Scot’s Product Review: MobileSec Cellphone Blocker and Laptop EMP Shielding

I always liked the line that states, “Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean that someone isn’t out to get you.” These days, in addition to physically trying to “get” you, there are also those who are trying to virtually get you by stealing your information for misuse. There are those who might want to wipe out everything with an EMP event so that not only do you not get to use your own stuff, you can’t even get a backup from someone else. It could be a foreign government, a criminal consortium, or even your own government doing the deed. Nature can get into the game with a Carrington event from the sun. So yes, in terms of your electronically-stored information, you have a right to be paranoid no matter what anyone says.

All this justified paranoia leads us to the need to protect our electronics. There are many attacks that can be made, but here I am going to be focusing on ways to prevent some threats that can arrive via the ether.

A major, and increasing threat, is an attack on your cellphone or smart device that uses cellular, Bluetooth, or WiFi for connectivity. There have been documented hacks into these things that allow snoopers to steal your data or even utilize your phone as a listening device. Your data will include your phone book of contacts, your call logs, incoming and outgoing, your email accounts if you access them over your phone, text messages, and any other useful material you might store on it. If you use it as a book reader, your reading tastes are accessible to anyone who can hack into it. Also bear in mind that the thing is constantly telling the world where it is. Nice, eh? The folks doing this range from criminals trying to steal credit card numbers to our own government being curious about your potential thought crimes.

Among the more troubling things to me are the dummy cell sites that have been found by defense contractor ESD America. According to Popular Science magazine, ESD has located 17 “interceptor” cell sites around the country using their $3,500 CryptoPhone 500. It isn’t clear who owns the sites or what they are used for, but they can not only intercept your data, they can push applications into your phone to compromise it. Many of the “interceptors” are near U.S. military bases, which raises questions of espionage. Initially I thought that, since they aren’t licensed, such devices would be caught by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), but I thought deeper and remembered that the FCC investigates complaints. If no one realizes these devices are operating and they are operated in a manner that doesn’t interfere with legitimate services, there won’t be complaints and, therefore, there won’t be investigations.

Then there are the federal law enforcement agencies using aircraft-mounted and ground-based boxes to scan the cellular network.

While I am often not in agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), they have information on StingRays, also known as “cell site simulators” or “IMSI catchers,” which the ACLU calls “… invasive cell phone surveillance devices that mimic cell phone towers and send out signals to trick cell phones in the area into transmitting their locations and identifying information. When used to track a suspect’s cell phone, they also gather information about the phones of countless bystanders who happen to be nearby.” The ACLU has a map showing locations where municipal, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are using them. I found it alarming to see how widespread they are. StingRay, by the way, is a product of the Harris Corporation, and the term has come to be used for any such device, much as the term Xerox is used for a copy of an original.

While it isn’t something I could do, the Popular Science article, cited above, mentions that for about $3,000 a hacker can build their own StingRay-like device, using open source software and software-defined radios. They link to a video that shows someone doing just that. While this equipment seems intended for legitimate purposes, this is where criminals can enter the picture. They can use it to steal your information. I do note that these systems appear to work on the GSM networks used by AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S. I am unsure if they can be used on the Verizon or Sprint networks, which use a different technology. I am sure, however, that the government units have no such limitations.

Now that I’ve scared some of us, what do we do? If you are like me, you can’t afford the CryptoPhone. Something that is more affordable is the $629.00 Blackphone. I suspect this is far more secure than a conventional phone, but I have not used one and do not have the means to test the security. I can’t afford it, either, so there you have that.

You could purchase a pre-paid phone with cash, as some do, but we have to be aware of traffic analysis. If you use it to call someone who has been identified as “of interest,” your number will now be marked as “of interest” too. This probably doesn’t matter if you are simply trying to avoid being the target of scammers or criminals, but if we move into the world that some fear is coming about as I type, you will need to have a deep stock of pre-paid phones, as they will be burned as quickly you use them.

I’m sad to say that I don’t see any way of securing yourself from all of these threats, other than breaking the link to any and all networks, except when you really have to make a call or gather information. The simplest way is to remove the battery from your phone, but some of the most sophisticated units don’t give you that option. You can power them down, but there are documented means of remotely turning on many of these devices without your being aware of it. Microphones can be activated and your phone used as a snooping device, proving, once again, that everything is two edged; what started off as a convenience and safety device can now also be the downfall of your privacy.

