7 Egg Cake Review and OH MY shocking egg!

My review on the Elvis Cake:

FIrst let me start by saying it was pretty labor intensive, however, I had no issues during the process.  I have been having issues cracking the eggs.....store eggs break so easily, they just usually crack in half when you tap them on the counter.  Motherclucker eggs take more effort to crack and then the shell continues to shatter into tiny pieces and usually end up with one or 2 in the batter.  I usually try to crack the eggs into a dish now, one at a time, so I am able to better fish out these pieces.  The egg is so snotty in consistancy, it's near impossible to get the shell piece out because the egg stretched back into the dish pulling the shell piece with it.  It's pretty funny when it happens, but when I was doing it in brownie mix, I eventually gave up and baked it. Ironically, no one crunched on it when it was served, so I was relieved!  If you recall from my previous post, this receipe requires 7 eggs.  That interests me because I usually get 5 a day if everyone lays, so we have plenty to use.  Making this cake, I also followed my gut and cracked each egg into a little bowl one at a time.  Glad I decided to do this as about egg #3, hailing from Grun, our Welsummer with the pretty dark eggs....looked like this:

Now when i posted a picture of this egg on my Facebook page, my friends were commenting that the egg looked fertilized. (ALL my eggs are fertilized!)  What they mean't was...it appeared to have started developing.  That cannot be.  I collect eggs daily and put them in the fridge.  It would take afew days of incubating and most hens don't start incubating until they lay a clutch so I cannot believe that this was the case.  More than likely, something was going on inside this hen and just so happen to get involved in the contruction of this egg.  There is some weird looking matter in their...maybe some skin and a broken blood vessel.  No worries as it is normal to received deformed, unformed and any other weird looking eggs from young hens.  It was a fluke and we have not found another since.  You never know what you'll find.  For the record, this yolk broke when it landed in the dish, so it looks a little more mangled that it should.  :)

Back to the cake!  Elvis' cake baked up perfect!  It was a very nice consistancy and had a good taste.  We all determined it would be great with fruit or a fruit topping.  Unfortunately, I had not prepared ahead for that and we settled for some chocolate syrup drizzled over it.  This cake will be great during the summer when fresh fruit is plentiful!  Will definitely make the cake again. 

 It's going to be another cold one tonight and we keep getting small accumulations of snow that mostly melt away quick during the day.  Last night's snow is still covering most  of our acre, but 5 miles down the hill at my mother and father's house, it was all gone!  Enjoy it while you can....hopefully winter will be out of here shortly!  This gang prefers not to be in the snow, but they love being outside.  Genny and I got home around 5:00 tonight, but let the gang out and they enjoyed about an hour foraging in what little grass is exposed!

-Malissa

Snow!

We just received some fresh now.  It could have been alot worse.  I'm thinking 4-5 inches, but even that is hard to tell now with so much drifting going on.  The wind is wiping some areas of the yard clean of snow and piling it up at other areas.  Genevieve and I are home alone this weekend since the boys have gone camping with Trent's Cub Scout troup at Hawk Mountain.  We hope they are having a good time as we tend to the house.  Here's some photos of the snow around here!

Thunder didn't stay outside long....he enjoys a good romp, but quickly hightailed it back in the house!


If I'm not tired enough from hand shoveling our 60' plus driveway....(the snow blower is buried in the shed and I've never been 'trained' on it.), my next project today is to try a new cake recipe. My boss has fueled my love of cooking (she also is a great cook) by giving me lots of her favorite cookbooks.  We always discuss what recipes we've tried and like.  She gave me 2 of the Gourmet Today books (Ruth Reichl, author).  One has a yellow cover and one a green.  This recipe comes from the green covered edition, which ironically I recently saw a ton of them for sale dirt cheap at OLLIES in Muhlenberg.  I use the yellow book more than the green, but there is some awesome things in the green as well.  It's worth picking up if you find it cheap. :)  What I will attempt to make today is found on page 717 and is across the page from a Banana Chocolate Walnut Cake that I've made quite afew times and love.  This one, is called ELVIS PRESLEY'S FAVORITE POUND CAKE.  Kenny's first comment was.....why do you want to make his cake?  He died all fat!!!  Leave that one to sarcastic husbands! HA!  One thing I like about the recipe??  It uses 7 EGGS!!!!  When you get 5 a day, that is great for using a bunch up in one shot!  It looks slightly labor intensive and involves 3 sifts of the flour and a tube pan.  http://www.divine-baking.com/2011/07/elvis-presleys-favorite-pound-cake.html  Here is a link to the recipe I found on the internet for your perusal.  My bundt pan is 2 piece.....recipe specifically says do not use a 2 pc pan.  SO....over to the neighbor's with a dozen eggs to share to beg for the use of a bundt pan!  SUCCESS! 

I'll work on the cake a little later and let you all know how it turns out!  I have high hopes for the King of Rock and Roll's favorite cake!  Might have to slather it with P.B and Bananas!

I should probably play his music while I'm working on it....for good luck!  :)

Sweatin' to the oldies.
Malissa

Free Rangin'!

