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Wasatch County locals learn to raise chickens, keep bees at preparedness fair

Natasha Lucas taught Wasatch Community Self Reliance and Preparedness Fair attendees the ins and outs of caring for and raising chickens.
Kristine Weller
/
KPCW
Natasha Lucas taught Wasatch Community Self Reliance and Preparedness Fair attendees the ins and outs of caring for and raising chickens.

More than 100 Wasatch County residents and visitors learned about self reliance and emergency preparedness over the weekend.

Wasatch High School housed the free biannual Wasatch Community Self Reliance and Preparedness Fair where residents could learn and sharpen dozens of skills to be more prepared for all situations.

The fair offered about 30 classes on a variety of topics including soap making, optimizing a garden and emergency food storage. Around 40 vendors and businesses offered information on self-reliance and preparedness at the event as well.

Natasha Lucas taught attendees the ins and outs of raising chickens. She said the first step is to make sure it’s legal in your area; every county has its own rules and regulations. The next step is infrastructure. Chickens need coops, feeders, waterers, litter, dust baths and more.

Lucas also shared a remedy to keep chickens healthy: a mixture of raw honey, garlic and apple cider vinegar.

“It helps with parasites, helps with their immune system, gives them natural electrolytes so they're not dehydrated, it’s fantastic” she said.

Lucas gives the so-called “magic water” to chicks until they are 2 weeks old and to older chickens a few times each week in the winter.

Lucas said she keeps geese as well to deter predators from her chickens.

She has around 100 birds on a couple of acres of land. She said she originally started with six chickens as part of her family’s effort to become more self-reliant.

Lucas said Chickens are a food source for eggs and eventually slaughtering, but she ended up falling in love with them.

“I named them after Disney character names, and I love them too much, and I just kept adding to them,” Lucas said. “I just found out by educating myself and the experience that I've had with them, that they're just fantastic to have. They're not expensive, they're hilarious to watch.”

Part of self-reliance is emergency preparedness, explained Marcello Surjopolos [SURGE-opp-oh-lis], because if something goes wrong, outside help may not be available.

During his class, Surjopolos said a central part of preparing for emergencies is food and water storage. For events like natural disasters, he recommends families store enough food and water to last three to 12 months.

He said when immediate needs are met, people can move to other needs like communication and sanitation.

Cindy Hansen, who attended the fair, said she has about a month's supply of food and water stored at home in case of an earthquake.

“A couple of years ago, I found out that where we live in Orem, the ground that we live on is just going to sway and wave, and so our houses are not at risk for falling down,” she said. “The biggest thing that we will be asked to do is bring other people who have lost their homes into our homes.”

Blaine Bates taught Wasatch Community Self Reliance and Preparedness Fair attendees the basics of beekeeping.
Kristine Weller
/
KPCW
Blaine Bates taught Wasatch Community Self Reliance and Preparedness Fair attendees the basics of beekeeping.

She’s now looking into power and heating sources so she can be ready to take care of her family and community during a crisis.

Another part of self-reliance is health. Cassidy Gunderson has a PhD in nutrition and taught her attendees how food can influence health and wellbeing.

She said she believes the healthiest formula is a diet of 10% protein, 10% fat and 80% carbohydrates. That’s because carbs break down in hours instead of the days it takes the body to process fat.

“If you're digesting in two to three hours, what's your body doing the rest of the time? Healing,” Gunderson said. “It's healing tissues. It's healing tears from working out. It's healing neuropathy in your feet. It's healing your sinuses. It's healing your serotonin levels in your stomach, so that you can actually sleep at night.”

Some self-reliance-based practices can also help the environment. Jane Wann attended a beginner beekeeping class to start supporting the bee population.

“It seems like there are fewer and fewer bees so as many of us can support even just one or two hives, we can help the bee population and therefore help plants grow,” Jane Wann said.

She attended the fair to learn from Heber local and 19-year beekeeping veteran Blaine Bates.

The fair returns in October for its second event of the year. Organizers offer the free fair every spring and fall.