Pretty Eggs

I really like how pretty brown eggs are and sometimes the girls make them extra special.  Like this one...

Our laying hens like to keep life interesting!

Egg Production is UP!

This is a beautiful sight...

We are getting tons of eggs now!  I think the chicken mower has been really good for the girls. 

Breakfast anyone?

Chicken Mower

We like to be as resourceful as possible and when the grass/weeds/clover started getting tall in the backyard, we started brainstorming ways to use it to our advantage. 

As a result, Mr. Right came up with this...

He used PVC pipe, chicken wire and zip ties to create a chicken mower!  Most afternoons, he loads the girls up in the mower then drags it to a new spot in the yard that needs mowing.  They have done a great job at keeping our yard looking good!

This also means that they eat less chicken feed which makes keeping them even cheaper.  Whoo! 

The mower has a laying box mounted in the corner in case someone forgot to lay their egg that morning.  We also give them shade by clothes pinning a towel on top when they are in the sun.

I don't know if this is a result of the mower and all the grass the girls are eating but we did get 6 eggs today.  That means everyone laid one! 

Breakfast Menu

Something new I've discovered is I like to keep a breakfast menu.  I cook breakfast each morning for Mr. Right and myself so it makes the mornings go much smoother if I have a plan.  This way, I can have the table set and breakfast on the table by the time he makes it to the kitchen.  I even light a candle.  :)  Hey, he works hard all day and should get to start his mornings off right!  Plus, he's so handsome...I just can't resist.

Let's name these eggs "Tuesday", "Thursday" and "Friday" :)

Here is my menu:
Sunday: fruit, yogurt, homemade sausage biscuits
Monday: baked oatmeal (tasty and economical)
Tuesday: Omelet and homemade hashbrowns (or oven baked potatoes)
Wednesday: baked oatmeal
Thursday: pumpkin muffins (his fav), eggs
Friday: sweet potatoes (mashed or oven baked), eggs
Saturday: pancake day! and yogurt

I feel like sticking to a menu also helps keep things natural.  You won't need to grab something quick and unhealthy because you're out of ideas. 

Give it a try.  :)

Hens Eating Berries

So, our neighbor does not keep her bushes trimmed back AT ALL.  Therefore, Mr. Right had to go outback and try to recapture part of our backyard again.  That's when he noticed that one of the bushes was loaded with some sort of wild berries.  Then the light bulb in our heads went off....  The hens would love this!  He tossed all the branches in their pen and they went crazy over them!  Berries, leaves...the whole kit and kaboodle.

The moral of the story is this...if you don't keep your yard from growing into our yard then we will use your bushes to feed our hens. 

Part of the guilty party.

Now, we have eggs with extra vitamins.  :)

Why Must Hens Molt?

Raising laying hens is interesting.  I grew up with dogs (inside dogs) not with hens.  So, now I'm learning a lot.  I started getting concerned several months ago when one of our hens looked like she had the mange.  After discussing it with Grandpa, I learned that she was molting.  Now, several of our hens are molting.

Apparently, this happens each year.  They lose their feathers, grow new ones, and usually stop laying during this time.  So, the definition of molting is:  ridiculous looking birds that produce no food.

This isn't our hen but you get the idea. backyardchickens.com

When will this be over?!  We're getting about one egg every couple days.  In fact, we actually went to the store and bought some organic, free range eggs to use in baking.  bummer.

I didn't know how good I had it this summer!

The Great Chicken Light Debate

As the winter months set in, laying hens usually don't lay as much.  I knew that but seeing it in your own backyard is devastating because, well, I reaaallly like eggs.  What to do?  Grandpa keeps a light on in his hen house 24/7.  Many people do that so the hens will keep laying.  Supposedly, laying hens need about 14 hours of sunlight or their bodies kind of go into winter mode.  Obviously, this is natural.  What isn't natural is that there are six laying hens living in my backyard that I am feeding and caring for so I want eggs!