We had a busy day today.  I worked all day, then picked the kids up from school and went straight to their swimming lessons.  I called home later in the evening to check in with the hubs.  Immediately, he tells me the chickens were out.  I was like, huh?  He pulled in and the girls were in the yard and Lila was on the deck.  I said, wow...I haven't been there since 8:15am ...and they were in the coop!  The only thing I can figure is the door to the run was not latched and one of those smart feathered birdies leaned against it hard enough for it to open.  Kenny has a spring loaded closer on it, so it would have shut itself after they sprung from jail!  There were 3 eggs in the box....good chance any later day layers laid in the yard somewhere!  Will have to go on an egghunt tomorrow to see if we can find any others!  Glad to see that stinkin' rooster earned his keep by watching over the girls!  I'm happy they were found in our yard as well!  That's not to say they didn't visit the slop pile in the back of the neighbor's yard....they've never wandered further than that.  I'm also happy to say that they visit our own compost bin first when they get let out now.  I've been putting alot in it, so they had lots to munch on!   I was feeling guilty that it was a nicer day and they had to stay in the coop!!  hahaha  Guess they took matters into their own hands!  Bird brains, they are not!

Flower lays first egg???

Yesterday, we got 5 eggs!  1 from each of the hens!  2 green, 1 dark brown and 2 light brown!  I think that means Flower finally laid!  Of course, was hoping to confirm that today, but there was only one green egg in the nest box (most likely Prissy...she's an early bird)....if Flower laid later in the day, good chance they were already locked out of the coop...so definitely want to look around tomorrow to see if we can find any eggs!  These girls always keep you guessing!!!! 

We are seriously thinking of doing some kind of fence in the back yard.  We have an acre, so I'm sure it would cost a fortune to fence the whole thing.  I guess we'll have to start pricing.  The neighbor's keep talking about getting chickens and I definitely don't want my flock intermingling....bad jou jou and diseases.  Hope they keep it on the D.L. as I don't want to get busted for having chickens because they go out and get a bunch.  I do not know the neighbor on the other side of them....they only moved in towards the end of summer. Not sure if they are tolerant to our under the radar chicken keeping!  No one's complained about Lila as of yet, so that is a good thing.  I figure he's no worse than a barking dog...and we have plenty of them around here...so how bad can he be!?

Here's to hopin' these girls don't escape again tomorrow!!!!  Weasels!

Eggs for sale?

I think we can safely sell a doz eggs every week or 2.  I have an ad up in Craigslist to see if I can find someone who is looking to purchase on a regular basis.  So far, no hits.  It would definitely help finance the feed.  If you know of anyone local to us who wants to know where their eggs come from , how the birds are treated (SPOILED!) and care that they have an organic, soy free diet....please send them my way!.

Now I know where 'flew the coop' came from! 
Malissa

Finally a break in the weather!

We are happy to return from a cold weekend of cabin camping to find the weather had broke!  The sun was nice and warm today and the flock enjoyed the afternoon in the yard.  After being closed up in the coop for afew days, the girls enjoyed a dirt bath and most of the light snow around the coop area held already disappeared.  Kenny decided to turn the heat lamp on for the overnight, but I think the next few days will be even warmer, so hopefully it will not be needed for a while.  Kenny also made some canvas to hang around the bottom of the run under the coop for some wind protection.  I'm hoping he can find some time to stop for grommets so he can complete the project before the next cold bout.  If they are going to be in the run, they can at least find some shelter from the wind that way.  Always something to work on around here.  This time last year, I'm sure we had started researching coop designs and here we are reaping the rewards of chicken ownership!  

Reminder.  If you enjoy keeping up with our crazy life here in chickenland...there are a few things you can do to help out!  On the left side of the blog, you will find an email subscription area.  All you need to do is sign up with your email and you will get an email every time I post an update!  I go in spurts....but you will definitely not get an email every day!  Maybe once a week...sometimes afew days in a row and then nothing for afew weeks.  Regardless....you'll have all the dirt right in your inbox!  I've signed up myself and rest assured, it's the only mail I've gotten as I tried it out.  The email usually comes within 12 hours of me updating the blog.   I think this is the easiest way to subscribe.  There is also a way to 'follow' this blog via Google.  You will also see that info on the left side.  If you are not already a member of the Google system, it will make you create an account to follow.  There is none of that nonsense with the email subscription, so take your pick!  I appreciate your interest in our little blog!  COMMENTS WELCOME!  Feel free to leave a comment, question or encouragement after the blog entry!  That space is there for you!  It also helps me know people are actually interested in what I have to say!  Thank you in advance for you support!!!

COOL FACT!  I got an email today from  From Scratch Magazine.  I had entered some photos for their very first issue (online magazine).  The link above will take you to the page where you can submit your email to receive their free magazine via email.  The issue is due to come out by next month and they must be in the final phase of getting it ready.  Anyway, they chose one of my photos to be in the issue!!!  It is the picture of Genevieve with Flower.  It's not too late to get on the list, so if this magazine interests you, please sign up on their site!

This MotherClucker is being PUBLISHED!!!  :)  
Malissa

The Deep Freeze Continues.....

My greeting this morning from Flower (front) and Prissy (rear), fine purveyors of green eggs!  (Ok, well we are still waiting for Flower to start laying them!!!!)  These girls are lowest in the pecking order and they are the friendliest gals in the bunch.  I delivered an apple core with some warm oatmeal.  I'm an awesome mom like that!  ;)

Everyone weathered last night's cold well.....except Lila.  

Notice the black on the top of his comb and edge of his waddle?  This is frostbite!   (ok, I cannot tell a lie.....if I had walked out and he was frozen solid, I would not have shed a tear! hahaha)  Well, after showing up at work and talking to 2 guys who also keep chickens....they both told me they put their heat lamps on....I decided this might be the next step for us during this deep freeze.  Turns out, as I was on my way home and talking to my husband, he had already hooked up the heat lamp!  Wow, we were actually on the same page about something!  He did find 4 eggs today (as usual) and they were all frozen when  he collected them.  No cracked shells, so in the fridge they go.  