A further question is what if we need the data that is stored on such a device but don’t want it to broadcast its identity and location? So what are we to do if we aren’t able to give up the convenience and utility of these devices? We might have information stored on them that we really need to use, but we are nervous about powering the thing up at some given moment. MobileSec Solutions, LLC , a Saratoga, CA company, offers a solution to assuage these concerns in the form of bags designed to interfere with the radio frequencies used by cell phones. I say bags, in the plural tense, as they give you two. You put the phone in the smaller bag and then put the small bag into the larger one. The bags are made of a fine mesh metal screen that is optimized to shield the frequencies cell phones use, which range from about 700 MHz to about 2.5 GHz. This includes the cellular frequencies used in the U.S. along with WiFi and Bluetooth. They have magnetic closures to keep them tightly shut and have a tasteful woodland camouflage trim on the seams.

MobileSec sent a set for me to review, and I found that you can read the screen on the phone through the wire mesh, though it does make it harder to do, particularly in bright light. I have seen other pouches that are supposed to kill the radio frequencies in question, but so far, this is the only one I have seen that you can see the screen through. The nice part about that is if you need to retrieve some stored data, you can do so without revealing where you are or what you have.

Touch screens seem to be an issue, though. I have an antique Palm Treo phone, and it works fine tapping through both bags, but our Kindle Fire tablet was not easy to use when I tried it in the larger of the two bags. It has the more modern sort of touchscreen, like those found on newer smart phones and unlike my stuck-in-the-mid-2000’s Treo. MobileSec suggests using voice commands, if you need to operate your device inside the bag, and most modern phones can do that. If yours can’t, it might be an issue. Some phones still have buttons, which could help a lot, too. Tablets look like they will be problematic, but MobileSec doesn’t even suggest using the bags with tablets.

I found that one bag thoroughly killed any WiFi, Bluetooth, or cellular connectivity on both my Treo and the Kindle Fire in my house, which is within eyesight of three towers. MobileSec says using the second bag guarantees that you can stand under a cell tower without it discovering your phone. I got as close as I could to five different towers, but I can’t be positive if they carried my service provider. Two of them, however, pegged the signal strength meter, so I suspect they did. These two towers required both bags, while the other three killed service with one bag, which I also took as a clue. While there are websites (http://www.antennasearch.com/ and http://www.cellreception.com/) that list cell phone sites, they don’t always list which company has what equipment on any given site. I also found sites that weren’t shown by either service. In fact, one of the strongest ones wasn’t shown on either website, and I know it has been there for years.

MobileSec says the phone bags will also protect the device from an EMP event so you can use it to retrieve data later. The inner bag is 7.25 x 4.25 inches, and the outer bag is 10.5 x 6.5 inches. The small bag weighs two ounces, and the large one weighs 2.5 ounces. The bulk of the weight is in the magnetic closures.

You can’t, of course, receive calls when your phone is encased in the bags, so people you want to stay in contact with can’t reach you. The only solution I can think of for that is to get an old fashioned one-way pager. They are still available, and it appears you can get local service for about $15 a month, if you shop the web. The idea is that you would keep your cell phone disabled in the bag, and if someone needs you, they page you, and you choose the time and place to return the call. A one-way pager will not send out any revealing signals that can be used to locate you. Paging traffic can, however, be monitored, and if you get a message to call a number of interest, your pager could be associated with your phone number when you return the call. It might be smart to organize a simple code system for your associates.

The Laptop EMP Shielding bag is for a different problem– protecting your computer from an EMP event while allowing you to use it. It allows WiFi and things like cordless mice to connect. The signal to and from those is degraded, but they will work if close enough. This bag uses a larger mesh screen than the cellphone phone one, so it isn’t attenuating as high a signal as the cell phone bags. Since you are only looking through one layer of a coarser mesh, it is fairly easy to read the screen. Hitting the keys is not a problem. The touchpad worked okay on my Dell, but I didn’t have a touch screen laptop to try it on. MobileSec warns that could raise issues.

My friend, the electronic wizard I call Apollo in my reviews, who helps me with this stuff, said he thinks the bags will be effective for EMP. He ran some tests and said they block the appropriate frequencies. EMP is, of course, hard to test in reality, as very few of us have the means to generate a real one, but if Apollo says they work, I am confident that they will.

My Dell laptop with a 15” screen easily fit into the laptop bag with additional room for a small solar panel for charging, which MobileSec says will work in the bag. While the solar will work in the bag, it would probably be slow. This unit also has a battery that can be charged from an outlet and then inserted in the bag to power the laptop. Opening the bag to run a power cord in will break the shielding, however, defeating the protection. MobileSec notes that the bags will vent heat.

