REVIEW: HydroPet Watering Bowl -and a little surprise ending for my Chicken Peeps

It's been a while since I've done a product review, but it's also been a while since I was offered a product that I felt I could actually use.  I was asked by HydroPet if I would give their product a try and share my honest opinions of their product with my readers.  I'm so glad I did because I really like this product.

The product is called HydroPet, its an automatic pet water bowl that refills with fresh clean water.  In addition to being a chicken keeper I run a dog boarding facility -I know you are probably thinking that the two go together like oil and water.  Actually, most of the dog guests find the chickens to be quite entertaining and will spend as much time as they can watching every movement of my hens through the fence.  We keep our dogs and chickens each physically separated behind a sequence of sturdy fences.

In our dog areas I keep several buckets and large bowls of water for the dogs to always have access to fresh water while they play...or study chicken behavior.  This requires that I hook up the hose several times a day to empty, rinse and refill the buckets and bowls.  It's amazing how much 'stuff' manages to get in the water dishes from the dogs drinking out of them.  For this reason, when HydroPet contacted me about testing their product I jumped at the chance.

The HydroPet bowl holds as much water as my buckets, but it does the rinsing and refilling job for me, leaving me more time to play with the dogs.  Unlike auto fill floats that sit in a bucket and keep the water at a certain level (I have used them before) with the HydroPet the water level goes down because the dogs drink the water, and the automatic timer (set to how ever often I may need the bowl refilled) will come on, spray water from three points inside the bowl that rinses out the inside and flushes the debris as it refills the bowl with fresh cool water.

There is no complicated installation.  I was able to have it up and running in less then 30 minutes, even with 4 curious dogs trying to help me.  There are three methods of installation depending on your particular application.  They are the 'hose bib connection', the 'sprinkler system connection' or the 'drip system connection' methods. Here is a short video from HydroPet that goes over the three installation methods.

I used the 'hose bib connection' method, it was super easy, but I do have a few tips no matter which method you use. First, have someone else occupy your helpful pets, my four dogs were so curious about what I was working on that it made it a bit of a challenge to do the installation, especially when one of them carried off the little bag of parts.  I spent about 10 minutes looking for the parts before I realized that my big girl had stashed them under the patio chair.  Another tip is to flush your hose out with water before you install the bowl.  My hose apparently had some debris in it, which quickly blocked the tiny wire mesh filter in the adapter and caused the water flow to slow to a trickle.

At first I thought, "Wow, this thing really sucks, there is no way its going to flush out floating debris in the bowl if it only trickles out."  I disconnected the hose adapter and cleaned off the filter screen (see pic above), ran water through my hose a moment then hooked it back up and Bang! Nice spraying flow of water that definitely had enough force (even with our low pressure water lines) to thoroughly clean out the junk my dogs deposited into the bowl.

Below is a video I made showing how quickly it refills.  Note that our water pressure is not real high but there is still plenty of spraying power to clean out the bowl.  Also note that I did not have the bowl sitting on level ground so as the water level filled, two of the jets were underwater.  They were still spraying, you just cannot see it.  The bowl has an overflow area where water is suppose to flow out when the bowl fills up.  This helps to wash out debris and if the bowl is placed in the flower bed the overflowing water will water your plants.  The amount of water that flows out will depend on how long you set the timer to run.  I sat mine for 3 minutes.  As you can see in this video, the bowl was full at about 2-1/2 minutes so the remaining 30 seconds cleans out the bowl and would water the flower bed, but not so much that it creates a soggy mess around the bowl.

You can purchase the HydroPet bowl by visiting their website HERE.  As you will see there are a few different package bundles.  Mine was the HydroPet Deluxe Bundle w/Timer.  It sells for $67.50. You can get it without the automatic timer for just $34.95 and fill it yourself manually, or if installing it with an existing drip or sprinkler system. This is what came in my package:

Now, my fellow chicken-peeps are probably thinking, "Anna, why are you doing a review for a dog product?"  Well I will let you in on a little secret...HydroPet has a new addition to this product coming out this summer and it is specifically for us Chicken People!

It's the Chicken Hood...

I hope to be able to bring you an updated review this summer, I know I really want one for my chicks!  HydroPet said the Chicken Hood will be priced at about $24-26 each and of course will be available in a bundle with the HydroPet Bowl as well.  Here is a video about this exciting addition to the HydroPet bowl.

As if you needed any additional reason to love the HydroPet, here are a couple more...the bowl is BPA Free and Made In America!