I left the gang closed up in the coop today.  I did prop one of the hatches open for some ventilation during the day.  Kenny closed it up again tonight and hoping that all will be well now that the heat lamp is on.  

I love how the party lights are lit up along with the heat lamp!  Makes me laugh.  I could feel the heat when I opened the hatch to take the picture, so I'm sure they will be toasty tonight.  

I read lots of info that says insulating your coop is overkill....we did insulate ours with foam in between 2 sheets of T-111.  I also read they don't need heat.  Well, I suspect they will not be complaining at all with the extra warmth these days!  I hope there is enough ventilation.  I did notice the breath coming out of their noses this morning.....and it really puts into perspective the moisture they give off.  (too much in the coop is bad....bad for their health and also can contribute to the frost bite)  

Here's to the chickens having a warmer night tonight!  Poor little cluckers, I bet they are dreaming of spring....just like I am!

Keepin' warm.....

Malissa

COLD!

We currently in a ridiculously cold bout of weather here in PA.  I watch the temp in my car drop from 19 deg to 14 deg in just an hour from 6-7pm.  When I got home from work tonight, we left the gang out to forrage a bit.  They were out in the run all day and feeling bad, I warmed them up some oatmeal for a snack.  Not knowing exactly what frost bite looks like, I decided we should coat their combs/waddles with some vaseline, just in case.  Genevieve helped me with the task and even handled Lila for me.  He took the opportunity to peck her in the hand as she tried to get his waddles.  Darn Lila!  The gang ended up on the deck looking in the back door, so I let one in.  Grun came in and I picked her up and checked her out and warmed her up.  Her waddles felt like ice!!!  After minutes later, I checked again and they were radiating heat!  Even their feet and legs were cold.  Poor girls!  I decided I would close off their door tonight so they can't get in the run in the morning.  If it's this cold tomorrow, we might try a day of leaving them in the coop.  I hate to do it, but it seems they aren't smart enough to stay out of the cold wind.  I just hope there is enough ventillation in the coop.  There is a vent hole in the roof and the thing isn't sealed up perfectly, but the birds give off alot of moisture and moisture in this cold will actually give them frostbite!  I will check them in the morning and hopefully greet them with a warm breakfast!  I did give them a scoop of scratch before they went in for the night....the meal will help boost their metabolisms and warm them up. 

I also checked on their water...cleaned and bleached the waterer and filled up with fresh.  The homemade heater is working great and there was no ice in the waterer.  The container is nice and warm and hopefully some of that is warming the air in there just a bit.  I have good cold hearty breeds, so there shouldn't be any issues and I'm sure this cold spell won't go on much more than a week, but I still worry about them!  They were already on the roost bars when I went to close off the door.  The girls had their little heads tucked under feathers, so they definitely will keep themselves warm.  Lila will not tuck his head as he is always on alert.  He's the one I worry about the most with the frostbite.  I do worry about his mean butt!  hahaha 

Here's hoping the gang makes it through the cold ok!  I did get 4 eggs today, although I really think they may have been frozen!  None of the shells cracked, so they are still usable. 

I'll leave you with lyrics from a song I used to sing in Camp Fire Girls.

It's gonna be a long winter
and what will the birdies do then?
the poor things.

They'll fly to the trees
just to keep themselves warm

and tuck their heads under their wings.
the poor things.
and tuck their heads under their wings.

Going to tuck my head under my covers! 
Malissa

Rooster 101.  

My little henchman, Lila, is still terrorizing me.  I'm beyond hope that he will ever mellow out.  For as much as I want to try to pick him up to show my dominance, he has shown me many times that he will fight back.  When he strikes, he comes at me so fast that I have taken to moving very slow and cautious when around him.  His legs move at a high rate of speed scissoring back and forth so fast they look like a blur.  His biggest weapon is his spurs.  Now that he has developed claws, he's even more dangerous.  I'm always afraid he will cut whatever pants I am wearing or get mud or poop on me.  I am not looking forward to warm, bare leg weather, which will mean lots of cuts in addition to the bruising that comes with an attack.  He does not back off when I approach him, unlike when Kenny or the kids come close to him.  In fact, he stalks me.  As you can see in the video, as I start to walk, he will circle around and try to block me like he did when I walked towards the deck stairs.  It's quite frustrating.  At this point, I cannot safely enter the coop when the birds are in there as I would get pummeled just trying to change their food/water.  I have been sending Genny in to check because he will not attack his human girlfriend.  Sometimes I will wait until after I have let them out in the evening, but I do need to wait until Lila takes the girls further from the coop.  Unfortunately, the girls like to follow me knowing I am a purveyor of treats.  This infuriates him and he is very threatened by me.  Nothing worse than a jealous boyfriend!  

The Benefits Outweigh the Cons.

At least I keep telling myself this!  Having a rooster in your flocks help deter predators.  At this point, we have had no evidence of any predators trying to mess with the birds.  Even our cat is not perceived as a thread (see video).  Lila was more concerned about my presence than that of Thunder, our house cat who prefers time to explore outside.  Thunder approaches the chickens with caution, and I believe that is only because they are about the same size he is!  He never tries to attack them and he usually just slinks on by hoping to go unnoticed.  One time he was on the deck ready to head down for a jaunt and the birds were on the stairs.  He stayed up top until he found a safe time to pass through.  

