Low man on the totem pole or "Why ME?"

This poor chicken is obviously the low man in the pecking order. She has been almost completely stripped of her feathers. Red doesn't seem to mind as he jumps her bones more than the others (which probably explains why she doesn't have any feathers on her wings and back side.)

She looks like a vulture with all the feathers pulled out of her head. I feel sorry for her but "chickens is chickens". I'm hoping that with Spring here she'll get her feathers back and someone else will take her place as low man.

She lays as well as the others so having no feathers doesn't impact her productivity any.

Wow is it cold!

The weather has been up and down. First, real cold then warm, then cold again. Right now the temperature is at 60 deg. going down to 29 tonight. For the rest of the week, it'll be in the low 20's at night and mid 40's during the day.The chickens have been doing their best to keep laying which usually slows down during the winter. I keep a heat lamp on at night so that they get the mandatory 10 hours of daylight that keeps them laying.

I painted a mural on the back of my neighbor's garage to hide the ugly stucco. I put Red in it because he is just gorgeous. He's also a funny chicken. Some Rhode Island Reds are mean but he's a pussycat. When I close the coop up for the night they all get petted and reassured that I will return in the morning.

Happy chickens and nesting boxes

Today I only sold a dozen eggs. I got a new job working the grave yard shift anf I'm just getting used to the hour changes. Slept in rather than getting to the sale site at my usual time. I guess I missed my regular customers. Oh well, eggs will keep.

As you can probably see, the chickens are molting. I find it a little strange that just as the weather turns cold, they lose their feathers. Weird chickens! I put a heat lamp on them at night to keep them laying even though the days are shorter. I was told they do that due to the less tham optimun 10 hours of daylight the need top keep producing. I increased their calcium uptake by adding lots of oyster shells to their feed. Keeps the shells strong enough for me to handle. I usual drop 1 or 2, sometimes 3, just from not paying attention. I guess you could call them aborted future chickens. Oh well, I don't know if they were fertilized or not. Red doesn't seem to have the stamina to jump 22 hens every day.

The top left photo is of the site I go to every Sunday with my eggs. As you can see you don't need anything special, just a place to set the eggs down, up or whatever and a chair. The next photo below it is of the nesting boxes. They don't always use every box. Seems they have a favorite and no matter what I do, they will lay in that box until the previous eggs start getting crushed. I have to check that box more often to prevent that from happening.

I will try to keep you posted more regularly about these fine little "money makers".

The coop

The coop is finished. Hallelujah!

I didn't think I'd ever see the day. It wasn't that difficult, its just that I had to do most of the work by myself therefore it became a back breaker. Holding long boards while trying to drill screws is a real pain but I 'gotter dun'. I made it from discarded lumber and left behind stuff from Habitat for Humanity. It kept the cost down. I did put a real steel roof on it which cost more than I expected but I didn't want to have to do it again or have the roof blow off in some of the terrible storms we get here in Arkansas. Because it didn't take that many sheets of roofing, they all matched. The roofing manufacturer always has left over 'ends' from the rolls of steel that they will discount. A neighbor gave me the door from a house she and her husband tore down.

Chickens just love it, close and cozy, warm and out of the weather. I hung a heat lamp that also produces light as I was told chickens need at least 8 hours of daylight to keep laying eggs.

All the racket I created disturbed the egg laying process so they hung back a couple of weeks before it was business as usual. I sold all my eggs plus a quart of pickled aggs Sunday. Staying at the same place at the same hours on the same day establishes a routine that new customers soon become familiar with. My excess production went in about an hour and a half.

I get rave reviews about how great my eggs taste and that it reminds people of the eggs they ate as children. Can't get any better than that.

I planted a patch of grass for them to chew on during the winter. Because the winters here are not that bad, winter rye is all it takes to keep them happy. I just throw it out on the bare ground, water periodically to keep it moist and Voila! Grass. Chickens go nuts over it. That and leaves. They will scratch in a litter of leaves to the point that you'll have leaves from here to breakfast.