The bags were shipped to me in a large, rigid container, and I wondered if that meant they couldn’t be folded or wadded up, but I was assured that isn’t a problem. They advised that the purchasers expect to get a pristine, unwrinkled product, but that the bags are pretty much impervious to rough handling and folding.

MobileSec told me that the items in the bag don’t need to be insulated from contact with the bag. Many of the EMP shield solutions, such as a steel garbage can or an ammunition can (with some extra sealing for the lids), do require that equipment be isolated from the container. MobileSec says that their bags are tested to meet the RS-105 requirement regarding EMP susceptibility, which is part of the broader Mil-Std-461 on the electromagnetic interference of equipment.

The cell phone bag set is $55.00, and the laptop shield is $99.00.

The advantage of the bags is that I can access the data on the devices while they are shielded. There are other ways to effectively shield this equipment, but they won’t let you use it. The one difficulty is keeping it charged. You could have duplicate devices and use one to charge batteries and swap the batteries out. A device that allows you to charge batteries outside of your equipment would be ideal, of course, but many tech devices don’t come with those anymore.

As I ponder all of this, one thing I am thinking of doing is taking the laptop I use for legacy hardware that won’t run on Windows 7 and storing it in an EMP shield. I can keep a copy of all of my files on it and have them for as long as I can keep electricity going. It would, of course, as one SurvivalBlog reader recently suggested, be even better to print everything useful and store that too. One of the MobilelSec bags would be an excellent solution as would be the cell phone bags for when I want to ensure my privacy in that respect. The EMP laptop bag has enough space to also store some spare two-way-radio equipment, memory sticks with information, and a portable inkjet printer.

Another thing I am thinking is how much do I really need a cell phone and how connected do I need to be? I got by for most of my life without one. I am reassured by thinking relatives can reach me in an emergency, and that’s something I don’t want to give up, but I don’t want to give up privacy either. There are terrible quandaries in these times. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor, Scot Frank Erie

Recipe of the Week: Merry Morning Muffins, by J.W.

I invented the recipe for Merry Morning Muffins to give people an emotionally cheering, gobble-em-down breakfast muffin recipe that was extremely high in protein, nutrients of all kinds, and fiber. They’re low carb, very low gluten, and contain no white flour at all. All of the ingredients can be kept as long-term storage food. Fortunately, children have no idea that these muffins are healthy and good for them. Tell them “Just take one” and then leave the room….

How often do you get to feel stuffed with virtue while you’re stuffing yourself with muffins?

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups plain wheat germ
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 Tablespoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup sugar (for muffin style) OR 3/4 cup sugar (for cupcake style)
  • Optional: chocolate chips, chopped nuts, spices, raisins, cranberries, etc.
  • 6 large, whole eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup warm butter, OR 1/2 cup oil (won’t taste as good)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray muffin pans with anti-stick spray (try Baker’s Joy) or butter them, or use paper cupcake cups.
  2. MIX all dry ingredients well in a bowl, set bowl aside.
  3. Beat eggs, then add to the mixed dry ingredients.
  4. In a separate bowl, beat together the milk, vanilla extract, and butter.
  5. Mix the wet ingredients in with the dry (and egg) ingredients, until just blended. Don’t overbeat.
  6. Spoon batter into muffin pan.
  7. Bake small muffins (12). Bake regular muffins (6) about 25-30 minutes.

Muffins are done when a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean, and they are firm when the top is lightly pressed. Allow to cool.

NOTE: Wheat germ absolutely MUST be kept in the refrigerator, or in a cool, dry place, once the jar is opened. They don’t put cereal in vacuum-packed glass jars for fun. Because it is so nutritionally rich, and contains healthy oils, it will go rancid after a couple of weeks, if left in a warm cupboard. Unopened jars will keep for a very long time, if stored in a cool, dry place.

If stored in a freezer, it will keep for years, as I accidentally discovered. To see if it is good, open the jar and sniff. It should have a mild scent, not a rancid one.

Wheat germ is a top choice for storage food for preppers but has fallen out of fashion, and people have forgotten about it. It contains dozens of vitamins and minerals, is extremely high in protein, keeps you regular, and stores well enough to get you through two or three years of crisis. Throw it into a ziplock bag, and you have high-calorie, lightweight bug-out food. (It can be eaten dry, if necessary.)

Wheat germ also makes a good hot or cold cereal by itself. It’s a lot like pasta, in that you could eat pasta plain but probably wouldn’t want to. It has a bland wheat taste and is best with raisins, brown sugar, chopped nuts, berries, bananas, chocolate syrup, or whatever your favorite additions are.