Our eggs are fertile!  A common sight in our yard is Lila mounting his girls.  My kids know he is important in the life cycle of chickens.  It's a pretty easy process.  Lila walks up to his desired mate, he'll approach her from the side and quickly walk to her front.  He'll stop in front of her and stomp his little feet afew times.  Maybe give her a single peck.  When he's ready, he'll approach her from behind and she will 'squat' for him.  Pushing her belling to the ground.  This is his invitation to hop on.  He'll stand on her, using his beak to hold her down.  He'll deposit the sperm sack from his vent to hers and that's it.  No penetration!  I do not feel like I am corrupting my kids by telling them how nature works and what better way to explain than with chickens!  Maybe this spring, if one of the girls goes broody, we will let them hatch some eggs.  It will be fun to watch the mama raise her chicks.  With a rooster present, we have that option.  He only has one mama that is his same breed, so all the others would be mutts.  The girls seem very happy to have him around.  Prissy is the only one he seems to pick on and she is missing a patch of feathers on her back most likely from him mounting her.  Her skin looks healthy and not bloody, so I have not worried at this point, but I do keep an eye on her and the other girls.  If he gets too rough with them, out he goes!  Contrary to popular myth....you can tell a fertile egg from a small white circular bullseye spot on the outside of the yolk.  I've heard many people think it was the small spots of blood they might find in the egg, however, that came from the hen...most likely a broken blood vessel when the egg was forming.  If you buy your eggs from the supermarket, you will not ever see the bullseye!  There are no males in commercial chicken farms. 

He's beautiful!  I don't care what breed(s) you look at, the males are showy pieces of animal art!  The feathers are usually brighter colored, longer and grander than the females.  His comb (at least in our rooster) is very large and showy.  I love looking at him...it's just a shame he's such a meanie!

I do keep saying he'll be in the pot soon, but really, I guess keeping him around benefits us more.  Since he isn't aggressive with the kids, I don't mind putting up with him for a little longer.  I guess we'll see how long I can take it!  It is tempting to get rid of him.....we could replace him with 3 more chicks!  Kenny thinks our coop can safely hold 8 full grown chickens!  

UPDATE ON FEED SWITCH:

The chickens have had no problem transitioning to the organic mash.  I mixed the little bit of the Purina pellets in the first few fills and then dumped the little that was in the bag into the new bag of feed.  We still have a bit of the Purina scratch, but that is merely a treat for them and they do not get an overabundance of it at any one time.  So it will be a little while until I can say they are fully organic, but it has been an easy switch and it's nice to know that we are getting superior quality eggs and our chickens are thriving!

The chickens are out enjoying the warm sun (and wind) today.  Heard more snow is expected later this week.  They do not like snow too much and tend to stick to areas that are not covered until it all melts.  We still have a bit to go to get through winter, but they've been doing great and at no point have we contained them to the coop.  They have availability to the run whenever they want.  They do not tend to stay inside during the day, regardless of the conditions.  

Thanks for checking in!
Friend to the chickens.
Malissa

Organically Speaking: Adventures in Feed Shopping

I made the trip to pick up the organic, soy free layer mash that I will be switching the birds over to.  I have enough Purina left to fill the feeder probably one more time, so I will use that to mix in with the first fill so they can get used to their new feed.  It was a real cold day and I ended up waiting a bit while another customer finished his order.  I did not see the owner today, Vernon Burkholder, however, I believe it was probably his wife who was helping the other customer and myself.  She is but a small thing, but she had no problems lifting the 80lb bag of feed I purchased followed by the 50lb bag of scratch!

The farm sits on both sides of Mud Run Road, outside of Oley.  The house and main barn is on one side of the street and the newer building where they mix and bag the feed is just across from the house.  Although I saw no horse or buggy evidence, it is my observation based on attire that they are what my neighbor's refer to as 'WENGER" Mennonites.  This sect is the old order Mennonites common in our area.  They are friendly yet private folk, but many operate businesses out of their homes.  The woman answered her barn phone while I was there and started talking in PA Dutch (German dialect common in our area, not just with the plain folk....most old timers around here speak it.  Both my grandparents on my dad's side were fluent.  Neither he nor none of his brothers and sisters seemed to want to learn and as most native languages, was used to talk behind kid's backs by their parents!  I know some swear words and afew greetings/sayings...).

 Approaching the farm from Jefferson Street (coming from Oley)

Coming down Mud Run Road

 The sign is at their main barn on the left side of the street, the main warehouse is just across the street.

 Panorama Organics

I secured the bag of Organic, Soy Free Layer Mash that I went for.  $31 for 80 lbs ($2.58/lb).  Pricing had gone up from $29 recently as the price of peas went up.  Apparently, feed pricing will fluctuate much like most of the farm crops.  I never noticed that with Purina.  I paid about $17 for 50lbs ($2.94) for conventional layer feed.  So off the bat, I am saving money and going organic!  They will also reuse the feed bags as long as they are in good condition with no holes, etc.  They will clean them and repackage them.  50 lbs of organic scratch grains was $21.  I do not remember how much the Purina cost.  This might be a little higher than the conventional. 

This is where you pick up feeds and where they do the mixing.