Disclosure:  First, I want to thank HydroPet for allowing me to try your awesome product, my dogs love it, and I hope to try your Chicken Hood later this summer.  If you read through my previous reviews you will see that I give honest reviews -even at the detriment of the company that sends me a product that is not good.  I received a product for free for testing but I was not paid for my opinion, nor was I told what I should say to my readers.  The opinions expressed here are 100% mine.

Quick and Painless Paper Shredding

I have OsteoArthritis in my hands and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in my wrists so I have limitations to what and how much intricate work I can do with my hands.  Cutting with scissors is one of the things that I especially have to limit or I will be in pain for days afterwards.  This makes my job as a dog groomer difficult.  It also makes shredding papers for my compost extremely difficult without risking causing so much pain in my hands & wrists that I can't work the next day.

So I came up with this hack to help me make great use of those super long rolls of paper that get stuffed into my mail order packages.  This one was at least 50 feet long.

If I were to take my scissors to this length of paper or attempt to hand shred it I would not be able to function for at least a few days afterwards.  So I used this old paper cutter that I bought at a yard sale for about $2 and I flattened out the paper strip, worked it through the cutter and quickly had it sliced up into nice narrow strips in approximately 17 minutes!

The finished product is a huge box (about 3' x 2.5') half filled with paper strips ready for my compost bin.  My worms will love some of this as well.  It makes great covering for the top of the worm bin that will get eaten up by the worms as they work away at the kitchen waste.

Even if you don't have OA or Carpal Tunnel this hack will make quick work of that LONG roll of brown paper that you receive with your next mail order package.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope this post is helpful to you!

Incubation: Day 7

Seven days ago I sat 24 eggs in my incubator.  They are a variety of surprises, I have no idea what breeds are included in this batch.  I just ask the lady who sells eggs locally if she could give me two dozen eggs, a mix of colors and sizes so I get a nice variety.  She knew that some of her hens were laying fertile eggs but she couldn't guarantee how many.  I was willing to take the risk.

Today is day 7 so I candled my 24 eggs and found that 19 of them have active little baby chick embryos inside! Yay!  One green egg was so dark that I couldn't see anything inside other then the air pocket so I marked the outline with a pencil and I will check it for any changes at day 10 and 14 if needed.

Later this week I will try to share the brooder I'm building from an old portable crib that, due to a change in federal laws several years ago, isn't legal for human use any more. I am hoping it will be a portable home for my chicks until they are feathered out enough to go outdoors...to the new coop that we haven't built yet.  Can you tell we work best under pressure? Ha ha!

We are setting down new roots

We've moved from the high desert to the tall pines of Arizona.  I gave away my flock and sold my coop because I didn't know for sure where we were going to land or how long we might be there.  It took us over a year, but we are now settled in on 5 acres and I'm ready to start a new flock.

I'm getting two doz hopefully-fertile eggs tomorrow that I will set in my incubator to start my new flock.   While they are growing-out indoors the hubby will build me a new coop.

I'm already planning my garden area for this spring and a green house to help us continue to grow throughout the cold winters we have here in our new home.  After living in the high desert, learning how to keep my hens from overheating in the summer, now I get to learn to keep them from becoming pop cycles in the winter.  I'm looking forward to my new journey!

My Egg Customers Are the Sweetest of Peeps

My egg customers are the sweetest of peeps.  Just look at the sweet gifts I have been given recently when folks came to purchase their fresh eggs from me & my 'girls'.

This beautiful ceramic tile with a colorful Rooster designed with a cowboy & bandana theme and the words "Western Omlete" came from Louise, a sweet lady who always slips me an extra dollar when she pays me for my eggs.   I keep telling her that she gave me too much money, but she refuses to take the money back, saying that the eggs are so delicious that its worth that much and more.  Last time she picked up her eggs she gave me this lovely gift.

Another super sweet lady, named Helen, always returns her empty cartons, but they are never empty...she always puts jelly beans in the carton.  Today she handed me the carton but there was no familiar rattling noise, and I noticed the carton was not completely closed.  Inside I discovered this cute little Chicken...that was hand made my someone from clay, then hand painted.  It is so cute, and because it is a cone shape I am calling it my 'ChickCone' and I'm proudly displaying it with my other fun Chicken knick-knacks.

When you have chickens...you meet the sweetest peeps!

Keeper of 1 husband, 3 dogs,

3 cats, and 16 Chickens!

 

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Agressive Javelina's Charging At My Dogs Through the Fence -Video

Here in Arizona you are familiar with the nasty critters to watch out for and avoid such as rattle snakes and scorpions.  Another critter that we try to avoid is the Javelina, but in all my years of living here I didn't really consider them an extreme threat.  I have had them come right up to us to get a treat like a tossed strawberry (or stale cheerios in the case of my grandkids). I watch them each morning and evening as they make their way west then east in their daily travels.

