Tag: eggs

Expanding the flock~(revised)

by Karen, posted in chicks, family, local fun, raising chickens

…is proving to be no easy task this spring. My husband anxiously anticipated the arrival of the chick catalogues, nad contacted some new (to us) hatcheries for their catalogues, and planned to get some chicks from New Mexico in March and from Texas in June. At the end of February they wouldn’t accept the March order; they wanted to send them the next day, but we learned last year (the hard way) that February in Maine is too early to get the chicks. When he called back in March (two weeks later), there were no chicks to be had…until June. He made some more calls to other vendors and was given the same verdict.

Bummer.

This is the first time this has ever happened since we first started raising chicks in 2006. Next, my husband hit the road to see what the stores in our area were offering.

We were hopeful as we entered Tractor Supply Company in Sanford…but alas, the only “peeps” they had on Monday were the marshmallow kind, just to the right of the door as you enter the store, and the stuffed kind (the ones that actually “peep” when you press on their stomachs~too cute!). On the plus side, this gave me a nudge to get going with my Easter Basket planning. Note to self: go back to Tractor Supply alone (read: without husband who doesn’t get the whole “Easter Basket” concept) to shop for the baskets.

Longhorn? They’ll have them on Monday. Tractor Supply? Has some now, but not any that we want.

The idea of hatching our own is starting to look more appealing…

Anyway, the stage is set (warming lights on, tiny waterers at the ready) in our home-made brooder (which is a 4×4 wooden box). If and when the chicks arrive, we are ready!

Winter bounty

by Karen, posted in chicks, raising chickens

Lately we’ve been getting so many eggs because we’ve (well, full disclosure: it’s mostly been my husband) been working on the timing of new chicks. . . the September 1st chicks have now begun laying brown eggs. In the spring, we will refresh the white and green egg layers.

We used to only get new chicks in the spring; now we get new chicks in the fall as well.

Eggs, ready for bagging

The girls have been working overtime producing up to two dozen eggs per day, depending on variables, some known (like availability of water, food, and light, the presence of predators nearby),  and some we can only imagine (“She’s touching me! Make her stop touching me!”).

Some credit must be given to the boys, too.  We have a few roosters, one dominant, and a few lesser that know to stay out of his way. Right now, they have a good balance of boys to girls, so everyone is getting along. Harmony in the flock is most certainly conducive to good egg production.

Basically, chickens are happy campers. They eat, sleep, lay eggs, and peck the ground and each other. If they have thoughts, our consensus is that this it is one, shared, universal thought. Here it is:

“I’m a chicken! I’m a chicken! I’m a chicken!”

For all of the people who wonder why we bag the eggs: it’s for health reasons. It just seems more hygienic than reusing the egg cartons. Also, it keeps costs down.

:>)

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Eggstra special breakfast

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, raising chickens, tweens
A double yoked egg!

I decided to cook a big breakfast last Sunday morning, so my daughter and I headed to the kitchen to strategize.

Me: Pumpkin Pancakes?
Izzy: No.
Me: Waffles?
Iz: No.
Me: Bacon and eggs?
Iz: Yes! And sausage!
Well, no surprise there; that’s almost always her breakfast of choice (we do raise chickens, after all!).
I headed to the cupboard for a pan; she headed to the fridge for the eggs.
She brought two eggs over to me for inspection, one of which was a very large egg with a network of funky ridges on it surface.
Now, I had been watching that egg for a few days…often when a young hen first starts laying, she will produce eggs of interesting sizes, shapes, and … textures.
I made Izzy her “tween omelet”:  egg scrambled with the mushrooms cooked separately and served on the side.
Then I bit the bullet and cracked the unusual egg into the bowl…and it had two yolks! Now, this wasn’t our first chicken egg that contained two yolks, but it was the first one that I’d ever personally cracked that did.
I was absurdly pleased by this.
One great thing about this egg was how bright and beautiful the yolks were. What was also great was that it was big enough to make an entire omelet from just the one egg!
Note: I put my mushrooms (and spinach!) in the actual omelet, as opposed to the “tween” version with them on the side. 🙂

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Fun with friends

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, baking, family, italian, local fun, restaurants, tweens

What could be better than a great day spent doing fun things with your friends?  Not much; especially if it involves good food. 

friends

 

This past weekend, my daughter and I did just that. We started off at The Good Table, a wonderful restaurant in Cape Elizabeth.  Sunday brunch is the day to go; that is the day that you can have a cinnamon bun that’s (almost as) big as your head. Even if that’s the only thing you have, you will be very happy you went. 