The main difference in the feed is the use of animal (mainly fish and crab) proteins.  Purina boasts no animal proteins.  A) that means it's coming from soy...which, although I enjoy soy based foods, it's not a natural food for humans or animals.  It can only be digested when roasted.  Not only does soy boost female hormones, it also is almost always genetically modified these days.  No thanks.  B) Corn is almost always genetically modified as well.  Certified Organic means that no GMO's are allowed into the product.  From what I understand, these feeds have not been subject to the certification process, and knowing what I know about certifications....it's extremely expensive to acquire that status.  As a consumer, we trust that he is providing his ingredients as advertised.  He has a very good reputation in the area, so that is good enough for me.  **You can find a phone number to call them, however, they do not have a web presence.  If you search them, you will most likely stumble upon threads from chicken sites with happy customer's reviewing their experiences and products.**

If I hear a sitar and smell some incense coming from the coop....I'll know the organic vibe has set in.  Namaste, little chickens!

5 days of Welsummer eggs!

As of yesterday, Grun has laid 5 eggs.  She took the day off today.  the top pic is all of her eggs to date.  The light one on the top right being her first egg.  They really have darkened nicely!  The bottom pic shows the same 5 eggs along side the Barred Rock's.  Now I really appreciate having a Welsummer in our flock!  Shame that their would have been 2 had we not accidentally gotten my arch enemy, Lila!  Well, if Grun ever goes broody on us, at least we know her offspring will be pure breds!  Or we could pick up an incubator and try a whole new experiment!!!!  :)

Peace out chicken lovers...
Malissa

Grun Lays 2nd Egg!

We've waited 2 days since Grun's first egg.  It was a little of a disappointment as we were expecting a real dark egg.  Although it is flecked with dark pigment, it wasn't what I was hoping for.  Today, however, you can see the egg is afew shades darker.  Today's egg is on the left in the pictures above.  I know the dark eggs do fluctuate in intenseness based on time of year, molting status, etc.  I also read that the dark pigment is almost sprayed on at the end of the egg laying process.  When the bird lays lots of eggs, there is a tendancy to 'run out' of dark pigment so that the eggs are lighter.  Then, during molt when they do not lay, it gives the pigment a change to build back up in the bird's system and when she starts laying again, the pigment will be dark again.  Told in it's very unscientific way, this seems ludicris, but that is what the chicken experts say.  I will continue to monitor Grun's eggs to see if the color continues to change.  She is not expected to lay as much as the Barred Rocks, so hoping she gets on a schedule just like the others seem to be.  Prissy's day off is today as she laid the last 2 days.  She really seems to be sticking to her 2 days on/1 day off.  Her egg tomorrow will be here really early....before I go to work!

Update on the water warmer.  It works AWESOME!  Kenny went out last night about midnight to check and there was no sign of ice where they drink from.  He still will probably make some changes to the prototype, but for now, it's doing it's job quite well!

Lila's frosty legs.  He showed up on the back deck looking for a fight, I'm sure.  Nothing like being stalked by your rooster!

Have an EGGsellent New Years!
Malissa

Frozen Water Woes

As our temperatures hover around freezing these days, we are getting more and more concerned about the waterer feezing up.  This morning, there was a crust of ice which I easily broke with my fingers and the chickens could easily break with a good peck.  I found directions to make a homemade heater, which sounded good because the ones in the stores cost about $40. 

http://anniemiz.typepad.com/thesecondhalf/2011/01/chickens-homemade-cookie-tin-waterer-heater.html

Check out the link for complete instructions!

We went to Lowe's to get the supplies we needed.  The tin was a little trickier.  Considering we are so close to Christmas, they are still available, but you need to hunt.  We tried JoAnn Fabrics since we were shopping nearby, but they did not have a tin that would work.  I went to Dollar Tree, knowing they sell them for the holidays and was able to get a round one like I was looking for.  It's a smaller diameter than our waterer, but it should work fine. 

My husband is a whiz with electical stuff since he majored in electronics in school, so it went together in no time flat. 

The bulb gives off alot of heat and even after only a short time, the tin was warm.  Maybe this will even help give them a little heat in their coop.  I worry about them, but I know their feathers keep them warm!  And the fact that they sleep 3 to a roost....they huddle together. 

Water heater 1.0

The tin is smaller than the base and Kenny said it was tippy.  So the waterer is resting on the wood pieces and there is a gap between the top of the tin and the base of the waterer.  We'll see how and if this is effective.  Future alterations may be necessary!

Chickens all ready for bed on their roost bars.  You can see who is top hen....the important ones usually shack up with Lila on the front bar.  The lower end girls get stuck in the back.  Usually they are 3 to a bar, but tonight there were 4 on the front bar.  I noticed Grun up front and she's usually in the back.  I guess since she laid her first egg the other day she gets special treatment!  She hasn't laid another since so we'll see when #2 shows up!

Night Night from the flock!
Malissa

Happy Holidays, Cluckers!

Sorry it's been a while since I've updated.  Not much going on with the flock.  Things have been chugging along.  My Barred Rocks are still laying most days, Prissy gives us green eggs in a pattern:  2 days on, 1 day off.  The excitement today was finding 3 brown eggs.  Rosa's solid tan, Weissy's white flecked tan and the third was about the same shade of tan with dark brown flecks.  GRUN!  Pretty sure it's our Welsummer, Grun!  Welsummer eggs appear to be all over the board from flecked like we got, to dark and chocolate looking.  I'm in the process of looking to see if her eggs will change color of if this is the final coloring she will lay.  It does appear that the dark egg layers fluctuate coloring through the seasons.  The egg was streaked with quite a bit of blood, which is normal for a new layer, but none of the other chickens had this problem.  I hope she is ok....I didn't get to look at her tonight as we all got home after dark.  The one egg also had a small crack in the shell and I suspect it's contents froze.  Not a problem as the membrane isn't broke.  It will just be one of the first eggs we should use.  We also have to be very diligent now about checking the water.  Frozen water doesn't do the birds any good and in fact is very bad.  There are elements you can buy to keep the water from freezing and depending on how bad the struggle is, we might have to concede to buying one.  Now I feel like i should go out and take their water dish out for the night.  Without Lila attacking me!!!  (and no, he hasn't gotten any better either!)

