Bawk Bawk

Fun with Friends

I've been thinking about animals lately.  And food.  And where our food comes from.  Mainly because I am the chef, grocery shopper, maid, accountant, etc... you know, "MOM"....these thoughts and the $4.00+ price tag for eggs have got me thinking "chickens."  Several of our neighbors, or those who live along our road, have them and 7 of those chickens used to visit us regularly.  That neighbor finally cooped them up, but before then the kids liked to follow them around the property and the chickens were kind of nice to have around.  Maybe we should have chickens, fresh eggs, right?  I've heard once you have farm fresh, you'll never go back.  They say the more the birds forage, the better the eggs as well.  (This according to my research and discussions with my neighbors.)

So, this led me to various searches on types of chickens.  I had no idea some of these breeds existed!  The only chickens I knew were the mean white ones in my old uncle's coop or the headless ones flapping wildly, feet tied and hanging upside down from the clothes lines of a childhood friend's house.  Or, Foghorn Leghorn of Looney Tunes.   Well, I knew a little more than that, but go to My Pet Chicken.com.  It's a great website with pictures and all kinds of information on breeds.  I also recommend learning about culling your birds.  Ya, they don't lay forever, only about 2-4 years which means if you want to keep them as pets, you'll be paying way more their egg-laying worth in feed.  Which is okay....just make sure you have lots of property to start with, and like, only buy one bird at a a time!  ;)

But it's fascinating, each bird lays a different color egg.  Some hybrid-breeds are known as Easter-eggers because they have a gene that lets them lay blueish/greenish eggs.  The baskets of a mix of birds look pretty as an easter basket.  And you don't wash the eggs.  Egg-shells are semi-permeable and the natural "bloom" of the birds has anti-bacterial properties.  Another interesting fact...they don't require refrigeration and can last longer than store bought.  I'm not going to go into specifics here, I don't profess to be an expert, just an avid egg researcher at the moment.  

In case you're wondering, eggs don't have much to do with Autism, just in that as an Autism parent, you're always thinking about diet and what you're feeding your children, what could be helping or hurting and where your food comes from is always a consideration.  I'm just lucky enough to live where I can potentially raise my own egg-layers.

Spring Chickens