You can also add it to bread recipes, about 1/3 by volume. However, I created the muffin recipe to eliminate white flour completely. Since there is almost no gluten, the eggs are what hold the muffins together. If you are using powdered eggs, make sure they are not pre-cooked.

Enjoy your breakfast!

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlogreaders? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Two Letters Re: Wintering Chickens

Hugh,

While mostly correct, the light provided to chickens and other egg-laying birds (ducks, geese) should be either full spectrum light for twelve hours per day or an incandescent bulb all the time. Should you place birds in 24 hours of full spectrum lighting, they will damage their reproductive system and stop laying after only a year or two at most.

I’ve got one hen who has been laying an egg every other day for seven years now, even in the dead of winter.

Also, during winter, change their feed from highly-processed laying feed (crumbles or pellets) to a natural grain mix like corn, oats, and barley. They will do better in this feed and not over stress their reproductive system trying to lay eggs when it’s cold (teens or below). – H.D.

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Hugh,

I’d like to add some information to improve upon the article on how to keep chickens laying through winter.

Shelters – if you seal up your coop too tight during the winter, moisture from within the coop can set in frost bite on the chickens. A person can remedy frost bite by making sure there is good ventilation within the coop. An easy way to do vent holes is to cut a few holes in the coop and then cover those holes with a screen in order to keep the wasps out in the summer.

Lighting – If you decide to keep a light on your chicken, you will benefit by having a red lamp, as the red does not disturb the hens and their sleep. While light does help with keeping your chickens laying throughout the winter, something to consider is that should power go out and the chickens are acclimated to the light, they may really suffer until power is restored.

Litter – In order to maximize your efforts with litter, using straw is great, and when you change out litter, you can compost the straw with chicken scat (nitrogen) and use the compost in the garden. During the winter months, I suggest you do not change out your litter but rather continue to add more. The benefit is that as the litter breaks down, it can create some heat and a more insulated layer.

Supplements – The calcium from oyster shells are really only necessary if the egg walls become very thin or soft. Should your hens be laying healthy eggs without any supplements, it may be best just to leave them be.

Everyone has their own way of doing things, and there is no right or wrong if the desired end result is achieved. With tossing in my 2 cents on S.I.’s article, I may have saved someone a few dollars and assisted with maximizing their chickens happiness. – N.E.

Odds ‘n Sods:

State Departments of Agriculture are Attempting to Regulate Seed Banks Out of Existence. – H.L.

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Another example of public schools becoming brain washing institutions! Middle School Kids Taken To Hear Louis Farrakhan Call For Violence Against The ‘Crackers’. – H.L.

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How an Old Swimming Pool Feeds an Entire Family and Changes the Way We Look at Food. – G.J.

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Video: Worm Grunting. – T.P.

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I recently ran across an interesting book for sale: One-Hour Cheese: Ricotta, Mozzarella, Chèvre, Paneer–Even Burrata. Fresh and Simple Cheeses You Can Make in an Hour or Less. I do love my cheese!

Notes for Sunday – January 04, 2015

January 4th is the birthday of George Hyde, who was born “Heide” in 1888, in Arpfingen, Germany. He was the chief gun designer for the Inland Division of General Motors (GM) in Dayton, Ohio during World War II. Hyde was best-known as the co-designer of the M3 “Grease gun” SMG and the Liberator pistol, but he also designed the Bendix-Hyde Carbine and the M2 Hyde submachinegun. He immigrated to the United States in 1927. A gent at the Nitro Express Forumsmentioned some details on his life before World War II: Before 1935 Hyde was the shop foreman and metal man at Griffin & Howe. He quit there and went into business for himself. Samuel A. “Harry” Leonard teamed up with Hyde, and their rifles are marked “Leonard & Hyde New York” on the barrel. In May of 1935 [school teacher and New York National Guard Major N.H.] Ned Roberts and his father-in-law [well-known carte-de-visite photographer] W.G.C. Kimball went into business together as “Roberts and Kimball” in Woburn, Massachusetts. Their idea was to make high-quality sporting and varmint rifles on Mauser actions in the then-popular cartridge that bears Roberts’ name, the .257 Roberts. Metal work on these Roberts & Kimball guns was done by George Hyde, and the stocking was done by Harry Leonard. Some information suggests that Leonard and Hyde did not relocate to Massachusetts but that the work was sent to them in New York City. Roberts & Kimball company lasted less than a year, and their rifles are not found very often.