Free Recipes

Basic Egg Pie

This recipe is an old family favorite from the South. Southern cooks added either chocolate or coconut to make it special.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sweet milk (a Southern description as opposed to Buttermilk)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 unbaked pie crust

Beat egg yolks until thick and lemony. One by one, beat in the sugar, butter and flour. Add the milk and vanilla, blending well.
Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake in hot oven (425 degrees) for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes. The top of the pie should be crusted and golden brown.
The egg whites can be beaten (add 2 tablespoons of sugar to sweeten) until stiff and holds firm peaks. Pile on top of pie and return to oven for short time until tips of peaks are slightly brown.
Serves 6-8


My Favorite Egg Custard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2 Tablespoons butter + 2 teaspoons cut into 8 pieces
2 cups milk
3 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Whisk all ingredients together in bowl with pouring spout. Pour into buttered ramekins (I use 6 as they are usually sufficient). Place in hot water bath 3/4 way to top of ramekins. Place a dot of butter on top of each ramekin. Bake in middle of oven for approximately 40 minutes.

Let cool before eating. Custard is a great and easy dessert that can be made ahead of time. Watch handling the hot water as it is easy to burn yourself if you're not careful.

I add cinnamon to the custard because I love the flavor.



Any of the above recipes can be made with artificial sugar (the powdered kind) that is spoonable for a diabetic dessert. I use it to keep the calories down whenever I want something sweet or just to make it for my diabetic friends.

Finding Support Groups or Selling Your Excess Production

Everybody loves FRESH eggs.

Finding someone to buy your eggs may be easier than you think. Depending on how many chickens you have will determine how many extra eggs you'll be able to sell. The good thing is they will stay fresh if refrigerated for many days even weeks. Just look at the eggs for sale at your neighborhood grocer. If they were laid that day or even the day before, you'd have to live on top or near an "egg factory". I always judge the freshness of the eggs by how easily they peel after hardboiling. The harder they are to peel, the fresher.

Ask your friends if they would be interested in buying your excess eggs. I guarantee the first time they taste your eggs you will have a built in market.

Using fresh eggs for your favorite recipes will make you an instant success at any potluck party you're invited to. I make custards and all kinds of custard pies depending on my mood and what I have available.

My chickens and I are fast becoming friends if that's the correct description of an animal that lets you dig under them while feeling for eggs, petting them and letting them know you're just checking. I would have never believed that you could actually feel as close to them as you would any pet. I really enjoy watching them scratch, squabble (the ol' peckin' order is alive and well), hunt for grubs and anything else that catches their fancy. Not having a bug problem is a real bonus. Raising a garden is another issue. Keeping them out of your prized flowers or vegetables means standing over them and letting them know when they've trespassed. It can be daunting if you don't have the time to oversee them when you let them run as I do. I enjoy their company too much to complain.

Each hen has her own personality. I've got "Amelia Earhart". She's takes off without filing flight plans, Hortense, the beauty queen, Junior, Red's first offspring that I successfully hatched the first time Hortense "sat", and Billie, Red's other offspring. I didn't know if she was going to be hen or a rooster so we let time decide. If she/he was a "rooster" his name would be "Billy". As you can see it was a "she".

As the flock grew from natural attrition (you'd be surprised how many people have chickens and don't know what to do with them), I quit naming them and just call them "Ms. Gray" or "Specks 1 and 2". or "You Ornery Critter, get out of there!" Threatening them with the stew pot doesn't faze them so I wouldn't suggest that unless you really want a "fresh" chicken dinner. I'm not sure anymore,that if something happened to one of them I wouldn't have a funeral for it.

Getting to Know Your Chickens

This is Hortense, an Austrolorp breed. She was the blue ribbon winner at the Garland County Fair 2 years ago. They are one of the most prolific layers and one holds the record for the most eggs produced in a year.

When I brought her home I almost split my sides laughing at her and the other chickens. Being penned up without male companionship must have raised her hormone levels. As soon as I put her in the pen, the other hens ran at her to establish pecking order. Red was going to have none of that. He raised a wing and ambled between the other hens and Hortense as much to say, "Back off, this lady is mine."

Hortense proceeded to dig a hole. She put her fanny up in the air and Red had his way with her. She was head honcho from that point on. She'd strut around the other hens, chasing them away from anything she thought should rightfully be hers first. So I called her "Hortense" to bring Her Majesty down a peg. Didn't work. She still thinks she runs the coop.