Credit: Photo courtesy of the Arizona Daily Star

When I go out to my chicken run I sometimes find a group of Javelina's hanging out in the yard between the back door and the chicken run, but they will usually scatter as soon as they see and hear me coming.  The only time I hesitate approaching them is when they have new babies in their group.  They get very protective when they have little ones with them.  But even then, I have never had them get really aggressive with me, they just tend to stand their ground and expect me to give them extra time to disperse with their babies.

However this morning I was caught off guard by their aggression.  I looked through the window of the door before letting my dogs out into the fenced back patio and saw the Javelina's wondering around the backyard outside the fenced in area.  I opened the door and let the dogs out.  As is usual, the small dogs run to the fence barking frantically at the Javelina's and typically the Javelina's will scatter.  But today they did not.  They took a few steps away, then turned right around and came back towards the fence.  My puppy (8 mo old Rottweiler/SharPei) ran towards them but didn't bark, she wanted to play with them.  She jumped towards them and lowered her upper body like she does to instigate the dogs or cat to romp and play with her.  The Javelina's jumped towards her with their hock hair standing erect, huffing and snorting, clacking their sharp tusks in chomping motion as a threat to her.  Miss Hollywood was oblivious to any threat.

This was totally unusual behavior from what I have seen by Javelina's in my nearly 2 decades living here in Arizona.  I grabbed my video camera to record this because no one was home and I figured no one would believe they were acting so hostile this morning.  There were no babies in this group.  They all appeared to be full grown adults, perhaps they were all males so that sparked it. 

Watch (and listen to) the video below to see how they not only charged at Miss Hollywood, but also at my Boston Terrier Pickle as well.  One even tried to nip at Pickle through the fence (3/4 of the way through the video).  Note, Pickle only has one eye, so she has issues with depth perception...I don't think she thought the Javelina was that close.  There were about 5 or 6 of them circling around the fenced area.  They did not even seem to notice me, a human, standing right there video taping them.  -Scary! 

 

Keeper of 1 husband, 3 dogs,

3 cats, and 16 Chickens!

 

 .

Surprising Update On My Last Season Volunteer Tomato Plant

I told you recently about my little late season volunteer tomato I discovered just shy of one month ago.

Today I wanted to give you an update on his progress...because he continues to progress in spite of lots of things working against him.  The first thing working against him is the fact that it is now October -I would have already cleared the plants from this summers garden out by this time.  But this little guy is a survivor and really wants to continue to grow.

That was proven just last week when we had our last heavy rain of the summer monsoon season, and I made the mistake of sitting this Alaska Grow Bucket too near my rain water collection barrel.  I don't have an overflow system on this collection barrel, so when the heavy rains filled the barrel to the top, the rest poured over the edge and into the Alaska Grow Bucket with such force that it washed the soil out of the bucket, leaving the tomato plants completely uprooted.  I thought, "Well, that's it for this little guy." But I couldn't just let it die that easily, so I pulled some of the soil out of another bucket that wasn't used, and tried to gently place the soil around the roots of the tomato plant and filled the bucket back up to the top.

A few days later I checked on the tomato plant and it was doing just fine...it was standing tall, with strong stalk and stems, and no limpy leaves even.  And guess what?  It now had four little flowers.  Since it is way so late in the year there's was no hope of any bee's coming along to pollinate it, so I hand-pollinated it myself.  See instructions here on how to do that, it's really easy.

I wasn't optimistic that these flowers would actually become tomatoes, but this little plant wasn't giving up, so how could I?   Two days later I was checking its water level and look what I found?  Look closely there (see the pink arrow) and you will see a tiny little tomato bud right behind that drying flower...it is growing!!!

[Volunteer Tomato plant blooming, pollinated flower growing a tomato. Plant is now 27-30 days old.]

Here is what the whole plant looks like now.  He is just thriving so nicely!

[My volunteer tomato at 27-30 days old.]

Keeper of 1 husband, 3 dogs,

3 cats, and 16 Chickens!

 

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Molting Season...I'm Collecting More Feathers Then Eggs These Days

[Goldie (Buff Orpington) in molt, new feathers coming in and old ones falling out.]

With the days growing shorter and the girls all over 1 year old, its raining feathers around here.  I could seriously stuff some big pillows, but they would be a little pokey.  The girls look just awful...talk about your worst hair day!  This is our first molting since the girls are so young.  Thank goodness I've studied up on chicken keeping because I didn't remember it being this bad when I was a kid.  Of course as a kid I probably just had fun catching the feathers blowing all around.

Just look at these girls...awful!