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Ready Made Resources is having a Numanna sale on Non GMO organic and soy free products.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 56 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel which can be assembled in less then one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  4. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 30 DPMS AR-15 .223/5.56 30 Round Gray Mil Spec w/ Magpul Follower Magazines (a value of $448.95) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt. An equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions.
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  7. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  8. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  9. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate, and
  12. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  9. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  10. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  6. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack (a $379 value).

Round 56 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

How To Keep Chickens Laying Through Winter, by S.I.

I love my chickens. They are the most easy to care for and more rewarding of all farm animals, in my opinion. However, I am also a pragmatist. My chickens are here to DO something, and that something is lay eggs. These are not pets; they are food producers that I also find beautiful and entertaining. I provide them with a clean living environment, free-ranging fun, food, and protection. In turn, they provide me with eggs. When they stop laying eggs, my family eats the chicken. Some chicken owners may wince at this outlook, but my family lives on a shoestring, and we can’t afford to feed animals that aren’t giving something back. Our dog provides protection, alerts us to strangers and danger while also being a great companion. Our sheep provide lambs for food, and they eat down weeds and pasture. Even our cats keep the mice population down. I strive to give each animal a happy life, but to me it must also be a useful life.

As you can imagine, I want to keep my hens laying throughout the winter. This can be a problem as the temperature drops and there is less light. The old proverb “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is so true when it comes to raising animals. Here are the challenges you must combat in the winter and how to counteract them.

Shelter

Most animals need shelter in winter, and chickens are no exception. In fact, if you want eggs it’s best to provide a shelter that is well sealed against the elements. Not only will this keep your hens safe from colder temperatures and predators, but it will also give them a place to lay your eggs that you can find and easily access.

My Solution: Shelter doesn’t have to be fancy for chickens to be happy. If you don’t already have a chicken coop, an old truck cap is enough in a pinch. You could also use straw bales with a sheet of plywood over it. It simply needs to be draft free, keep out the rain and snow, and be fairly easy for you to get into to check for eggs. There are quite a lot of ideas for homemade, do-it-yourself chicken coops on the Internet and youtube.com. It is also good to give the chickens a dedicated laying box that is secure from predators. Some people build boxes, while others use old milk crates or other existing boxes. The key is for the chickens to be able to easily get inside the laying box, yet have some sides for a bit of privacy, and hold a bit of dry straw or wood chips to provide a soft spot for egg laying/dropping.

Food

Many homesteaders believe in letting chickens forage for themselves, while not providing food for them. This may work okay in the summer when food is plentiful, but if you want eggs in winter you will need to provide feed to your chickens. Also, it is pretty cruel to not feed your chickens in winter when there is so little to forage for. Often, in the winter the ground is frozen, making it hard for them to scratch beneath the surface to locate any bugs or seeds.

My Solution: Buying bags of layer pellet feed is the best option. Also, providing corn or scratch will help your chickens maintain healthy condition through the cold with its nice high-protein content. The more energy your chickens expend on keeping warm, the less eggs they will lay, as that energy is going to come from either their body or their food.

Breed Selection

Some chickens are better suited to certain climates than others. In fact there are some chicken breeds that will literally die if they go through a typical northern winter. So breed selection is very important to your winter egg production.

My Solution: If you live where it gets cold and dark in winter, then choose chickens that are known to lay well in winter. My favorites are Buff Orpingtons, Black Australorps, and Araucanas, because we live in a very cold winter area. A good place to compare different breeds of chicken is the Murray McMurray Hatchery website. In their descriptions of the different breeds they specifically note which chickens are good at winter laying.

Light

This, in fact, is the most important and least understood reason that chickens stop laying. Chickens need a certain amount of daylight to keep laying. When it falls off during the short winter hours of daylight, their bodies tell them to stop laying until spring’s extended sun hours arrive.

My Solution: Put a light in your chicken coop and leave it on. You can shut if off at night, if you want, but we don’t; the light additionally adds heat, and the chickens do fine.

Heat

Chickens need heat to produce eggs. If they are too cold, they will stop laying because most of the food they eat goes to heat production rather than toward egg production.

My Solution: The easiest way to heat your coop is have a heat lamp hanging from the roof inside. These can be picked up at any feed store, or even Walmart, for less than $30.00. You can choose from white or red bulbs. The bonus to red is that it helps to prevent chickens from picking at each other. An additional way to keep heat inside the coop and cold outside is to seal any holes and drafts; this will help immensely.

