When we finally do buy a house we're getting chickens. I'm going to collect eggs!

We're getting chickens and a pig. And MAYBE a cow. Their names are going to be Bacon and Hamburger.

LOL Like we ever go on vacation NOW! We have friends who will come watch the place if we go.

I've been in "Don't cook unless you really have to " mode for a long time.

So I was thrilled recently to find hard boiled, shelled eggs for $3 / dozen in the grocery store.

I don't mind frying eggs once in a while, but I dislike washing the frying pan afterward.

If someone else would clean the pan, I could fry eggs 3 or 4 times a week.

 

I just know the chickens grandma had. Spent a whole lot of time in that chicken coop.

A whole lot of time.

Charts are neat. But chickens are like kids, you don't realiize how much work they take till you have them.

A whole lot of time with the chickens.

DH made scrambled eggs for me yesterday from eggs laid by our free range hens. They were the richest, most golden eggs I've ever had - yolks the color of Velveeta cheese, rather than pale like butter. And yummy! We have 5 hens, two of whom are laying, plus 8 young ones, plus about 15 chicks. The two sitting hens laid their eggs in a filing cabinet in the barn, and behind some stacked lumber. DH takes a magic marker and dates them as to when they were laid. The neighbor's dog got Roscoe, our rooster, so until one of young ones matures, we wont have any fertile eggs.

Momala wrote:

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DH made scrambled eggs for me yesterday from eggs laid by our free range hens. They were the richest, most golden eggs I've ever had - yolks the color of Velveeta cheese, rather than pale like butter. And yummy! We have 5 hens, two of whom are laying, plus 8 young ones, plus about 15 chicks. The two sitting hens laid their eggs in a filing cabinet in the barn, and behind some stacked lumber. DH takes a magic marker and dates them as to when they were laid. The neighbor's dog got Roscoe, our rooster, so until one of young ones matures, we wont have any fertile eggs.

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 Breaking open a baby chicken in a skillet is one quick way to kill an appetite! 

 

Ohfour wrote:

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We only eat fresh eggs. I co-worker has a farm and sells them from $3 a dozen. And she brings them right to my office. No refrigeration needed and they honestly taste like a different food. Sooooo good...

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 This true. Fresh eggs are so much better. 

Blankie wrote:

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Maybe I'll color some Easter eggs. That's always fun.

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 I used to do some like this:

 

How pretty!

lilyofcourse wrote:

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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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I have studied up on chickens and taken some classes on them. I am ready and prepared to raise them. I did see the neatest chicken run the other day. They planted their garden and then make a chicken run going all the way around it. Sure way to keep the varmits out.

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 There are classes on raising chickens?!?! 

LOL 

 

I had no idea. 

 

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 Laugh if you want but raising chickens can be big business.  And no, it's not as easy as throwing a few chickens in a pen.  There are hundreds of breeds of chickens.  Some are way more docile than others.  That flying at you thing you describe?  Yeah, that's a breed quality.  You find the breed that you want to raise the right kind of chickens and eggs.  And there are different ways to keep them and feed them that affects how they lay and the quality of the eggs. 

Can't see the link FWM!

lilyofcourse wrote:

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I would love to make Ukrainian eggs.
How do you do them?

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 You draw on them with a special stylist that holds bees wax.

You cover all the parts you want white with the wax using the stylist (which you have to keep reheating and dipping in the bees wax).  Then dye the egg dipping into the yellow dye.

Cover everything you want yellow then dip and dye green.

You keep coloring each color and then dying the next color from lightest to darkest.  At the end you have an egg covered in wax and dipped into the final color (black).

 

Then hold to a candle and remove all the wax and shellac.

The person that taught me had eggs generations old.  You were to use whole raw eggs, but after a few years mine blew up.

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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lilyofcourse wrote:

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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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I have studied up on chickens and taken some classes on them. I am ready and prepared to raise them. I did see the neatest chicken run the other day. They planted their garden and then make a chicken run going all the way around it. Sure way to keep the varmits out.

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 There are classes on raising chickens?!?! 

LOL 

 

I had no idea. 

 

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 Laugh if you want but raising chickens can be big business.  And no, it's not as easy as throwing a few chickens in a pen.  There are hundreds of breeds of chickens.  Some are way more docile than others.  That flying at you thing you describe?  Yeah, that's a breed quality.  You find the breed that you want to raise the right kind of chickens and eggs.  And there are different ways to keep them and feed them that affects how they lay and the quality of the eggs. 

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Yes I know it's big business. I smell it several times a year. Have a hundred or more chicken houses with in a mile or two in any direction.

I know there are different breeds. A nd all that other stuff.

I also know you make a momma hen mad, she's gonna let you know.

 I was laughing at you. 

Just in general. I can just see Grandma taking a class on chickens! She'd be beside herself. 

All my lessons came from doing and grandparents. 

Its like that Salsa from New York City! Commercial. 