[Barbara (Barred Rock in center), Buffy (Buff Orpington in back), Snowball's butt (White Rock)]

Talk about bad hair day...look at Barbara with feathers falling off of her everywhere. Her head is looking so much nicer as the new feathers come in.

[Barbara (Barred Rock). See the loose feathers everywhere?]

Buffy is nearing the end of molting with just her butt bare, but with new feathers sprouting there...

[Buffy's finally down to mostly just the butt area in full molt.]

If you look closely at Goldies butt...yeah I know you probably don't want to but look anyway...she has a bunch of new tiny feathers poking out all over.  

[Goldie has a bunch of new feathers poking out of her bare rear-end.]

My poor girls are still laying, but they have slowed way down.  I swear I find more feathers then eggs in the nest boxes every day.  I just keep picking them out when I collect their eggs.

[Egg production down, feather production up!]

To help the girls ease through this phase without completely depleting them nutritionally, I have upped their protein.  We are still getting about 6-8 eggs a day from my 16 girls, so I can't complain.  The neighbor down the hill from us isn't getting any, his chickens just stopped laying all together.

I've had to put a halt on selling eggs to anyone other than my long time regulars, because there aren't many left after we have our breakfast.  Just this morning I was short an egg for breakfast so I had to go out and steal one hot off the presses, the bloom was barely dry when I grabbed it.  Talk about Fresh!!

As I said, I've upped their protein by adding some dried split peas or wheat berries to their fermented feed.  They also get some dried meal worms in the afternoon, and of course they get to come out and hunt down whats left of the grasshoppers and other critters before they go to bed for the night.  How are you helping your girls make it through the molting season?

Keeper of 1 husband, 3 dogs,

3 cats, and 16 Chickens!

 

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Chicken Lady's Pick of FREE eBooks! (9/30/14)

Just a short list today...some days I find a goldmine of treasures, and some days not so much.  The first book in the list today is one that I previously featured, that was loved by its readers, so when the author let me know that it was going to be available for FREE for only one day on Wednesday, October 1st I thought I needed to include it again...just in case you missed it before, you now have a second chance to get it for FREE!  So here we go...today's list of the Chicken Lady's Pick of FREE eBooks, enjoy!

If you are new to this series, each Tuesday & Saturday I will be posting the Chicken Lady's Pick of FREE eBooks!  I will include books that I am personally purchasing, in my favorite genre's like non-fiction, books based on a true story, or fiction that seems non-fiction, self-help, autobiographies, true-crime, cook books sometimes, and children's books.  I will also be including some books that are not necessarily my kind of books, like sci-fi, romance novels, and books about sports, as long as they have very high reviews on Amazon.  Sometimes I will include books that are not free to all, but will be Free for you if you have a KindleUnlimited subscription. [Learn more about it & get a Free 30 day trial here.] Please leave me a comment if you like this series of posts as it will encourage me to continue bringing you a new list of FREE eBooks twice each week!

You don't have to have an Amazon Kindle to Read Kindle eBooks.

Here are today's 'Chicken Lady's Pick of FREE eBooks'

[*BEFORE PURCHASING* Please look at the price of the book before you purchase it.  These books were listed as $0.00 at the time of this post, but this is usually a short term promotion and then they go back to the full price.] 

This book will be available for FREE on Amazon for one day only, on Wednesday, October 1, 2104. 

This story is told from the perspective of Cheryl, the oldest of seven siblings.  There are glimpses into the heart and soul of each of the other children as they experienced unimaginable abuse and pain throughout their childhoods.

This book is a message of hope and unexpected joys as you experience the journey with Cheryl as she discovers the road to freedom through the Power of Forgiveness. Cheryl learned to forgive her abusers and her past, and it opened up opportunities for her life to change. In speaking and sharing all over the United States and in other countries, for so many years, her story has powerfully impacted thousands of other hurting people all over the world.

Cheryl's bold message that she so eloquently conveys to the reader is that they must not remain just victims, or survivors - they can become healers of themselves and others, just as she has done. The book resonates with the colors of triumph, courage and life-sustaining caring for others.

** This book is also available for Free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. Learn more

~~~~~~~

Ex-cop Frank Harper doesn't want to get involved. Harper is visiting the small Ohio town of Cooper's Mill, trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter and a grandson he's never met. But he finds the town gripped in fear-two young girls have gone missing, taken in broad daylight from a busy street. And the police are coming up blank. But once Harper is drawn reluctantly into the investigation, he'll stop at nothing to find the girls. And he doesn't care who gets in the way.

** This book is also available for Free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. Learn more

~~~~~~~

You will learn everything about Sprouting that will get you started and excited about creating your own Superfood that is super healthy for you and much cheaper and healthier than buying in the store.