Litter

What you use for chicken litter will depend on your personal preferences. I like pine wood shavings because they mix well with the manure and absorb and dry it while also adding a nice scent. Having a layer of dry litter is important to laying production because if you are wet you are cold. Also chicken manure is high in ammonia and lets off the stuff in large amounts. This can irritate your chickens’ lungs. Your chickens will be spending much more time in their coop during cold weather so keeping their coop dry and their air clean will help with egg production. It is important to remove dirty litter as well. If an egg gets broken into the litter, it is important to remove the broken egg, dirty litter, and to clean so that there is no remaining egg contents. Otherwise, the chickens may eat it and develop a taste for their own eggs.

My Solution: Every week, I spread an inch or more of litter in their coop. You should adjust the frequency and amount applied, as needed. I also replace litter as it gets dirty and try to keep the area clear of any excrement. This helps me have clean eggs that don’t require washing. (Leaving the bloom on the eggshell helps seal the pores and make the egg stay fresh longer.)

Supplements

Egg laying chickens use alot of nutrients to produce an egg every day. Providing a balanced diet is easy if you use layer pellets.

My Solution: Provide crushed oyster shells for added calcium, even if you’re using layer pellets. Chickens will take what they need. Providing grit is also a good idea, since the dirt and gravel may be covered with snow, and if you are feeding corn or scratch, they need the grit to grind the grains.

Cod Liver Oil is an essential supplement that I have found highly effective to keeping my chickens laying. The reason why cod liver oil is important is that not only does it provide omega oils, it also is a great provider of vitamin D. Now the interesting thing about vitamin D is that it is produced by sunshine. Human bodies cannot produce it on its own. This is why mothers, a hundred years ago, made their children take a spoonful of cod liver oil every day in the winter. Are vitamin D levels an influence on egg production, cuing the chicken’s brain back into laying? I don’t know, but it works every time I use it.

How to Use Cod Liver Oil: I simply buy a big bottle of the cheaper Cod Liver liquid jells and cut them open. Then I squirt them into the water of my chickens. That way they get the same dose approximately. I figure one pill per chicken for a few days until egg production starts up again. Then I give them the same dose a few times a week. Be sure to use this in conjunction with a light in your coop.

Green Stuff

Chickens loves fresh green stuff like lettuces, grass, and weeds. You can sprout your own greens at home super easy. I love my Easy Sprouter, which you can find on amazon.com. Additionally, you can give them leftover salad that has wilted. Another option is to ask your local grocer for produce that they are going to throw out. Your chickens will bless you for the treats. Just avoid onions, garlic, cabbage, and any of the brassica vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, kale, and brussels sprouts), as they can give a bad taste to your eggs.

I hope this helps other chicken raisers to keep their hens healthy and laying all winter.

Letter Re: Prepper Digital Security

Hi Mr. Latimer,

As I read the post “Prepper Digital Security” and then, later, the “Letter Re: Prepper Digital Security”, I kept thinking back to an old XKCD comic strip simply titled “Security”.

Both those articles have some great advice in them, but I caution you and your readers from thinking such measures will make you safe. As is often the case in the field of digital security, humans are the weakest link in our defense strategies; I encourage you to keep that in mind.

Happy New Year – Z.S.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Notable for their absence: You won’t find any of the American Redoubt States listed in America’s 10 Most Dangerous States. However, you will find three of the Redoubt states in the Safest States List. (And if Eastern Oregon were a separate state, it would probably make the latter list.) – JWR

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NY confiscates Navy vet’s guns, revokes his license after he sought medical help for insomnia . – H.L.

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Video: Introduction to AmRRON . – J.J.

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Girl, 7, Who Walked Away from Plane Crash Had Survival Skills: Family . Girl, 7, Who Walked Away from Plane Crash Had Survival Skills: Family– G.G.

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Scores of GIANT asteroids on course to hurtle past Earth within the month, NASA reveals. – RBS

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.” Luke 5:22-24 (KJV)

Notes for Saturday – January 03, 2015

On this day, in 1521, Martin Luther– the father of the reformation and founder of Protestantism– was officially excommunicated by Pope Leo X from the Roman Catholic Church.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 56 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel which can be assembled in less then one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  4. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 30 DPMS AR-15 .223/5.56 30 Round Gray Mil Spec w/ Magpul Follower Magazines (a value of $448.95) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt. An equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions.
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  7. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  8. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  9. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate, and
  12. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  9. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  10. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  6. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack (a $379 value).