So, here's the debate....should we put a light in their coop so they might keep laying or let them have their down time?  Decisions, decisions....

Oh, how I miss you all.

"Automatic" Egg Collector

We like having animals but we also like to travel.  When we first got the chickens and we left for a weekend, I would just cross my fingers and hope they didn't crack their eggs as they laid them in the nesting box all weekend.  With chickens, you could put a nesting box for each one of them in the coop but they will still use the same box even if it's already full of eggs.
Then I got this bright idea....

An "automatic" egg collector!

Now, they lay their eggs in the box and it rolls down into the plastic container!  No broken eggs at our house!  I lined the nexting box and the container with straw so the eggs roll softly.  That container will hold two dozen eggs and not one of them will get stepped on and broken by a chicken. 

Here is another view from inside the nesting box.  If you were an egg, this is what you would see...

You can tell in that photo how I cut the back of the crate out and the side of the container so the egg would have a path to travel.

The chickens don't mind that the box is elevated and slightly tilted.  At least, I don't think they mind.  They haven't formed a union and petitioned for better laying conditions yet.  So until they do, this is the way the eggs will be collected while we're gone!

Washing Eggs

Aren't they pretty?

One of my favorite things is laying eggs out to dry that I've washed.  I feel rich when I have a dish cloth full of fresh eggs!  The ladies aren't laying as much as they did during the summer but I'll take what I can get. 

Good job, ladies.  Thanks for the eggs.  :)

Eggs and Cholesterol

Many people seem to not eat eggs because they are "high in cholesterol" and "bad for you."  Well, I'm convinced eggs got a bad wrap several years ago so lets do a little myth busting.

Here's what Harvard Health has to say about the situation (highlighting is mine):

Fact: Eggs are a good source of nutrients. One egg contains 6 grams of protein and some healthful unsaturated fats. Eggs are also a good source of choline, which has been linked with preserving memory, and lutein and zeaxanthin, which may protect against vision loss.
Fact: Eggs have a lot of cholesterol. The average large egg contains 212 milligrams of cholesterol. As foods go, that’s quite a bit, rivaled only by single servings of liver, shrimp, and duck meat.

Myth: All that cholesterol goes straight to your bloodstream and then into your arteries. Not so. For most people, only a small amount of the cholesterol in food passes into the blood. Saturated and trans fats have much bigger effects on blood cholesterol levels.
Myth: Eating eggs is bad for your heart. The only large study to look at the impact of egg consumption on heart disease—not on cholesterol levels or other intermediaries—found no connection between the two. In people with diabetes, though, egg-a-day eaters were a bit more likely to have developed heart disease than those who rarely ate eggs.
If you like eggs, eating one a day should be okay, especially if you cut back on saturated and trans fats. 

When I researched the Mayo Clinic site I found this:

How much the cholesterol in your diet can increase your blood cholesterol varies from person to person.
When deciding whether to include eggs in your diet, consider the recommended daily limits on cholesterol in your food:

• If you are healthy, it's recommended that you limit your dietary cholesterol intake to less than 300 milligrams (mg) a day.
• If you have cardiovascular disease, diabetes or a high low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") blood cholesterol level, you should limit your dietary cholesterol intake to less than 200 mg a day.

One large egg has about 213 mg of cholesterol — all of which is found in the yolk. Therefore, if you eat an egg on a given day, it's important to limit other sources of cholesterol for the rest of that day. Consider substituting servings of vegetables for servings of meat, or avoid high-fat dairy products for that day.

Mother Earth News compared small farmer’s eggs with commercial store-bought eggs and found differences in everything from cholesterol amount, ratio of omega 3 to 6 fats, and vitamin content.  Go home grown eggs!

Here's my conclusion, it's not that eggs are evil it's just that most Americans have so much fat and cholesterol in their diet that they start to point fingers at eggs.  We know that eggs contain LOTS of good nutrients so why don't we point fingers at chips, fast food burgers, processed food, etc?
Don't blame eggs for high cholesterol! 