Sprouts are crunchy and flavorful additions to any diet, rich in natural sources of proteins, vitamins, enzymes and minerals; they add a healthy punch to sandwiches, salads and stir-fry dishes. You can easily buy sprouts in many grocery stores and whole foods stores, but it is so easy to grow your own sprouts at home, plus you can control the amount you need and also experiment with different sprouting seeds and beans for a wider variety to choose from.

** This book is also available for Free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. Learn more

NOTE ABOUT KINDLES & AMAZON: By the way, you do not need a Kindle device to read Kindle books, you can download the Kindle app to your Laptop, Desktop, Smartphone, iPad and just about any smart devices.  You will need an Amazon account to purchase the free books.  Sign-up is super easy if you don't already have one.  To get a Free book you have to go through the purchase process even though the price is $0.00.  You will need a method of payment on file with Amazon, but they will not charge your card to 'purchase' a free ebook. 

*This was an unpaid, unsolicited post about the products shown above that I have purchased myself.  Neither the authors nor the publishers have asked me to include their books in this post.  The first image in this post today is courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.  I have included Affiliate links in this post, please see my Full Disclosure here.

Keeper of 1 husband, 3 dogs, 
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 .

Discovery of a Volunteer Tomato Plant in my Empty Alaska Grow Bucket

For my 2014 growing season, the plan was to experiment with Alaska Grow Buckets as my garden.  I like trying different methods to see if one might work better than the one I am currently using.   But my timing was out of whack because I was scheduled to have hip surgery right about the time I would have been planting my seeds indoors.  So I wouldn't have my own seedlings this year, but I planned to buy some seedlings at the local nursery when the time came to plant outdoors.  I did prepared my Alaska Grow Buckets, mixed my soil-less soil and was about to set up my irrigation system when the doctor called to move my surgery date up -to just three days away!  So the garden was put on an indefinite hold while I started preparing for what I would need to do for the surgery, recovery, and physical therapy afterwards. 

After surgery I could see that I was not going to be physically able to manage a garden this year.  I couldn't empty my buckets back into the compost bins because they were too heavy for me to lift post-op and I didn't want to bother my husband with that chore either...so they just sat there on my patio. 

 

One of several Alaskan Grow Buckets I had 'planned' to grow in this year.

By the time I had recovered enough from my hip surgery to be off the crutches and finally moving about without my cane, it was just too late to even think about starting a garden.  I looked at my poor plant-less grow buckets sitting there each day as I went past them to tend to my chickens.  Then in early September, just one day before we were to leave on a trip to Colorado, I noticed something growing in one of my buckets.  I assumed it was some kind of weed, since it's monsoon season here and the weeds are having a hay-day.  But when I got closer I saw that it was a tomato plant!?!?  How the heck did that get in there?  It was not there just a few days ago, I know this because I had just moved that particular bucket to this new location to block my dog from sticking her head through the fence right there. 

It was a thick little plant that looked pretty hearty.   Things must really grow like crazy in these Alaska Grow Buckets with the awesome soil-less soil I mixed together.  This would have taken at least 4-6 weeks to grow to this size in my seedling pots.  Wow!

A 7" tall, very healthy looking volunteer tomato plant. Day 2 after discovery (not more than 5 days old).

The only problem with this volunteer tomato plant is that the season is pretty much over.  And how the heck did the seed get into my bucket in the first place?  I did not put any seeds in the buckets and the soil had never been used before.  I don't put seedy plants like tomatoes in my compost (so nothing starts growing in there)

The only thing I can think of is that the birds must have dropped it there and it grew!  Let me explain...Earlier in the spring, I threw out lots of sunflower seeds, wild bird seed, and some chicken scratch on a flat area in front of our property so it would grow and could be cultivated for my chickens to eat, but before I could get them covered and watered, the birds swooped in and carried them away.  Then a few weeks later we discovered corn growing wild near where I spread the seeds, and up the hill from our property.  I also found a sunflower growing in the middle of my raised planter on the back patio, but I did not plant it there or drop any seeds anywhere near that area.  (see the pick below)  So the birds must have dropped a seed while flying over our house. 

So that must be how this tomato seed got into one of my buckets.  What are the odds of that?  Pretty slim I would say. 

Surprise sunflower growing in my flower bed -birds dropped it there.

This excites me about the potential of using Alaska Grow Buckets and the soil-less soil mix because this little tomato plant looks healthier than any one I've ever grown before.  So, back to the discovery of this little tomato plant...as I said, the day after discovering this little guy, we were to leave for our 10 day trip to Colorado.  I wasn't sure how much water the monsoon rains would bring while we were gone and the irrigation system was not yet set up for the Alaska Grow Buckets, so I put the bucket into the middle of my mint bush and stuck the tiny irrigation line for the mint into the bottom wholes on the bucket.  This would keep plenty of water available for the tomato plant and the excess would run out the side holes and into the mint -so everyone would be happy. 

