close just yet. When she and her chicks were out and about, and I called to her, â₠¬Å"Hey, Eva,† she’d quickly look up at me, poised and alert for several seconds, before resuming her occupation. One morning, I looked outside expecting to see the little group in the dewy grass, but they were not there. Knowing that mother raccoons prowled nightly looking for food for their own youngsters in the summer, I sadly surmised they were the likely reason that I never saw my dear Eva and her chicks again. Inside the sanctuary, I broke the no chick-hatching rule just once. Upon returning from a trip of several days, I discovered that Daffodil, a soft white hen with a sweet face and quiet manner, was nestled deep in the corner of her house in a nest she’d pulled together from the straw bedding on the dirt floor. Seeing there were only two eggs under her, and fearing they might contain embryos mature enough to have well-developed nervous systems by then, I left her alone. A few weeks later on a warm day in June, I was scattering fresh straw in the house next to hers, when all of a sudden I heard the tiniest peeps. Thinking a sparrow was caught inside, I ran to  guide the bird out. But those peeps were not from a sparrow; they arose from Daffodil’s corner. Adjusting my eyes, I peered down into the dark place where Daffodil was, and there I beheld the source of the tiny voice a little yellow face with dark bright eyes was peeking out of her feathers. I kneeled down and stared into the face of the chick who looked intently back at me, before it hid itself, then peeked out again. I looked closely into Daffodil’s face as well, knowing from experience that making direct eye contact with chickens is crucial to forming a trusting, friendly relationship with them. If chickens see people only from the standpoint of boots and shoes, and people don’t look them in the eye and talk to them, no bond of friendship will be formed between human and bird. I’ve seen this difference expressed between hens we’ve adopted into our sanctuary from an egg production facility, for example, and chickens brought to us as young birds or as someone’s former pet. Former egg-industry hens tend to look back at me, not with that sharp, bright, direct focus of a fully confident chicken, but with a watchful opacity that no doubt in part reflects their having spent their entire previous lives in cages or on crowded floors in dark, polluted buildings that permanently affected their eyes before coming to our sanctuary. Psychologically, it’s as if they’ve pulled down a little curtain between themselves and human beings that does not prevent friendship but infuses their recovery with a settled strain of fear. I’ll say more about these hens presently. From the very first, a large red rooster named Francis regularly visited Daffodil and her chick in their nesting place, and Daffodil acted happy and content to have him there. Frequently, I found him quietly sitting with her and the little chick, who scrambled around both of them, in and out of their feathers. Though roosters will mate with more than one hen in the flock, a rooster and a hen will also form bonds so strong that they will refuse to mate with anyone else. Could it be that Francis was the father of this chick and that he and Daffodil knew it? He certainly was uniquely and intimately involved with the pair, and it wasn’t as though he was the head of the  flock, the one who oversaw all of the hens and the other roosters and was thus fulfilling his duty in that role. Rather, Francis seemed simply to be a member of this particular family. For the rest of the summer, Daffodil and her chick formed a kind of enchanted circle with an inviolable space all around themselves, as they roamed together in the yard, undisturbed by the other chickens. Not once did I see Francis or any of the other roosters try to mate with Daffodil during the time she was raising her frisky chick the little one I named Daisy who grew up to be Sir Daisy, a large, handsome rooster with white and golden-brown feathers.

Pride, Honor and Survival in The Last Samurai and Hidalgo :: Movie Film Movies Films Essays

Pride, Honor and Survival in The Last Samurai and Hidalgo In the 2004 movie, Hidalgo, the story of how a cowboy and cavalry dispatch rider, billed as the â€Å"world’s greatest endurance rider,† is challenged to compete for pride, honor, and his own survival in a 3,000 mile long race known as the Ocean of Fire. Likewise, the story of The Last Samurai depicts how a civil war era captain is charged with the responsibility of training a â€Å"modern† Japanese military force, and is captured by Samurai warriors in a battle to quell the Samurai rebellion. While he is being held by his captors, he learns the ways of the Samurai and must use his new skills to fight for his, as well as Japan’s pride, honor, and cultural survival. This essay will attempt to draw similarities between Hidalgo and The Last Samurai by examining the individual feats accomplished by the movie’s main characters as well as explain how these seemingly dissimilar movie plots are actually quite similar. The movie Hidalgo tells the story of Frank T. Hopkins, cowboy and cavalry dispatch rider. During his career, Hopkins and his horse Hidalgo have competed in many American endurance races, and Hopkins has become honorably billed as the world’s greatest endurance rider. Riding as a dispatch rider for the cavalry, one of the main character conflicts of the movie unfolds. Frank T. Hopkins, born to a Lakota Indian woman is half Lakota Indian, but has a hard time dealing with this aspect of his heritage. The conflict comes when he rides a dispatch for the U.S. Calvary unknowingly delivering the order to disarm the Lakota Indians, and inadvertently causes the Battle of Wounded Knee, where the Lakota are massacred by the cavalry. Knowing that he delivered the order sealing the fate of his people, Hopkins falls into horrible depression, taking to heavy drinking. Because of his reputation as the ‘world’s greatest endurance rider,’ Hopkins joins Buffalo Bills Wild West Show, and is haunted by the nightmare of the massacre. In an example pride, honor and survival, Hopkins is challenged to overcome his depression and self-pity and enter a race, a 3,000 mile survival race across the Arabian Desert, known as the Ocean of Fire. The Ocean of Fire, held annually for more than a 1,000 years, is an endurance race like no other. Beyond being a race for pride and honor, rider’s survival skills are tested in the 3,000 mile Ocean of Fire.