Chicken Waterer

We like having chickens but we also like to travel so we needed a way to leave them plenty of water that they couldn't tip over.  Chickens will find a way to mess up nearly everything you try to do right so don't think a big bowl of water will last all weekend.  They'll wade in it then knock it over about an hour after you leave.  However, they haven't messed up the waterer I made yet!  I'm making a second one to put in a pen with a hen who is molting.

Here's what a chicken nozzle looks like in case you're not familiar...

Now...

*You'll need a bucket.  (We used a 5 gallon bucket for the big pen but I'm using a 2 gallon today for the little pen I'm making.)
*"chicken nozzle" (You can order these pretty cheap online.)
*5/16 drill bit
*7/16 nut driver
*thread seal tape
*drill

First, drill a 5/16 hole in the bottom of your bucket.  I'm only putting one nozzle on this bucket but we used three on our big bucket.  So, drill as many holes as you want nozzles (spacing them out, of course).

Next, wrap the nozzle threads in thread seal tape.  This helps create a watertight seal.

Use the 7/16 nut driver to drive the nozzle into the bucket.  Make sure you are putting the threads inside the bucket.  You wouldn't want to do it upside down!

Here's the finished product...

Now, just hang the bucket in your chicken pen and fill it with water.  They can't wade in this water OR tip it over.  Some people say you can freeze a water bottle and drop it in the bucket during the summer to keep the water cool.  I never did.  It didn't seem to get that warm.
You want to hang the bucket at a height where the chickens don't have to squat.  Hang it so they can slightly extend their necks to drink.  Make sure they can all reach it if you have different breeds!

When I first made one I wondered how to show them where the water was since they were used to a bowl.  I read online and most people said to just take away their water bowl and they will figure it out.  Well, they did!  Just monitor your flock to make sure they all figure it out.

Breakfast Burritos

My sister-in-law gave me the recipe for homemade tortillas and inspired these breakfast burritos.
When you try to eat natural you have to learn to do without some things most people are used to.  For us, one of those things was tortillas.  There might be some all-natural, no preservative tortillas out there but I knew there had to be some way to make them.  I just had not found a way until the beautiful day I received an email from my sister-in-law that said, "Do you ever make tortillas?"  NO!  TELL ME HOW!  Well, now I know how and they're fantastic.  So here goes...

By the way, "bp" is baking powder.  I tend to get lazy when I'm writing things in my own cookbook.

The first thing you need to do is gather your ingredients.

 That jar contains "real salt."  We buy it in bulk.  It has a great flavor and an earthy color.

Put the cup of warm water in a large bowl with the oil.  I used filtered water and warmed it on the stove (we choose not to own a microwave) then added it to a large bowl with coconut oil.  Then add the baking powder, salt and flour.  Knead the dough for about a minute until the ingredients are mixed.  Then take a 10 minute break....relax in your recliner, call a friend, paint your nails (wait, don't do that)...

Then, I shaped mine into seven balls.  This made large tortillas.  If you want smaller ones, then shape into 14 smaller balls (you get the idea).  Once you make the balls, roll them very thin.  I wasn't worried about making mine perfectly round...obviously.

Cook them on a lightly greased griddle until done... not brown.  I just used a cast iron skillet.

Here's a trick: if you stack them up after you cook each one, the bottom ones will remain soft and "rollable."  Otherwise, they don't roll into burritos well. 

Here are mine.  Cooked and stacked. They aren't pretty but they're yummy!

Once you finish those, it's time for the next phase of your breakfast burrito....hashbrowns!  I washed several potatoes and grated them on a hand grater.  The process would be faster with a food processor but if you don't mind building some muscle (or if you choose to be old-fashioned like me), break out the hand grater.

Can you tell which potato isn't real?  It's actually my scrubber!

If you're like me, after about two potatoes, your arm is asking you what the punishment is for.