Volunteer Tomato in my Alaskan Grow Bucket sitting in the Mint Patch.

Visitor to the mint patch - a Tarantula Wasp. Scary but they are only interested in Tarantulas.

Upon returning 10 days later, this is what it looks like.  WOW, what a lot of growth.

Day 12 after discovery (not more than 15 days old).

Then 1 week after that, look at the growth!  And its not even been that warm here (compared to earlier in the summer).  I think it's time to build a cage for this tomato. 

Day 19 after discovery (not more than 22 days old).

I will bring this little survivor indoors (to my seedling growing room) once it gets too cool to grow outside, and see what it grows into.  It's such a mystery, I don't even know what kind of tomato it is.

Have you ever had the wild birds help you plant a garden? What did you get?

Chicken Lady's Pick of FREE eBooks! (9/27/14)

It's suppose to be a very stormy day here in Arizona today.  Heavy rains, thunderstorms, maybe even a couple of tornado's...wow, that would be something!  To me this translates into a fabulous day of staying in my jammies all day and reading a good book.  Take a look below to see if you can find a great book to curl up with on this stormy day (if its not storming where you live...just pretend you are here).  So here we go...today's list of the Chicken Lady's Pick of FREE eBooks, enjoy!

[Authors Note: I am always very open about the fact that links on my blog may be an affiliate link, (see my Full Disclosure here.) especially links to Amazon (because I am an Amazon affiliate), however I would never promote a product or service that I didn't think was a great value to myself and my readers.  To create even more transparency, (and to make my work just a little easier when putting these Free eBook posts together), I'm going to try using an Amazon-labeled image so you know for sure its an affiliate link.  You don't have to use my links to buy a product at Amazon, but if you do, you are supporting my blog with a teeny tiny commission.  And I will be ever so grateful!]

If you are new to this series, each Tuesday & Saturday I will be posting the Chicken Lady's Pick of FREE eBooks!  I will include books that I am personally purchasing, in my favorite genre's like non-fiction, books based on a true story, or fiction that seems non-fiction, self-help, autobiographies, true-crime, cook books sometimes, and children's books.  I will also be including some books that are not necessarily my kind of books, like sci-fi, romance novels, and books about sports, as long as they have very high reviews on Amazon.  Sometimes I will include books that are not free to all, but will be Free for you if you have a KindleUnlimited subscription. [Learn more about it & get a Free 30 day trial here.] Please leave me a comment if you like this series of posts as it will encourage me to continue bringing you a new list of FREE eBooks twice each week!

You don't have to have an Amazon Kindle to Read Kindle eBooks.

Here are today's 'Chicken Lady's Pick of FREE eBooks'

[*BEFORE PURCHASING* Please look at the price of the book before you purchase it.  These books were listed as $0.00 at the time of this post, but this is usually a short term promotion and then they go back to the full price.] 

Retired homicide detective Thomas Prescott is reluctant to read the best selling book Eight in October, a true-crime thriller based on a string of murders occurring throughout October of the past year. After all, it was his case, and he doesn t need to be reminded of the gruesome details. The book dubbed the serial killer, Tristen Grayer, The MAINEiac. Grayer is allegedly dead, but only Prescott knows the truth, Grayer is alive and lurking in the shadows. On October 1st, the anniversary of the first murder, Tristen resurfaces, killing someone special from Prescott's past. Suddenly, it s deja vu for Prescott except this time the women closest to him begin to fall victim at the hands of Grayer. With the help of former flame, medical examiner Dr. Caitlin Dodds, and Eight in October author, Alex Tooms, Prescott must race against the clock to stop Tristen from completing his encore.

~~~~~~~

[This Kindle eBook edition has been completely revised and updated with new content including recent interviews with James "Whitey" Bulger and a new chapter on Mickey Cohen.]

*NOTE: This book contains graphic depictions of crime and prison violence.

Alcatraz Island was home to some of the nation's most notorious criminals. Prisoners include Al Capone, Mickey Cohen, James "Whitey" Bulger, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Robert Stroud- the Birdman of Alcatraz, Alvin Karpis, Henri Young, John and Clarence Anglin, and Roy Gardner. In Michael Esslinger's latest book, Letters From Alcatraz, the prisoners' stories come to life in their own words. With over twenty years of research, Esslinger, author of Alcatraz: Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years, has salvaged and compiled an extraordinary collection of inmates' letters, many never before published.

Letters from Alcatraz Includes:

• A foreword by former Alcatraz Officer: Larry Quilligan
• Over 280 photos depicting inmates and the prison workforce
• Over 125 letters and original correspondence from inmates both on-and-off the Rock

** This book is also available for Free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. Learn more

~~~~~~~

THE ASTONISHING TRUE STORY of a group of thirty-two boys and leaders who accomplished an amazing feat in 1972, when they rode their bicycles from Wood Dale, Illinois to Jacksonville, Florida. It was a simpler time--a common sense two-pedal world with realistic adventures, and everyday heroes. An innocence was lost when twenty-six young boys in a small rural town set out to accomplish something bigger than themselves. 

