Double Yolker Eggs

May 19, 2012 · 0 comments

Lately, my hen Gertie, (an Easter Egger chicken) has been withholding her eggs an extra day. So instead of laying an egg every day, she is laying every other day. And the resulting eggs have been well…BIG!

You might recall that Gertie laid a double-shelled egg  once that contained a yolk and and another entire shelled egg. But this time, they turned out to be just double yolkers (no shelled egg inside).

To be safe, I video taped the opening of the eggs – in case we had mutant turtles in there or something. But since they were just double yolkers, I’m not going to post the video. Don’t tell Gertie. She thinks her eggs are world famous!

Why do chicken’s  sometimes lay double yolks?

It happens when they don’t release the egg down the canal during development. In other words, they ovulate but no shell is formed until the next day when they ovulate again. Then the shell forms around both yolks and they lay the egg.

You have to keep your eye on hens that do this. It is possible for the egg to get too large and it can get stuck…which can be bad….very, very bad.

So far, Gertie has never had a problem. She is just being a bit of a show off.

Way to go Gertie…way to go!

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Home Canning: Drudgery or Creative Outlet?

April 17, 2012 · 14 comments

I stumbled upon an old article on home canning in Slate Magazine the other day by Sarah Dickerman. The article came out last year and the first half pretty much sums up home canning’s history and its resurgence in our new, thriftier and greener lifestyles.  It was all very interesting…until she made a few comments and observations that clearly showed that she just doesn’t “get it”.

First, she states that canning is hard work (I think her exact words were “serious drudgery”) and that it is far from being cost-efficient. But where she really misses the mark is when she says, canning is

“NOT about producing serious food for the future, and its NOT about shaking a fist at industrial food…Rather, its about making and sharing delicious, idiosyncratic things that are also…very pretty.”

Ummm…really? That’s all it is?  Sharing pretty and delicious things?

You know, it would be easy to get all worked up about her words (she goes on and on), but she is just not on the same page as us.

I do not consider canning/preserving drudgery. Far from it! Just as a real home-cooked meal can be an art form, so too is canning and preserving. It is a creative outlet. I’ll admit that I love to share my canned goods with others because by doing so, I am sharing a little piece of my garden. But I preserve the harvest for so many more reasons that that! I can for the flavor, for the knowledge of what is in my food and for the fun of creating condiments that you can’t find in the supermarket.

And I’m sorry, but you CAN produce serious food for the future with canning. That is the whole point! Well okay…it is only part of the point.

People also can because putting up a jar of organically-grown beats, corn or even jam is the best way to be assured of what is in your food. Have you read the labels on your pantry items lately?  Can you tell from reading them if there are GMO foods in there? Can you really compare a can of stewed tomatoes with the flavors of home canned tomatoes grown in the backyard? No.

Industrialized food does not hold a candle to home-canned food in nutrition or flavor. So, yes – I do feel that home canners can shake their fist at industrialized food. Home canners are making a difference in their lives and health by avoiding industrialized food as much as possible. – and for that, I thank them.

Can on Baby… Can on! And let’s have a jar swap!

 

 

 

Well, I enjoy canning don’t think of it as drudgery as Dickerman does. And canned food are not only more delicious

 

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Backyard Chickens – 8 Lessons Learned

April 14, 2012 · 35 comments

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I have had backyard chickens for several years now in my tiny, urban backyard. I currently have three little cutiepie girls who free range everyday and live in their little green-roof coop at night. (You can watch the TV episode featuring my backyard & chickens HERE)

Chicken Area of the Garden

I was thinking the other day about how much we have enjoyed these chickens. When I started, I learned the usual chicken information..like you don’t need a rooster to get eggs, they stop laying in the winter (because they ovulate according to the length of the day) and the eggs are beyond delicious.

But I have learned other things too. Surprising things!

Below are the top 8 surprising lessons I learned from my chickens:

  1. Each chicken has a distict personality. Some are all sugar and sweetness. Others, don’t give a hoot about us. Wait…hoot? No. I mean “peep”. They don’t give a peep.
  2. Adult chickens poop about every 20 minutes. That’s a lot of organic fertilizer! And I discovered that if you feed chickens a boatload of blackberries, they will have bright purple poop within an hour! Yep. I know this from experience. (Trust me – little boys find this emensely entertaining.)
  3. Children LOVE to see chickens- Especially city kids. Okay, so that is not really a surprise. But until I had chickens, I had not thought about how backyard poultry is a great way to start a conversation with kids about food and eating local. I knew my kids would love having chickens, but I did not expect to influence the neighborhood kids too – especially our next door neighbors. They adore the chickens and I think everyone has learned from the experience.