Round 56 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Natural Pharmacology: Medicinal Use of Mushrooms/Fungi and More, by M.H.

(Disclaimer: the following is for informational purposes only. The correct identification of fungus is incredibly important. If you do not know what you’re doing, and even if you do, do a spore print test. If you don’t know what that is, you better study before doing anything. The following medical examples are exactly that– examples! Some of the natural properties are incredibly beneficial, while some are extremely poisonous. You must know what you are doing. All other medical articles are geared towards research and extreme emergency-only procedures. None of this document should be construed as medical advice; please refer to a doctor.)

The use of fungus in medicine has been applied for over 3900 years, and that’s just the recorded history. Current use of fungus properties has been recorded as more effective than prescription medicines (and even experimental serums) when it came to fighting almost all strains of influenza and smallpox. A good reference for this is the works of Paul Stament and Robert Rogers. (See: NPR.) I highly recommend these books, they are critical for anybody’s proper library when it comes to being able to deal with severe disease. Tests were performed at U.S. Army lab at Fort Dietrich, Maryland on Agarikon mushroom. This mushroom showed incredible antiviral capabilities against smallpox, including the hemergatic version, which means it might possibly be effective against hemergatic diseases, such as Lassa and Ebola.

Smallpox

The amount of antiviral and anti-microbial functions that these fungus have is incredible. Remember that most of modern antibiotics are created from a refined form of fungus or one of its properties. These tests showed that this particular fungus was more effective than even the best, current experimental antivirals, when it came to battling smallpox. His books explain how to not only grow edible and medicinal mushrooms, which require minimal light, but also how to clean up radioactive, chemical, and biologically-contaminated materials using fungus.

Radiation

Other interesting mushrooms that should be included in a nuclear disaster are medicinal mushrooms, like reishi, chaga, and maitake. These have compounds called beta glucans that can soothe the internal burns caused by radioactivity.

Reishi Mushroom Fruiting Bodies (Ganoderma lucidum) offer protection against ionizing radiation.

  • Preventive dose (400 mg.), take two caps or one dropperful of tincture up to three times per-day.
  • Dose upon radiation exposure, take the same dose up to six times per day.

In a controlled study done at the U.S. Armed Forces Radiobiology Institute, 70% of rats given a lethal dose of radiation were completely protected from radiation effects when given a dose of yeast beta glucan by mouth after the radiation exposure. Beta glucan is a free radical scavenger. It is able to protect blood macrophages from free radical attack during and after the radiation, allowing these cells to continue to function in the irradiated body and release factors important to the restoration of normal bone marrow production. In combination with calcium oratate, sodium alginate, Ginkgo Leaf extract (following the tragedy at Chernobyl, scientists in the Soviet Union and elsewhere studied several natural products to see if they could reverse evidence of radiation-induced damage in responders and in people living near the disaster site. Most of the research involved products not readily available outside the Soviet Union, but one study utilized a Ginkgo biloba extract, Egb 761, that is available in North America. According to scientists at the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris the administration of Egb 761, 40 milligrams three times a day for two months, to workers at Chernobyl helped to significantly decrease evidence of radiation damage in blood, the benefits persisting for several months after administration of the Ginkgo extract ended. Italian researchers from the University of Pisa found similar protective effects of Egb 761 in patients exposed to high dose radioactive iodine, and finally on the list for internal nuclear protection is caffeine, giving 200 to 400 mg per hour while exposed to radiation. Not only that but mixing caffeine crystals in with a sunblock (full-spectrum 100 or better SPF) has been shown in scientific tests to minimize skin damage caused from radioactive materials.

The medicinal properties of medical mushrooms has been known for ages among most healers. From the American Indian to the Tibetan monk, these mushrooms have been used to heal ailments for many centuries. It has also been used to light fires, enjoy as a barbecued (beefsteak) mushroom, and seek spiritual enlightenment, plus they’re mighty tasty. Once you’ve read these books, you will simply be able to create everything from food off of baren rocks on top of mountains to medicines that enable you to take care of most ailments. It is one of the most critical resources, I feel, in my survival medical library.

