Fresh Eggs & The Good Life

[Jim Koepke]

Our hens have been laying eggs, but they haven't quite gotten the whole thing worked out yet.

One of the hens seems to like to lay an egg every other day. She lays some pretty big eggs. She cackles pretty proudly after letting go of one of her special gems.

Well, she should be proud. They are bigger than the extra large eggs from the store and they are almost always double yolkers.

The whites in fresh eggs tend to stand tall better than store bought eggs. The yolks of our free ranging chickens tend to be darker orange than the pale yellow so common in store bought eggs.

We have a few neighbors that moved away from city life after we did. When our chickens were out for their daily walk one of the neighbor kids came by and was all excited. He was chasing our chickens every which way trying to get them to come home, without any success. I had to educate him on the way of the chickens.

I keep thinking of making a video of our chickens. They are a lot of fun to watch. Of course, I am happier watching farm animals gambol than I am watching TV. When Candy or I are walking around the yard, they will often follow us where ever we go. Sometimes I will carry some bread with me so I can get them to stop following me by crumbling a few pieces and spreading it around.

Then there are the geese. They are starting to get their voice. It is funny to watch them chase the chickens until one of the chickens starts to chase back. Then the geese run and cry out like a little school girl that just got spanked.

When Turner the cat gets involved is when a camera would be great.

A few days ago the geese and chickens were in the yard and Turner was walking through the flock. One of the geese gave him a goose and he took off between a couple of chickens that were startled and went up about four feet which further shocked Turner who also took to the air.

A long time will pass before the image of chickens and Turner in the air all akimbo will exit my memory.

Here is a picture of Candy (my wife) with one of the cats, both of the geese and three of the chickens.

207800

jtk

Added:

A riddle many have likely heard…

A box without key, hinge or lid
Yet inside…
A golden treasure is hid

[Ted Calver]

Jim, I have been wanting a few hens for a long time, but the missus thinks they are smelly nasty things. We live in a rural residential area. In response to pressure from locavores and backyard chicken aficionados our county administrators have proposed a 'chicken' ordinance allowing 4 hens on 20,000 sf lots and 6 hens on 1 acre lots with 25' setbacks from property lines for coops and runs and annual 'inspections' by codes compliance among other things. Owners can't sell eggs without a home occupation special use permit ($800) or deviate from any set back or other rule without a special ($800) use permit. Many of us plan to attend Planning Commission meetings to protest these onerous rules. In contrast, any homeowner regardless of lot size can own up to four dogs...put dog houses anywhere on the lot they want and are not subject to inspection. Seems like a huge fuss for a few hens and I can't imagine them making more noise or smelling worse than the four yappy dogs two houses down.

[Jim Koepke]

Ted,

A friend of mine lives in a residential area of El Cerrito, California. He is allowed to have up to a dozen hens but no roosters.

He lives on what I consider a postage stamp lot.

Of course, those who hate chickens will come up with all kinds of stories about how they will be the downfall of the local society.

"What if everyone decides to have chickens?"
"Then I would be a fool not to have some myself."

Four hens will not be enough to produce $800 worth of eggs a year unless people will pay a lot more for eggs than they will around here.

My friend gives eggs to the neighbors he thinks will complain and that tends to keep them from complaining.

From what I have read, a chicken needs about 3 or 4 square feet each if kept penned. We let ours roam during the day. They do need to be cooped up at night to protect them from predators. If there are free roaming dogs they need a fence to keep the dogs away.

Cats will bother baby chickens. Most grown chickens will teach cats not to mess with them. They usually will peck a cat on top of the head. A lesson a cat seldom forgets. I have also noticed there is an attitude about chickens and other domestic farm fowl. They tend to look at everything with a quizzical, "I wonder what that tastes like" look.

That is a look that can instill deep fear at the one being watched. I've seen it turn cats from stalking to running in fear.

jtk

[David G Baker]

I tried raising pheasants a few years ago but with all of the wild critters running around that lasted about three weeks before the pheasants ended up dead. They were secured in a cyclone fence enclosure with fence on all sides and the top. I released the ones that survived, they got eaten by local hawks. I thought about raising chickens in the past but decided to get my eggs from the store or local farmers because of the pheasant problems.

[Greg Peterson]

We have red tailed hawk in our area. Not a lot mind as we are located in a suburban area not far removed from interstate hiways and urban areas. Are hens too big for red tailed hawk? And as far as getting them into their coop at night, do they go there automatically or do you have to coral them?