Marketing and Dove

Pricing Strategy 2. 2. 1Factors affecting pricing decisions (Types of market) The internal factor that affects the pricing decision of Dove is based on marketing strategy, objectives and mix. The Dove Company mostly is working on the market of women’s personal care. Dove has a large range of products from soap to hair shampoo. The company strategy and objective is to have a high level of segmentation to answer to the many needs of the women’s personal care market and to widening stereotype view of beauty in younger generation, pre-teen and teenager girls.Besides, the market mix strategy is the price decisions must be coordinates with product design, distribution, and promotion decisions to form a consistent and effective marketing program. Pricing Strategy of Dove hair shampoo is largely determined by the decisions on Market Positioning of product differentiation. So, Dove has been positioned as a product fulfilling the needs of high end consumer class. Dove Company is constantly upgrading time to time to meet the customer needs, such as Dove Straight & Silky Therapy, Daily Shine Therapy, Dandruff Therapy, and Intense Damage Therapy with the affordable price.In addition, the external factor that affects the pricing decision of Dove is based on the market and demand. Dove Company is under the Monopolistic Competition market because there have a lot of buyers and sellers of differentiated products. Dove Company also is the product differentiation that are selling different product for the same purpose such as Pantene, Sunsilk , Rejoice, and so on. Besides, Dove is also price maker and spends a lot of money in advertisements to convince their customers. Last but not least is the competitor’s strategies and price.The competitors of Dove are Sunsilk, Rejoice, Pantene, L’Oreal and so on. According our survey that doing at Kampar area, the competitors are offering the lower price if compare to Dove. For example, Sunsilk 700ml is offerin g their shampoo product at RM17. 50 and Rejoice is offering at RM21. 50 while Dove is offering the same product at RM25. 90. So, it has been influenced the customers who is price sensitivity. Furthermore, the customer purchasing power, government regulation, economic conditions also becomes the external factor affecting the prices. . 2. 2New Product Pricing Strategy Dove is using the Market Penetration for the New Product Pricing Strategies because they have many competitors like Sunsilk, Pantene, Rejoice and so on to win the market share. When Dove Company introduces the new product to the market, it will set a low initial price in order for the brand to â€Å"penetrate† the market quickly and deeply. For example, when the 10th anniversary, Dove will give the promotion by reducing the price and give them discount and offer the new product sample to give the customer trying.As compare above, Dove is offering a lower price from range RM 18 until RM 22. 50 and same volume compa re (700 ml) to Sunsilk in the shampoo market. For increased market penetration, Dove has launching the ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’ where the representative will move to the market segments and will do free sampling. Dove’s revolutionary campaign was for the firming lotion which features women of all shapes and sizes thus breaking down the stereotypic definition of beauty – tall, thin and being fair.Their ads have created a ripple in the market with their campaign successfully catching the fancy of both the industry and consumers as being something different. Earlier, the ads used celebrities to promote their beauty products. They are also not for the super skinny models. The Dove ads challenge the traditional concept of beauty. This make the customer realize that Dove cares and penetration will be achieved in newly selected market segments.

Quotations from President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln served as Americas 16th President of the United States, during the American Civil War. He was  assassinated soon after beginning his second term as president. Following are quotes from the man many believe to be the most significant president.   On Patriotism and Politics With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nations wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan - to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. Said during the Second Inaugural Address  given on  Saturday, March 4, 1865. What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried? Stated during the Cooper Union Speech made on February 27, 1860.   A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one  thing,  or all the other. Stated in the House Divided speech delivered at the Republican State Convention on June 16,  1858  in Springfield, Illinois.   On Slavery and Racial Equality If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. Stated in a letter to A. G. Hodges written on April, 4, 1864.   [A]mong free men, there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet; and that they who take such appeal are sure to lose their cause, and pay the cost. Written in a letter to James C. Conkling. This was to be read to individuals who attended a rally on September 3, 1863.   As a nation, we began by declaring that all men are created equal. We now practically read it, All men are created equal, except Negroes. When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read, All men are created equal except Negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics. When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some other country where they make no pretense of loving liberty - to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, without the base alloy of hypocrisy. Written in a letter to Joshua Speed on August 24, 1855. Speed and Lincoln had been friends since the 1830s.   On Honesty Truth is generally the best vindication against slander. Stated  in a letter to the Secretary of War Edwin Stanton on July 18, 1864. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the  time; but  you cant fool all of the people all the time. Attributed to Abraham Lincoln. However, there is some question about this.   On Learning [B]ooks serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his arent very new, after all. Recalled by J. E. Gallaher in his book about Lincoln called Best Lincoln Stories: Tersely Told  published in 1898.