   

Their journey of nearly 1,400 miles would take them through eight states, crossing over the Great Smoky Mountains. It was a tremendous achievement--one that would be hailed as the longest organized bike hike in the history of Scouting.

** This book is also available for Free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. Learn more

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Confidence is lacking in a plain little girl when she arrives in a new town alone. The townspeople are astonished, “My, she’s plain!” But, of course they were normal. They were colored folks like you’d find anywhere. They were blue. They were green. They were orange. They were red. They were spotted and dotted on their bodies, hair, and heads. They were striped and plaid and flowered and checked. They were abstract and camouflaged and arrowed and flecked.

Jane appealed to their kindness, hoping that there might be anyone who would take her in… someone who would not consider her plainness a sin.
They take her in all right, but decide to change her, fix her, make her bright.
There follows a debate over which one of their designs she should be. But at the big 4th of July celebration, she comes to a great revelation and decides, “The only way I can be special, the only way I can be unique, is to be me. That’s what I think… even if it’s as plain as plain can be.”

Great fun, adorable illustrations, and tongue-twisting rhymes add to the delight of this story.

** This book is also available for Free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. Learn more

NOTE ABOUT KINDLES & AMAZON: By the way, you do not need a Kindle device to read Kindle books, you can download the Kindle app to your Laptop, Desktop, Smartphone, iPad and just about any smart devices.  You will need an Amazon account to purchase the free books.  Sign-up is super easy if you don't already have one.  To get a Free book you have to go through the purchase process even though the price is $0.00.  You will need a method of payment on file with Amazon, but they will not charge your card to 'purchase' a free ebook. 

*This was an unpaid, unsolicited post about the products shown above that I have purchased myself.  Neither the authors nor the publishers have asked me to include their books in this post.  The first image in this post today is courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.  I have included Affiliate links in this post, please see my Full Disclosure here.

Keeper of 1 husband, 3 dogs, 
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 .

Today's List of the Chicken Lady's Pick of FREE eBooks! (9/23/14)

Ok, I totally missed the Saturday post...I just got back from being in Colorado for 10 days and got my days totally mixed up.  I thought Saturday was Friday, then by the time I realized I was messed up was it was too late to post it.  So here we go...today's list of the Chicken Lady's Pick of FREE eBooks, enjoy!

[Authors Note: I am always very open about the fact that links on my blog may be an affiliate link, (see my Full Disclosure here.) especially links to Amazon (because I am an Amazon affiliate), however I would never promote a product or service that I didn't think was a great value to myself and my readers.  To create even more transparency, (and to make my work just a little easier when putting these Free eBook posts together), I'm going to try using an Amazon-labeled image so you know for sure its an affiliate link.  You don't have to use my links to buy a product at Amazon, but if you do, you are supporting my blog with a teeny tiny commission.  And I will be ever so grateful!]

If you are new to this series, each Tuesday & Saturday I will be posting the Chicken Lady's Pick of FREE eBooks!  I will include books that I am personally purchasing, in my favorite genre's like non-fiction, books based on a true story, or fiction that seems non-fiction, self-help, autobiographies, true-crime, cook books sometimes, and children's books.  I will also be including some books that are not necessarily my kind of books, like sci-fi, romance novels, and books about sports, as long as they have very high reviews on Amazon.  Sometimes I will include books that are not free to all, but will be Free for you if you have a KindleUnlimited subscription. [Learn more about it & get a Free 30 day trial here.] Please leave me a comment if you like this series of posts as it will encourage me to continue bringing you a new list of FREE eBooks twice each week!

You don't have to have an Amazon Kindle to Read Kindle eBooks.

Here are today's 'Chicken Lady's Pick of FREE eBooks'

[*BEFORE PURCHASING* Please look at the price of the book before you purchase it.  These books were listed as $0.00 at the time of this post, but this is usually a short term promotion and then they go back to the full price.] 