Vitamin C

Another interesting concept that has been used in emergency medical situations was the use of mega doses of vitamin C versus viruses and cancers. These tests showed positive results in destroying the influenza virus, if taking immediately after known contraction and in the recommended dosage of  vitamin C. Several mechanisms for vitamin C’s antiviral effect are known or suggested from studies. The antioxidant property of ascorbate promotes a reducing environment in the bloodstream and tissues, enhancing the body’s response to oxidative stress from inflammation, thereby helping to fight microbes and viruses that propagate in stressful conditions. Ascorbate has been shown to have specific antiviral effects in which it inactivates the RNA or DNA of viruses, or in the assembly of the virus [Vitamin C is also involved in enhancing several functions of the immune system. Ascorbate can enhance the production of interferon, which helps prevent cells from being infected by a virus. Ascorbate stimulates the activity of antibodies, and in megadoses seems to have a role in mitochondrial energy production. It can enhance phagocyte function, which is the body’s mechanism for removing viral particles and other unwanted debris [4]. White blood cells, which are involved in the body’s defense against infections of all types, concentrate ascorbate up to 80 times plasma levels, which, if you take enough vitamin C, allows them to bring huge amounts of ascorbate to the site of the infection [4]. Many different components of the immune response, B-cells, T-cells, NK cells, and also cytokine production, all with important roles in the immune response, are enhanced by ascorbate.

This information is free, as it is not wise to give out medical advice. I highly recommend that you actually research this. The doses range from 1-2 g of vitamin ascorbate taken either orally or intravenously every 4 to 6 hours. In an interesting note, in the movie Outbreak, they referred to the experimental serum used to stop the Ebola-like virus as “orange juice”. I have heard through the grapevine that this was based on the current vitamin C megadose experiments versus severe viral infections.

Ebola

Since I have brought up the disease Ebola and its current pandemic possibilities, I wish to note that balancing the patient’s fluids and electrolytes, along with oxygen, is key in almost all aspects of any type of severe infection. You’ll notice in the news that they talked about giving blood transfusions from surviving Ebola patients with compatible blood types to those currently sick to be able to transfer antibodies over. This was successfully done in a few other outbreaks of hemorrhagic  fevers, and has shown to work about 50 to 70% of the time. Another note that if an Ebola pandemic does take place, you should not use  NSAID’s or aspirin to treat symptoms of fever.

TetraSilver-Tetroxide (not colloidal silver)

Another interesting substance that has been used to be able to stop weaponized pathogens is TetraSilver-TetraOxide. This is not Colloidal silver. This specific substance was shown to defeat some of the more serious types of infectious diseases. This is a small section out of the patent “Tetrasilver tetroxide semiconductor crystal capable of killing viruses, bacteria, fungi and algae when operating in conjunction with other such devices.” M. Antelman: US Patent # 5,676,977 ~ “Method of Curing AIDS with Tetrasilver Tetroxide Molecular Crystal Devices” M. Bactericide Compositions” (Abstract). This is another excellent example of what is possible when it comes to battling potential pandemic. K.T. TSEN, et al: “Inactivation of Viruses by UV Light”.

Information for Rebuilding Civilization

Some of this fascinating research comes from one of my favorite survivalist study information– the civilization kit by Rexresearch.com. You’ll find an incredible amount of information to be able to rebuild your civilization. He asked for a $13 contribution to keep his website up; for doing so you will receive a DVD of everything that’s on the website plus bonuses. Everything on the website is free, and once you have seen what you will be capable of doing with just a simple machine shop, some intelligence, and willpower, I hope you can help me rebuild human society into a level I civilization– a Golden age.

I felt that all the above mentions the potential and importance of having as many knowledge set skills as possible, with the ability to access research material to learn more. I did not go into herbology, as this would take up volumes of space. There is great use in herbs as medicine. My medical library has quite a selection on herbs. One book that I particularly recommend is along the lines of herbal/prescription reactions. Here are a few of what I think are the best:

  • A Modern Herbal, volumes 1 and 2,
  • All Indian ethnobotany books you can get,
  • Chinese Medicinal Herbsby Li Shi- Chen.
  • A Dictionary of Economic Plants by Uphof (This is a fascinating book in which they show which plants produce food, Ford, fibers, dyes, rubbers, spices, timber, and forced three products, perfumes, medicinals, narcotics, insecticides, and more. I mean it goes so far as to have bungee arrow poison recipes to animal hide de-hairing plants.)
  • Along with this I highly recommend one of the modern books on herbal/drug interactions.

I certainly hope this helps someone out there make it! My prayers are with you at all times.

Letter Re: TruCrypt

Hugh,

Of course people should do what they are comfortable with, but TrueCrypt is still safe to use.

For those who want the “new and improved” version of what was once TrueCrypt, there is now “VeraCrypt“—and-its-better

Users should note that even though it looks and acts like TrueCrypt, VeraCrypt can NOT decrypt files that were encrypted with TrueCrypt.

Happy New Year. – V