Speaking of Lila, I noticed the other week that his spurs are starting to poke out of his nubs.  Not great news for me since he is like Rooster ninja with those legs.  Winter isn't so bad since I have jeans on, but he has left quite afew bruises on my legs thus far without the claws.  I am no closer to making friends with him than I was afew months ago, sad to say. 

I must say, with 3 regular layers, and not being huge egg eaters (I use for baking and we eat eggs maybe once a week or so)....that is a good mix for our family.  We end up with a dozen to spare every 2 weeks or so and have been presenting them to our friends and family.  I'm sure once the last 2 start regularly laying, we may even have more to give away.  It's a nice little gift!  I think people appreciate it!

Top left egg is Rosa's (Barred Rock and is solid tan).  Top right and bottom left is Weiss' (also Barred Rock and her is lighter tan flecked with white), Bottom right is Grun's egg.  Flecked with dark brown.

Glad I went out.....water was freezing up.  Brought in the waterer and good excuse to bleach it.  I'll give it back to them in the morning. 

Happy New Year Peeps!
Malissa

Food Glorious Food!

Get that?  From my thesbian days---Oliver! 

Panorama Natural Feeds
Vernon Burkholder
85 Mud Run Road
Oley, PA 19547
610.987.3898

You won't find a web page nor much more information other than this on a Google search.  I found a review on this place on backyardchickens.com by another local woman, who, like me, was looking for an organic product using no soy and no GMO's.  Today I ventured over to check out the place.

I pulled up to a typical Old Order Mennonite farm (Wenger's, as my newer order Mennonite neighbor's call them).  Equipment everywhere, but no rubber tires.  At first, I wasn't sure where I needed to go.  There was a sign on the same side of the road as the house and barn.  It said Panorama Natural Feeds and had a logo on it from a popular Natural/Organic company that now for the life of me I cannot remember!  I saw a large population of hogs in the barn.  Across the road from the house was a steel building with an open door and truck and trailer pulled up to it.  I figured I'd try there first.  Sure enough, I was at the right place.  The gentleman in the truck was helping to load huge plastic tubs, each filled with a different ingredient.  Cracked corn, grains, etc.  They had a huge mixing bag and were dumping things in and filling up other tubs.  I finally got to meet Vernon.  Now I am not sure what all Old Order men are like, but having dealings with the family down our road, I can say that the man is definitely the quietest.  His wife is very chatty and outgoing, the kids are sweet and always talk to me when I pass them by.  But I don't think the man of the house has said boo to me!  ((Ok, maybe because I when I see them I'm usually wearing shorts/tank tops and work out clothes!))  But anyway, Vernon was a lovely man.  Very sweet and smiling.  He took afew minutes to answer my questions and then got back to work. 

I figured out by talking to him that I will need the Organic Soy Free Layer feed.  It comes in an 80lb bag and costs $31.99.  The Purina Layena I currently buy is $17.99 for 50lbs (and all protein is soy (non-animal) and all corn is GMO, of course.  The Organic is no GMO's and no soy.  Protein is all animal based.  Chickens really are omnivores, they eat bugs and worms, their own eggs and feathers.  They are pretty much their own compost bins.  So the fact that Purina is saying they don't need meat based protein sounds pretty crazy to me.  Anyway, divide it out and here's what it costs:  $2.77/lb for the Purina Layena and DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!  $2.50/lb for the ORGANIC, GMO FREE locally grown and milled feed.  Hmmmmm....yeah, I know we are making the right decision.  Funny how when I asked at the feed store about their organic feeds (months ago) I was told their organic feed is about 2 times the price of the Purina.  Little did I know similar quality can be had sourcing out your own, locally mixed feed!  So exciting.  I combined the bags of Layena we had and we have almost a full bag at this point, so I would think I am looking to start the organic product in a month or 2.  I figure I have bought 1 bag medicated chick starter, 2 bags unmedicated chick starter, and 2 bags of Layena since May.  That's about $100 worth of feed (not including a bag of Scratch Grains and small bags of gravel and oystershells).  We may have gotten about 4 dozen eggs so far, 5 tops.  That's some expensive eggs!! 

I'm just glad that I know my chickens are spoiled and happy and are having a great life with us.  Everytime I drive past a commercial chicken operation (or Turkey farms that are off the turnpike in the Lehigh Valley), I think of all those poor creatures that live in tight and horrible conditions.  They never will know what it's like to be danced to by their protecting rooster, stretch their wings and legs and run/fly up the sand mound in search of bugs/greens and the neighbor's slop pile in the back of their yard.  Our birds are so sweet and each has their own personality.  Everytime little Rosa defends me to that mean ol' Lila, I just melt.  I think hanging with the flock definitely lowers your blood pressure and relaxes you.  Even when you have to block the evil one from vicious attacks!  ;)

Lovin' life on our mini-farm. 
Malissa

A Tisket, A Tasket, A Multi-colored Basket

 

We are enjoying finding eggs everyday!  We think we have our 'blue egg layer' pegged as Prissy.  We have seen no signs of Grun and Flower laying at this point.  Hopefully soon!  Prissy lays an egg a day for afew days, then skips a day or two before starting up again.  Weiss is pretty steady for an egg a day, and Rosa will occasionally skip a day.  At this point, we can pretty much expect 2-3 eggs per day.  We will never tire from finding our blue eggs.

