 |
| Fresh Eggs |
When we were out there this past weekend, 2nd Family had some good news; their hens, that had stopped laying a couple of months ago, started back again and they are getting about 6 per day. We're not sure why they stopped, could be the time of year, but more likely, there have been some traumatic incidents in recent months...a hawk snatched up one of them while they were free ranging, and they think it was a coyote that got into the hen house another time and they lost two more. "Security" has since been beefed up and it seems the "girls" are more relaxed and the eggs are coming regularly again. Apparently, a happy hen is a laying hen! They've had laying hens for years, and she said she hadn't purchased eggs in the store in so long, it was like a new experience having to do while they weren't laying.
Of course, 6 per day 7 days a week, is over 3 dozen...in a week! They are a family of three, so the best part of their over abundance of eggs is that we get to share and will have some farm fresh eggs every time we go out there! Those of you with chickens will understand when I say, there is NO comparison to the eggs you buy in the store. 2nd Man LOVES using fresh eggs like this in baking/cooking. She gave us a dozen and we are so excited.
Their chickens lay these awesome blue/green eggs. For those of you who don't know, yes, these are the way they come out, exactly this color. It's pretty cool. The color of the shell varies from breed to breed.
Their chickens lay these awesome blue/green eggs. For those of you who don't know, yes, these are the way they come out, exactly this color. It's pretty cool. The color of the shell varies from breed to breed.
We have hopes of one day of having our own chickens out there, as I blogged about HERE, but being part timers for now, that can't happen. Luckily, we don't have to wait and we get to reap the rewards of "chicken ownership" through the generosity of our "2nd Family"!
Those dozen above are now gone, used in some fresh pasta, a batch of cookies, and a breakfast of bacon of eggs. Hope to get more this weekend.
So when they read this, a big THANK YOU, as always!
Those dozen above are now gone, used in some fresh pasta, a batch of cookies, and a breakfast of bacon of eggs. Hope to get more this weekend.
So when they read this, a big THANK YOU, as always!
I just love the blue and green eggs. It's like the Easter Bunny stopped by! I have an Egg Lady that we get our eggs from. We always get some brown, speckled brown, white, blue & green eggs. They are so pretty and so so much better then anything you can purchase in a so called grocery store!
ReplyDeleteHa. so true! I remember taking some to work, and I had to get on "google" to prove that eggs came that way! Go figure. And like you said, the taste is so much better.
DeleteHow lucky. I would love to have a hen or two one day. Fresh eggs regularly would be wonderful.
ReplyDeleteYes, you'll get there one day! Hey, maybe you can find someone nearby that might be able to have some eggs for you. You'd be surprised how many people have a couple of hens in their backyard!
DeleteHow awesome. Those eggs are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWhen my hubbs was a small boy he would go to his grandpa's farm for the summer. His grandpa would get so mad at him (and his brothers) because they would "block" or square the fresh eggs and he couldn't sell them, haha.
True nothing like a farm fresh egg or dozen!
OK, I'm going to have to ask, what is "block or square"ing of the eggs?
DeleteHope we get another dozen this weekend, ha.
I LOVE fresh eggs!!! I would love to have chickens but my dogs and HOA have made that impossible. The chickens would kick my dogs butts, anyway! :o) Lucky you to have so many beautiful eggs!!
ReplyDeleteThose pesky HOA's! Ha. It's funny watching 2nd Family's dogs and their chickens. The chickens pretty much do have their own free range (no pun intended) of the yard, and the dogs (and cats) stay clear of them. Thanks for visiting by the way, love your blog!!!
DeleteNothing beats fresh eggs. I just love the color of those.
ReplyDeleteA lot of times, chickens stop laying for a bit in the winter because of low light levels. It's a period of "rest" for the bird. Some folks keep a light on in the coop to stimulate egg laying, but we never did. I always imagined it would have been like having children--one right after another--horrible on the body (not to mention the nerves-LOL)
Hope you passed some of those cookies on to 2nd family. Cookies are a great "barter" item.
:)
Ha, good point on the light. That's probably a big factor as well. Yeah, probably nice to let the girls relax for a bit huh? Funny you brought up the cookies, yes, we have a batch ready. Hope to bring back some more eggs this weekend.
DeleteHow come they are all shiny? Just curious. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if you washed your eggs, but its not necessary to do so. There is a natural protection on eggs called the bloom that protects the eggs from bacteria penetrating into the inside. If you wash it, you wash off the bloom. If you do need to wash the eggs, do so right before you cook them and wash them in warm to hot water. Cold water will open the pores of the eggs allowing bacteria to get inside.
Two of our chickens are Ameracaunas and they lay the most beautiful green/blue eggs. Some days they are almost turquoise and other days they are a pale blue.
Chickens will enter a resting time when winter comes and the day is shorter. We don't put a light into their coop to keep them laying though. We allow them to go through their natural rhythms. Our ducks on the other hand don't care whether its day or night, winter or whatever...they just keep laying eggs and extra large ones at that. Duck eggs taste amazing.
We didn't know that about the eggs!?!? Wow, thanks so much. See we're newbies at this stuff, ha. We did wash them (of course used 6 of them right away) and 2nd Man did use hot water. That's what I love about blogging, learning new stuff from "new friends"!
DeleteCan honestly say I've never had duck eggs. I believe there are some at a local farmers market, I might have to look for some.
Thanks again!!
I hope you are able to keep chickens sooner rather than later. They are amazing pets with lots of benefits beyond eggs!
ReplyDeleteHello, new follower here! I would love to have you link up with my Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week!
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/10/autumn-giveaway-clever-chicks-blog-hop-4.html
I hope to see you there!
Cheers!
Kathy
The Chicken Chick