Q: To get ideas for your main female character, you may draw on the women in your life. Think about female role models like your mother, an aunt, a sister, a teacher, an employer, or a female friend. You may be inspired by the strength of the women in your life and use one of them or a combination of them for your character. For example, if you are trying to find a model for a main female character who is a teenager, you may talk to your mother about her life as a teenager or draw on your sibling’s experience of being a teenager. If you are a woman, you may think about your own personal experiences. Think about how it feels to walk around in the world in your body and how your gender shapes your perspective. If you are not female, you may think about the women you have interacted with in the past or in the present. Consider how you can depict the women you know accurately on the page.  If you are not female, you may find it challenging to draw on the experiences of a gender that is not your own. Focus on how you view the women around you from your perspective and get inspiration for your character that way. You can also read articles written by women about what their experiences are like. Once you have an idea in mind for your main female character, you should write out a backstory for your character. Give the female character unique personality traits and quirks. She should have a list of hobbies, interests, and beliefs that make her a well rounded character. Create a backstory for her that is nuanced and engaging.   For example, perhaps your female character is interested in politics, though she is still in high school. She may aspire to be the first female president and focus on social justice issues in her community. Or, perhaps you have a female character who is struggling with her identity and trying to fit into a friend group in college. You might also give her an interesting hobby like archery that involves mental and physical skill. You can also look at published writing that does a good job of representing women on the page. You may read writing by primarily female writers to get some inspiration or read great writing in general. For example, you may read:   Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen  The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison  The Color Purple by Alice Walker  The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros  Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf  The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon
A: Use a woman you know as a role-model. Draw on your own experiences of women. Create a backstory for your character. Read examples of main female characters.

Q: When your hens are mature enough to start regularly producing (18 to 24 weeks depending on breed), you need to make sure that they have the right feed and nutrients to produce eggs suitable for human consumption. Otherwise, your hens' egg production will be poor and their eggs might break before they make it to the table. The proper diet will also ensure that your hens look and feel healthy. After about 20 weeks, you need to up the amount of calcium your laying hens consume. Laying hens need 2.5% to 3.5% calcium in their feed, which is higher than other chickens. The calcium will help provide the proper nutrients to support healthy eggs. Offer this calcium to your hens separately from their regular feed, so that they can consume it at their own pace. For good sources of calcium, consider:  Oyster shells. Calcium grit. Limestone. The hens’ own eggshells, but only after they have been cooked and thoroughly cleaned. If you choose to offer eggshells, grind them up into a fine powder so that the hens do not recognize what they are eating and decide to try eating their own eggs. Feeds with added calcium. Free-range chickens are able to supplement their diet with a variety of insects, berries, seeds, and grain. This will not only help them secure the nutrients for healthy egg production, but it will also improve the taste of your eggs. In addition, you’ll have happier hens, and you might even be able to sell their eggs for more money to a population that is increasingly concerned with the well-being of farm animals. You don’t want your laying hens to have too much protein in their diet. While meat hens need 20-24% protein in their diet, laying hens only need 16% or less protein.  As a result, be alert to the type of feed you buy, and what your hens are consuming. To boost protein, consider:  Letting your chickens free range for worms. Extra grower feed. Feed that is formulated for laying hens. Layer feed is feed that comes with the nutrients that laying hens need to produce healthy eggs. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time overseeing your hens’ diets, consider purchasing a pre-mixed layer feed. If you do formulate your own layer feed, make sure that it has the protein (16% or less), and calcium levels (2.5% to 3.5%) to ensure that your eggs will be strong enough to make it to the table.  Typical laying hens will consume a quarter of a pound (0.11 kg) of feed a day. Provide your hens with all of their food at one time, preferably in the morning. Always check feed levels to make sure your chickens have enough feed. Grit refers to tiny pieces of stone or gravel that stay in the hens’ gizzards and help to grind down their food. Without a little grit in their diet, your hens won’t be able to digest and use all of the nutrients they’re supposed to be getting in order to produce healthy eggs. Adding grit to your hens' diets is especially important if your hens are confined and you don’t allow them to roam. While table scraps can supplement the diet of your hens, you need to be careful about what you’re feeding them. Some foods will hurt the egg production of your hens, rather than help it. Consider:  Egg laying hens should not be fed more table scraps than they can consume in 20 minutes. Potatoes, pasta, beans, and even stale bread are all ok. Avoid avocado, chocolate, citrus fruits, and tomato stems. These are toxic to chickens. Avoid foods with strong tastes like garlic and onions, as the eggs might take on those tastes. Table scraps could also increase the fat intake of your hens, making them overweight and unhealthy. Mealworms are little worms that provide hens with lots of protein and other nutrients. As a result, you should consider mealworms only as a treat for your hens. While they might make your hens happy, feeding them too much could undermine your egg production by raising their protein levels too high.  Give your hens mealworms maybe once a week. Mealworms are probably unnecessary if your hens free-range, as they’ll be able to find their own worms and other insects. You can grow your own mealworms, if you don’t want to buy them.
A: Provide your hens with the right food and nutrition at the right time. Add calcium to the hens’ diet, at the right time. Allow your hens to roam free. Maintain appropriate amounts of protein. Find some good layer feed. Provide your hens with a bowlful of grit. Avoid feeding your hens large amounts of table scraps. Feed your hens mealworms, sometimes.

Q: Acrylic and other synthetic yarns do not take dye very well, if at all. Your yarn need to be 100% wool, such as alpaca or sheep. Other natural fibers, such as cotton, may also work. White yarn will give you the brightest colors. If you want a softer effect, try gray, cream, or beige instead. There are lots of things you can use to dye your yarn with, including liquid food coloring, gel food coloring, and flavored juice mix (ie: Kool Aid). You can also use professional dyes as well, but you'll need to use special utensils for that to avoid contaminating your cookware. You can use just one color, but two or three will make your yarn look more interesting.
A:
Buy some natural fiber yarn. Choose 1 to 3 colors of dye.