I know it's there. 

lilyofcourse wrote:

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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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lilyofcourse wrote:

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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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I have studied up on chickens and taken some classes on them. I am ready and prepared to raise them. I did see the neatest chicken run the other day. They planted their garden and then make a chicken run going all the way around it. Sure way to keep the varmits out.

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 There are classes on raising chickens?!?! 

LOL 

 

I had no idea. 

 

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 Laugh if you want but raising chickens can be big business.  And no, it's not as easy as throwing a few chickens in a pen.  There are hundreds of breeds of chickens.  Some are way more docile than others.  That flying at you thing you describe?  Yeah, that's a breed quality.  You find the breed that you want to raise the right kind of chickens and eggs.  And there are different ways to keep them and feed them that affects how they lay and the quality of the eggs. 

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Yes I know it's big business. I smell it several times a year. Have a hundred or more chicken houses with in a mile or two in any direction.

I know there are different breeds. A nd all that other stuff.

I also know you make a momma hen mad, she's gonna let you know.

 I was laughing at you. 

Just in general. I can just see Grandma taking a class on chickens! She'd be beside herself. 

All my lessons came from doing and grandparents. 

Its like that Salsa from New York City! Commercial. 

I know it's there. 

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 I don't think it's fair that just because you're Grandma had chickens that you need to scoff at NJN for learning about it. No matter how much I think I know I always want to learn more. My Grandma used to raise cows but I think modern techniques have certainly changed from the way she did it.

Tinydancer wrote:

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lilyofcourse wrote:

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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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lilyofcourse wrote:

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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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I have studied up on chickens and taken some classes on them. I am ready and prepared to raise them. I did see the neatest chicken run the other day. They planted their garden and then make a chicken run going all the way around it. Sure way to keep the varmits out.

---

 There are classes on raising chickens?!?! 

LOL 

 

I had no idea. 

 

---

 Laugh if you want but raising chickens can be big business.  And no, it's not as easy as throwing a few chickens in a pen.  There are hundreds of breeds of chickens.  Some are way more docile than others.  That flying at you thing you describe?  Yeah, that's a breed quality.  You find the breed that you want to raise the right kind of chickens and eggs.  And there are different ways to keep them and feed them that affects how they lay and the quality of the eggs. 

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Yes I know it's big business. I smell it several times a year. Have a hundred or more chicken houses with in a mile or two in any direction.

I know there are different breeds. A nd all that other stuff.

I also know you make a momma hen mad, she's gonna let you know.

 I was laughing at you. 

Just in general. I can just see Grandma taking a class on chickens! She'd be beside herself. 

All my lessons came from doing and grandparents. 

Its like that Salsa from New York City! Commercial. 

I know it's there. 

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 I don't think it's fair that just because you're Grandma had chickens that you need to scoff at NJN for learning about it. No matter how much I think I know I always want to learn more. My Grandma used to raise cows but I think modern techniques have certainly changed from the way she did it.

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The bolded was supposed to be wasn't. Not was.

I really am not making fun.  

Lily explained her typo. It makes all the difference, in the meaning.

Well, regardless of what her intent was it came off kind of rude. Maybe if you come from a family of people who have always had chickens then it comes naturally. I grew up in the suburbs. We never owned chickens. And yes, I have gone to classes on raising chickens. I don't see what's so weird about that. I learned that there are HUNDREDS of breeds of chickens. The ones your grandma had were aggressive. Some chickens are naturally docile. It's important to learn which ones are which if you are going to have them. I mean if you like aggressive chickens and all that's fine but some people don't. Then you have to consider your environment. Some chickens survive better in hot climates and some in cooler climates. Having the wrong chickens in the wrong climates greatly affects their laying ability. So yeah, that IS important. And then some breeds lay more than others. Also, you have to know what kind of eggs you want. White, green, brown, speckled... All that's important in considering what kind of chicken to get.

It's fine. But there really IS a lot to it. If you want to be a success at it. We don't want to just go out and buy some chickens willy nilly and have them all die on us.

We have feral chickens.
They roam the farm, reproduce on their own and have to learn to avoid the cats, foxes, etc that come around.
What intrigues me is that they are evolving. Over the generations, they are learning to fly.
They are interesting to watch. We probably have about a hundred running around.

Honeys_Mom wrote:

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Dona Worry Be Happy wrote:

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We have feral chickens.
They roam the farm, reproduce on their own and have to learn to avoid the cats, foxes, etc that come around.
What intrigues me is that they are evolving. Over the generations, they are learning to fly.
They are interesting to watch. We probably have about a hundred running around.

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 That is interesting, Dona!  Do they fly up and roost in trees like Pea****s do?

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 Mostly the rafters of the barns. But, what gets me is flying is becoming their response to threats.

I didn't even really notice it until I was watching the chickens of a friend while she was on vacation. When the dog startled her chickens, they fluttered their wings, but essentially, they ran away.

Our chickens launch themselves into the air, and can make it generally a hundred yards or so before they either land on their feet and run away. or land on a fence out of the reach of danger.

It is fascinating. And an excellent argument in favor of evolution.