Just persevere and remember, those breakfast burritos will be on your plate before you know it!

Next, toss them in a skillet with hot oil...

Keep flipping them until they're done and brown.  These shown are about half finished.

Once the hashbrowns are done, scramble some eggs and fold those in a tortilla with some hashbrowns.  Add salsa (or blackberry preserves if you're like my hubby) and its time to eat!
*I remembered to take a picture of a finished burrito AFTER we ate them all.  So, you'll have to make them and see for yourself!

Enjoy!
Of course, you don't have to make breakfast burritos.  You could fill them with refried beans, cheese, beef....  Let me know how you fix them!

Baked Oatmeal

A sweet friend gave me this recipe and I adapted it for a healthier diet.  I'll confess...my husband and I do not like oatmeal made the traditional way but we really like this recipe.  It's completely different than the oatmeal you're used to.  We enjoy it with milk like cereal.
Here's the recipe:

In case you're not familiar, sucanat is basically pure dried sugar cane juice.  It still contains it's molasses.  It has a very nice, rich, almost nutty, flavor.  We buy it in bulk from a natural food company.  You can also purchase it from grocery stores that sell whole foods.

So, gather your ingredients...

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, add the wet ingredients then stir together.
Spread in a 9x13 pan...

Then bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
Eat it plain or pour some milk over it.  By the way, I like to add a little cocoa to mine before I bake it to give it a slight chocolate flavor.  You can also add nuts, dried fruit or anything else you think might taste good.

Mine will be out of the oven in 20 minutes and I can't wait!

"The Girls"- our laying hens

My husband’s grandpa has chickens for eggs on his farm and we always bring some home with us when we go to visit.  It was always a treat to get his eggs.  Then one day I happened to learn that a friend of mine had chickens in her backyard and she lives in a neighboring large city.  I had never heard of someone having chickens in town!  So, I researched the laws and sure enough, we could have chickens in our suburban back yard.  That’s all I needed to know!  I convinced my husband by telling him I would feed them, love them, clean up after them and everything.  So, we started building the coop.  It was winter time and snowing…not really a good time to build a coop but once I get my mind on something there is no stopping me!  We started off with three chickens and after two tragedies and a series of other events we now have six.  We have three Black Australorps (Helen, Thelma Lou and Aunt Bee), two Rhode Island Reds (Omelet and Elvis) and one Cinnamon Queen (Big Mama).  They sure make the backyard lively!  We used to let them roam the yard in the evenings but then we decided we didn’t like stepping in chicken stuff all over the yard.  So, now, their pen has sand in the bottom so it can easily be cleaned with a litter box scooper.  My sweet husband also fenced in a small area of the yard where we let them out to eat grass, bugs, etc. 

The first time we walked outside and found breakfast right there in the laying box was a miracle.  How fascinating!  Now, I enjoy gathering about four eggs a day.  What I also enjoy about the eggs is the added health benefits as opposed to store bought eggs.  Most of the eggs sold in stores are from chickens that spend their life in a small cage.  All they do is eat antibiotic feed and lay eggs.  They don’t get to move, be social or see the outdoors.  Do you really want to eat that?  Some “free range” varieties allow the chickens to be loose in the house but they don’t actually go outside.  Our chickens get exercise, eat bugs they dig up as well as non-antibiotic feed, have fresh water each day, etc.  If you ever crack a store bought egg into a skillet next to a farm fresh egg you will notice a difference.  A farm fresh egg has a deep, rich colored yolk.  That is because it’s packed with more nutrients! 

Keeping laying hens isn’t hard.  You should check your city laws to see if they allow you to have them.  If you can’t or don’t want to keep your own hens, support a local farmer and buy his eggs.  You can buy several dozen at a time.  They will keep for weeks since they are fresh.

Note:  We purchased our hens young but full grown and already laying.  We didn’t have to raise them from chicks.  You can if you want but this is always a great option.

Our first eggs