 

2 Breeds of chickens lay blue eggs:  Araucana and Ameraucana.  Araucana are 'rumpless' chickens:  do not have tail feathers.  Ameraucana's are known for their muffs or beards.  Our Ameraucana's came from a hatchery and according to breeders of these birds, hatchery stock are most likely mutts.  That means the Ameraucana was bred with any old chicken resulting in 'non breed standard' colorings etc.  As long as a bird has the 'blue egg gene', it will produce colored eggs.  These mutts are referred to by Chicken People as Easter Eggers.  One other interesting thing I have found out is that pure breed Ameraucanas or Araucana's will produce a light blue egg.  If the chicken is mixed with a brown egg laying breed, the brown is actually over the blue which makes the egg 'green'.  Upon inspection of a cracked egg, I can confirm that the inside of our green eggs really are blue.  You can really see the brown in the egg that makes it appear green when you compare the inside of the egg to the outside of the egg.  In order to get pure blue eggs, you most likely will have to seek out a breeder.  

 

 

"The Ameraucana Breeders Club defines an Easter Egg chicken or Easter Egger as any chicken that possesses the blue egg gene, but doesn’t fully meet any breed descriptions as defined in the APA and/or ABA standards. Further, even if a bird meets an Ameraucana standard breed description, but doesn’t meet a variety description or breed true at least 50% of the time it is considered an Easter Egg chicken."  Ameraucana Breeders Club website www.ameraucana.org


Another thing to note for those who have never seen a blue or green egg.  Egg shell color does not mean anything in regards to nutritional value.  Brown vs White vs Blue.  You pay more for brown eggs only because brown egg laying breeds don't produce as many eggs as frequently as a white laying egg breed (that would be used in commercial operations).  Many of these breeds are hybrid chickens bio-engineered to produce a high number of eggs.  The thing about raising your own birds is that you can select a lovely mixed flock of heirloom breeds that will compliment your yard and your egg carton.  Plus we won't have to color eggs at easter!  Au Natural!

Our 2 Easter Eggers are also the lowest girls in the social ladder.  They get picked on by the Barred Rocks and the Rooster.  Everyone seems to get along, but if you really watch them interact and see who sleeps where, you can figure out who's who in popularity.  It's quite facinating!

2 more girls to go!  Can't wait!

Malissa

Observations from a Beautiful Day!

I spent most of this beautiful day in my kitchen doing what I like best....windows open, incense burning creating some wonderful things to eat.  I made and iced cupcakes, made a huge batch of meat spaghetti sauce..(I'd share that recipe, but I'd have to kill you!  Acutally, I was given a guideline to follow when I first started making it and now I pretty much do my own thing.), then I made kale and beans (another new favorite...first time trying it with kale...I used broccoli rabe the first time).  As you can expect......I spent my day throwing all the scraps to the birds!  Everytime I went outside, I had a little something to share with them!  Kenny spent his day shooting his new BB Gun and later, cleaning the entire coop out.  He even scrubbed the walls inside.  Those birds are messy and we figure this could be the last warm spell we get for a long time.  The birds were out all day and we noticed that it delayed their laying.  Our first egg today was from the Easter Egger....I'm pretty sure it's Prissy who's laying it.  Later, Rosa did her thing....and much later we found Weissy in the box.  3 eggs today!  Prissy skipped yesterday.  Hope she keeps an every other day schedule.  I do not expect her to lay as often as the Barred Rocks. 

The girls were fun to watch today.  They were all bathing in the dirt.  At one point, 3 of them were all crowded around Prissy's spot together (from pic the other day).  Needless to say, all of this bathing and scratching is starting to wear the yard.  It's going to be a long winter!  We have had no chicken destruction thus far, but all the books warn you.  I think this time of the year is just bad as grass and things are pretty much done for the season.  I took the opportunity to sprinkle some Diatomacious Earth in the spot so they would cover themselves with it and help if they have any lice or mites.  I haven't noticed anything with them, but I figure it would be a good preventative.   

We watched the girls scratching up their garden and watched closely as Rosa uncovered a worm and quickly slurped it up....just like a spaghetti noodle!  Genny and I were impressed with her hunting ability and Genny said, "She's so smart!".  Indeed she is!  I remember when they were chicks in the brooder.  The kids and I would scour for worms after the rain and bring them for the birds.  They would go nuts fighting over them.  Glad to see they are now finding their own worms.  :) 

Lila was also his pain in the butt self today.  He came after me afew times and also bit Genny.....most likely because I was nearby.  He cannot be trusted.  Kenny was tempted to put a BB to his head!  hahaha  He was put in the pen early (due to his misbehaved self) and when it was getting dusk, I heard him making his alert call.  He was calling the girls to bed, but they couldn't get in the coop because the door was closed!  I opened the door and they all rushed in to scramble for their spot on the roost bars.  Just as I said goodnight, the party lights came on!  Party in the coop...yeah....party in the coop!  I just can't help getting exciting when the solar rope lights kick on!  hahaha

Productive day in Chickenville!
Malissa

And then there were 3!!!

I love surprises...but I hate waiting!