Of course, it’s not the only thing that we had. Among us, we ordered an Italian Villa (an egg dish, not a house), blueberry crepes…home fries, toast, eggs, bacon were all present and accounted for. We had plenty left over; too bad I forgot it in my friend’s car! (yes, she saved them for me…). 🙂 

Next, being happily filled up with an abundance of excellent food, we stopped at Two Lights. We got out, walked around, took pictures of our kids and ourselves. Then we headed over to Fort Williams Park for a drive through…we didn’t have time to get out and walk around because the girls were anxious to get to the Maine Rock Gym. If you are bringing your tween to climb, please note that if they are under 12 then they will need someone to belay for them, so be prepared. About an hour is how long we (my 11 year old and I) usually last at rock climbing. 

climbing rock wall

 

The girls had been wanting to go to Coastal Maine Popcorn in the Old Port. This is a great place to take your kids. They have up to 30 different popcorn flavors, both savory and sweet. Some recent offerings are black licorice, buffalo wing, salt and vinegar, watermelon, Maine maple. You are welcome to try any flavors before you buy them. We tried, then we bought for others. 

After that, the girls (and of course, the moms!) needed a treat for ourselves. We had an “ice cream vs gelato” debate, and in the end, ice cream won. We headed to the new location of Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream in the Old Port. If you are an adventurous ice cream eater, this is the place for you. Like Coastal Maine Popcorn, they will happily let you “try before you buy”  (lavender? avocado? jack daniels? all these ice cream flavors and many more), like all good businesses do. 

This concluded our outing. We were tired, but happy. Consider your own “Fun with Friends” day in your own or nearby town.

Spring!

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, raising chickens

Gold Laced Wyandotte Bantam, 4 months old

So, there are still a few days left of spring, the time when a young man’s fancy lightly turns to… chicks! You know, the kind that come from hens (we’re talking flock expansion here).

We have been anxiously awaiting the call from Longhorn since last week’s false alarm, when the anticipated arrival date (June 11th) came and went with no new babies! The due date was revised; the new date set was June 16th.

The new date came, and this time the chicks have indeed arrived! We got the call at 9:04AM. My husband headed over with his wish list of preferred types of chicks to add to our flock.

Decisions have been made after much research online, in books, in conversation with other people (who either currently raise chickens or did at one time)…now he will try to match up our list with what they actually are offering. Room is always left to add an interesting surprise or two; following your gut instinct is important in chick-choosing.

Today the gut points to a Bantam chick that my husband describes as “interesting”. Bantams are roughly half (or less) the size of “regular” sized chickens, which can be a boon for you if you are raising chickens in a small space. Of course, their eggs are smaller (and cuter!) too, but hey, sometimes you only need a little egg for your cooking project (like when you are breading cutlets, or making an egg wash for a pie or stromboli). It can be a bigger risk  that you may end up with a boy instead of girl when you choose a bantam, but some of the Bantams are just so “interesting” that it’s a chance you willingly take. Well, we take the chance more often than not.

The new chicks are now happily ensconced in their own little coop, where they will stay until they are ready for assimilation into the main coop.

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eggs!

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, raising chickens
our multicolored eggs

speaking of egg color driving our hen choices every year (see prior post ), here is a sampling of some of what our flock puts forth every day.  the blue and green eggs come from ameraucana chickens. marans, barnvelders,  and welsummers lay the chocolate brown eggs. . . and the white leghorn hens lay large, perfect, white, hard-shelled eggs.

when we collect the eggs, we never really know for sure what we will get from day-to-day. some hens lay quite frequently, some not so much. we also never know for sure where we will find them. although they have beautifully outfitted nest boxes, some hens just take a liking to a particular spot and will lay their eggs there, nest box or not. then it’s a challenge to avoid “walking on eggshells” when we go to throw them some treats or collect the days eggs.

one likes to lay her eggs on the ground to the right of the stairs that lead out to the run. another deposits hers out in the run.  if we find an egg in the same spot a few times, my husband will place a nest box there for that hen, although there is no guarantee that she will take advantage of it.

the eggs also vary in size; sometimes (when hens are first starting to lay) the egg is as small as a marble! sometimes they are as large as a tennis ball, and we have found eggs of every size in between.  shape varies from perfectly round to oval to oblong. sometimes they are asymmetrical. they are never boring.