    Double Shelled Egg

    Double-Shelled Egg

  4. Sometimes weird things happen with the eggs! We’ve had double-yolkers, strange shapes and then there was the time we had a fully shelled egg inside another fully shelled egg AND… [click to continue…]

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Book Giveaway – Free-Range Chicken Gardens and more!

April 4, 2012 · 136 comments

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In celebration of my blog’s new look and redesign (and the fact that this happened to coincide with the timing of a pre-arranged virtual blog party), I am giving away not one, but TWO BOOKS related to chickens. And there are 7 other ways to win! Check it out…

First up:

Chickens bring so much joy to my own garden and I know many others who want to incorporate little chicken personalities into their own backyards. But wait…What about the fact that they scratch through the flower beds? And don’t they like to seedlings and rip leaves off of plants? And how do we deal with all of that while still enjoying their cuteness?

To answer all of those questions and other chicken advice, we can turn to landscape designer, Jessi Bloom, who just wrote the book, Free-Range Chicken Gardens (published by Timber Press).  This book is awesome – and I am not just saying that because I know her and think she is one of the coolest gardeners around. This is the only book I have seen that tells you exactly how you can have your chickens AND your garden too. It still covers the basics like benefits of chickens, darling chicken coop ideas, pests/diseases, etc. But it then goes far beyond that.

You learn:

  • How to design a chicken-friendly garden
  • How to keep your plants safe and your chicken’s safe (including barrier ideas/tips)
  • Lists of plants your chickens can use for everything from shelter to foraging.
  • And fun stuff, like how to train your chicken.

My coop

We already know that backyard chickens are hot. Add in the fact that this book covers CHICKENS & GARDENS and it is no surprise that it is already in it’s 4th printing! That says a lot right there!

But the number one reason to get this book? I’m in it.

Okay…okay…so that is NOT really a good reason to get it. But it was fun to be featured and my green-roof coop made the cut too.

 The Giveaway:

Timber Press is letting me give away a copy of Free-Range Chicken Gardens to a lucky commenter of this post. And they are also including a copy of this book: The Fresh Egg Cookbook.

So you get two books if you win! I have not seen the cookbook yet, but any book that gives me new ideas on how to use these delicious eggs is okay by me.

 

Sorry Contest Closed!

To enter to win BOTH books, all you have to do is comment on this post with any one of the following choices:

  • Why you love chickens in your own garden (or why you WANT chickens in your garden).
  • Why you really, REALLY need this book.
  • A list of cute chicken names. They can be your own chicken’s names or just some you have heard of. (My chickens are mostly named after famous garden designers.)
  • A short limerick about chickens. (Such as: “There once was a chicken from Nantucket…” But please keep it G rated)

ONE entry per person please and you must be a US resident to win. You have until midnight, Thursday April 12, 2012 to enter. I will pick a random winner at that time and Timber will ship the books.

More Chances to Win!

This post is part of a blog party and there are SEVEN other fantastic blogs participating. Each blog has their own requirements for what you post in the comments, but it is all easy and fun. Visit each blog and you will have EIGHT chances of winning these two books. And you will meet some other really innovative garden bloggers in the process. Fun Stuff!

Jessi at NWBloom.com

Erica at NWEdible.com

Gen at NorthCoastGardening.com

Angela at MyRubberBoots.com

Annette at SustainableEats.com

Kylee at OurLittleAcre.com

Willi at DigginFood.com

UPDATE!

We have a random winner – Megan! (Megan, I just sent you an email to get your shipping address)

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and commented. I so enjoyed all the stories, chicken names and poems. Great stuff! I hope you continue to visit here! I have several chicken & garden posts coming up over the next few weeks. {Hugs}

 

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Link Love – All About Local Food

March 20, 2012 · 0 comments

I’m a bit overdue for sharing some of my recent discoveries on the net. Check out some of my findings that just happen to be about what we all love…Food!

Screen Shot 2012-03-04 at 5.50.48 AM

1) We all have canning jars, right? (Even those of you who don’t can probably have a few in the cupboard). Well, here is a neat little lid you can put on your canning jar to turn it into a sippie cup for grownups. AND it is BPA free. Seriously! Go here to buy one.

2) Food Forward is an all volunteer, grassroots group of Angelenos who reconnect people with people through food. They harvest and distribute locally grown food from private homes to local food pantries and organizations. What they are doing here is a great example of what can be done anywhere.

3) I love TED talks. Here is a list of the “best” TED talks on eating and food policy.

4) A new food program in Santa Barbara: Grow Your Own Way, aims to teach participants how to grow at least a portion of their own food, gives them the supplies and tools they need to succeed, and requires that they then give back to their community through volunteer activities to help even more people achieve at least partial food independence.

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