[Sal Kurban]

I raise quail, the coturnix variety. I have 14 females and 6 males and I get 12-14 eggs/day except in dead winter. These things are very prolific! They grow so fast and start laying in 7-8 weeks. Eggs are small but we get so many that I cannot handle all, so I share with friends (not to mention they are excellent pickled). The only drawback is that eggs are a bit small. I raise them in a birdhouse that I made and even though the males are a bit noisy their screech does not seem to bother my suburbanite neighbors.

[Mike Henderson]

I grew up on a poultry farm. Today, I can't face an egg (to eat it) unless it's hidden some way, or cooked in an omelet. I just cannot eat an egg "sunny side up".

Chickens will eat almost anything, including each other (they'll pick another chicken to death, especially if that chicken has a wound). We had to debeak the chickens to prevent that. We've had all kind of predators of baby chicks. If a cat gets in, it will kill the chicks one at a time and stack them in a corner. Snakes will swallow chicks whole and will take three or four. They will also swallow eggs whole, then wrap themselves around a post and break the eggs.

We had free range chickens (an open hen house, not ranging freely on the farm - the modern technique is caged chickens) and had laying boxes with sacks tacked over the front of them. When we'd pick up the eggs, we'd just stick our hand in and sweep the nest for eggs, including under a hen, if one was in the nest. One day, our hired hand was doing that and pulled out a snake. The basket of eggs went flying. Probably lost two dozen eggs.

We had roost for the chickens to roost on at night. The area below that roost got pretty rank and had to be cleaned out a couple of times per year. Shoveling that was an experience. The ammonia would almost choke you. We'd pile it up in a row and when the oats started sprouting in it it was aged enough to start putting on the garden (fresh chicken manure is too strong and will burn the plants).

There's a lot more stories but you get my drift. City slickers used to think farm life was romantic. The truth was that it was dirty, hard, long work. I told my dad that farm work got me through college - I was afraid that if I flunked out I'd have to go back to the farm.

Mike

[Turkeys are a story, also. We raised them every year to sell at Thanksgiving. They are not the brightest animals.]

[Jim Koepke]

I grew up on a poultry farm. Today, I can't face an egg (to eat it) unless it's hidden some way, or cooked in an omelet. I just cannot eat an egg "sunny side up".

I love eggs and had four sunny side up for breakfast. Our chickens lay smallish eggs, so four really is more like two extra large.

I have to come up with more things to make with eggs as we are getting more than we can eat. Though with winter coming that should slow down some.

My father didn't like chickens. Neither does my father-in-law. I think both of them grew up with chickens.

Yes, they are dirty animals compared to some. Ours are not fenced in and roam over an acre or more.

Fresh eggs do make a great omelet.

jtk

[Ted Calver]

I'm thinking that just having a few hens puts you in the same boat as a dairy farmer who has to milk twice a day come heck or high water....you have to be there to feed and let the hens out in the morning and close the door at night. If you want to travel or visit friends, you will need a hen sitter. What do you do Jim?

[Mike Henderson]

I'm thinking that just having a few hens puts you in the same boat as a dairy farmer who has to milk twice a day come heck or high water....you have to be there to feed and let the hens out in the morning and close the door at night. If you want to travel or visit friends, you will need a hen sitter. What do you do Jim?
Chickens aren't nearly as bad as dairy cows. If you have the chickens in a coop, you can use a feeder that dispenses the food via gravity and there are waterers that keep a container full. You can leave chickens for several days and they'll be fine.

Dairy cows have to be milked twice a day and at the same time every day. There's no escaping dairy.

And a dairy is pretty dirty. The cows gather at the barn prior to milking and that area gets very messy from their body wastes. During the rainy season, that area turns into a soup of mud and cow waste. The barn itself gets it's own special aroma from the cow wastes and the spilled milk. It's a very distinctive smell (all dairies used to smell the same).

Mike

[Bruce Volden]

Well, my BIL gave us 23 silver laced wyandotte chicks last year as my wife wanted "some eggs". They grew, and 14 turned out to be roosters. It was fun listening to them learn to crow as they free ranged around our acreage. About 1 week of the crowing we'd had enough-off with their heads and into the freezer. Now we get plenty of eggs (large) from what we have left. HOWEVER all things come at a price!! So much for anything red in the garden, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers etc. these critters attack all things red. Oh well, I learn something new daily and next year I'll learn how to hen proof a garden:)

Bruce

[Jim Koepke]

They grew, and 14 turned out to be roosters.

We have two roosters. One is dominant. If we hatch any chicks next year, we plan to send any roosters to the priesthood. We think they will be good friars. (fryers)

jtk

[John alder]

We had a half dozen years back and keeping a light in the coop helped keep production up in the winter,something to do with patooatory glands.But the high cost of feed it was cheaper to buy eggs at a store.Racoons finally put an end to them sadly.