Once you get over the fact that the girls are all subject to their own biological clocks and their own genetics, it's a little easier to check the nest boxes every day without going crazy for the next girl to start laying.  It is disappointing enough to go from 2 eggs a day back to 1 for a few days.  It seems like Weiss is the most reliable layer.  Rosa does ok for afew days, then misses a day or 2.  We've also had afew shell-less eggs here and there.  Yesterday when I least suspected anything different, I checked the box to find 3 eggs!!!!  Rosa and Weissy's light brown eggs PLUS A GREEN EGG!  Not sure if it came from Prissy or Flower at this point, but so excited to see it and boy is it beautiful!  No one has laid yet today, so not sure if it will continue.  The Barred Rocks are a heavier layer than the Ameraucana's, so I'm not expecting an egg a day from them.  We'll see how it goes! 

Rooster woes.

Lila has become a monster.  He is down right evil.  I'm trying to give him a chance, but he is just aggresive and constantly attacking me.  The other day, Kenny got home from work just as I was in the shed getting some scratch.  All the girls followed me and were waiting just outside the door for their treat.  Lila was pacing behind them giving me the evil eye.  I was scared to leave because I knew he'd come at me.  When Kenny got there, he chased him away and the 2 of them were over at the entrance to the coop.  I thought I was safe and started walking to the side of the coop so I could throw the scratch in the run for them to pick at in there.  That quick, Lila came flying from the backside of the coop and attacked me.  It caught me so off guard that scratch went flying everywhere as I tried to fend him off.  It was my wake up call.  I did nothing to provoke him and in fact was no where near him when he started his attack.  It makes me sad that he cannot be nice.  Today, I barely cracked open the door to slide in a bowl of treats and he came at my hand and left a mark with his claw.  I've been watching alot of youtube videos on culling chickens these days.  I think I could do it.  Butchering Lila would open a whole opportunity.  I can envision buying some broiler chicks next year, raising them for 10 weeks and butchering them all for the freezer....hmmmm.  Well, I keep wanting to give Lila a chance, but he is just a mean and nasty bird.  The girls really seem to like him, but the other day, as punishment, I let all the girls out of the coop and made him stay in.  I didn't want to fend off more attacks.  He was pissed and paced back and forth like a raging bull making his little pissed off noises.  The girls didn't wander at all and stayed near the coop foraging (made easy by the scratch I spilled during the attack the day before).  They are so sweet and come to me when I call them.  I think he is just one jealous creature. 

Treats!

I love giving the chickens kitchen scraps depending on what I am cooking for us.  I will not give them moldy or spoiled things, but I waited too long to use my asparagus last week and I gave them all the soft stalks and end trimmings.  Things like that.  I also refrain from giving them breads and other 'processed' food items.  I finally made a trip to my favorite discount grocery place.  It's called Amelia's Grocery Outlet.  It's a small regional chain that buys closeouts, expired or expiring items from other stores, overruns, seconds and more.  It's one of those slightly sketchy places where you need to be diligent about checking dates on things.  I don't mind things that only recently expired....but if it expired a year ago, forget it.  Also, most of their dairy items are really sketchy and I usually don't buy much because of it.  BUT....I do know that expiration dates on dairy...more specifically yogurt are really conservative.  So I do not throw away my recently expired yogurt, I eat them.  But I don't buy it already expired.  I went today with a mission of restocking my pantry with cereal (excellent deals on cereal which is just way over priced in regular grocery stores!), canned tomatoes and things I use to make pasta sauce, plus other odds and ends.  I also had a bag to donate to a canned food drive for the boyscouts, so I picked up some pasta, jarred sauce and some cans of veggies to donate.  I was hoping to score some chicken treats....so when I got to a rack of marked down items and found 2 cauliflower heads marked to 99 cents because they were slightely browning, I picked them up.  Never gave the girls cauliflower so was hoping it would be a hit.  Then, as I continued into the dairy section, I kept my fingers crossed for some cheap expired yogurt.  It's good for their guts, just like ours and I gave them some Chobani I found in the back of my fridge that had expired a month before I found it.  They loved it.  Imagine how giddy I was to find the large containers of PLAIN for 50 cents each!!!  I bought 7 of them!  I really wanted plain to avoid all the excess sugar in the heavily processed yogurts....so glad I found some!!!  Here are some pics for the feedy frenzy.

Rosa with yogurt beak.

 

 

 

Mean old Lila.

 

 

Meanwhile........

 

Prissy takes the opportunity to take a dirt bath.  She's very cute to watch as she clears the hole she makes and settles in.  Fluffs her feathers in the dirt, then tidys up the area around her.  Chickens are adorable! 

Closing note on behavior....

I bought a new chicken book, which is by far the most candid and comprehensive book I have found to date.  Everythiing is covered even a full pictoral of the killing and butchering process.  The Small-Scale Poultry Flock: An All Natural Approach to Raising Chickens and Other Fowl for Home and Market Growers.  http://www.amazon.com/The-Small-Scale-Poultry-Flock-Growers-With/dp/1603582908  This book is totally worth a read and has tons of info from preparing for your chicks to how to butcher and dress to instructions for a dust box.  I recommend it to anyone interested in venturing into their own chicken rearing. 

Anyway, according to the author, alot of modern Roosters have lost the instinctual moves they should have in ways of mating.  He actually will not let any rooster who doesn't 'dance' for his mates reproduce and most likely, they will end up in his stock pot.  Years of breeding to make chickens meatier and 'better' for people have put a damper on their natural instincts.  I'm happy to say our rooster (jerk that he is) is a wonderful dancer and courts all his girls just like he should.  It's very cute to watch him do is thing.  His little stomps just make me smile.  Even more funny is when he does it to Genny!  Now....if only I could convince him I'm not the enemy here.  I have my work cut out for me.

Failing Rooster Tamer
Malissa