Blind Descent: 
Alone and blind at 29,000 feet!
Former Navy rescue swimmer Brian Dickinson was roughly 1,000 feet from the summit of Mount Everest—also known as “the death zone”—when his Sherpa became ill and had to turn back, leaving Brian with a difficult decision: should he continue to push for the summit, or head back down the mountain? After carefully weighing the options, Brian decided to continue toward the summit—alone. Four hours later, Brian solo summited the highest peak in the world. But the celebration was short-lived. After taking a few pictures, Brian radioed his team to let them know he had summited safely, and got ready to begin his descent. Suddenly, his vision became blurry, his eyes started to burn, and within seconds, he was rendered almost completely blind. All alone at 29,035 feet, low on oxygen, and stricken with snow blindness, Brian was forced to inch his way back down the mountain relying only on his Navy survival training, his gut instinct, and his faith. In Blind Descent, Brian recounts—in fantastic detail—his extraordinary experience on Everest, demonstrating that no matter how dire our circumstances, there is no challenge too big for God.

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Brian Meeks could write for The Onion, so sublime is his snark. Those who profess to love, and disdain, social media will finally find common ground in "Underwood, Scotch and Wry." Finally, a social media satire for the rest of us!
     -Shonali Burke President & CEO of Shonali Burke Consulting

As someone who works in social media, Arthur entering the digital world is a great study on human behavior and the fear many have about the practicality of using the Internet. Though it's fiction, Meeks provides a fun and fascinating read on how the social networking world truly works and the nuances that underline a friendship you make online. That and the Chicago Cubs make a few appearances, which makes me love the book even more. Join the world of a professor who is trying to figure out the online world before his students make him look bad.
     -Gini Dietrich, CEO of Arment Dietrich, author of Spin Sucks and co-author of Marketing in the Round

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"Moving at a fast clip…the narrative explores many weighty issues…which Sharry covers with insight and finesse. …the tale becomes quite gripping as the details of past mysteries unfold. A nostalgic romance, rich with Portuguese culture and a few surprising twists at the end." KIRKUS REVIEWS.

Renata Raposo is struggling to make a new life on Cape Ann when stranger Mark Valente appears with a journal kept by his uncle, Peter Ahearn, almost forty years ago. It chronicles Peter's isolated life as keeper of a nearby lighthouse, his passionate and dangerous love affair with the young Renata…and an astonishing confession.

But Mark is stunned when the Portuguese beauty denies everything, dismissing the writings as merely the fantasies of a lonely, broken man. Now Mark is left to question whether anything his uncle wrote...including the confession...is true. He must connect past to present, and piece together a picture of what really happened decades before. And he must grapple with his own burgeoning infatuation with the now middle-aged, mysterious Renata.

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What's It Like to Be Married to Me? is about knowing the difference between having a desire for a better marriage and setting the goal of a better marriage—as readers look in the mirror to see how they can change.

Bestselling author Linda Dillow understands that most women want more from their marriage but don't know how to get it. In What's It Like to Be Married to Me?, Dillow challenges readers to ask the riskiest questions: What is is like to be married to me? What is it like to make love with me? Why do I want to stay mad at you? 

Extremely intimate and honest, What's It Like to Be Married to Me? is not a book about marriage at all. It is a book about how to live out marriage, day-by-day and year-by-year, and watch who you become as a wife impact the intimacy in your marriage!

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You won’t believe how fast and easy it is to create delicious, decadent, single-serve desserts!

As it turns out, your microwave is great for more than just heating up leftovers. Inside Desserts From Your Microwave, you’ll find dozens of recipes for baking your favorite desserts using your kitchen’s ultimate quick-cooking tool. In minutes, whip up:
• Cakes in mugs
• Cheesecakes in mason jars
• Single-serve and full-size pies and tarts
• Delicious homemade fudge
• Cookies for one
• And much more!

Hosting a get-together? Create an individual dessert for each of your guests—they’ll love it! Microwave baking is much faster and more energy-efficient than conventional baking and gives you the freedom to experiment without waste. Enjoy!

NOTE ABOUT KINDLES & AMAZON: Buy the way, you do not need a Kindle device to read Kindle books, you can download the Kindle app to your Laptop, Desktop, Smartphone, iPad and just about any smart devices.  You will need an Amazon account to purchase the free books.  Sign-up is super easy if you don't already have one.  To get a Free book you have to go through the purchase process even though the price is $0.00.  You will need a method of payment on file with Amazon, but they will not charge your card to 'purchase' a free ebook. 

*This was an unpaid, unsolicited post about the products shown above that I have purchased myself.  Neither the authors nor the publishers have asked me to include their books in this post.  The first image in this post today is courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.  I have included Affiliate links in this post, please see my Full Disclosure here.

Keeper of 1 husband, 3 dogs, 
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 .