Keeping Eggs Fresh

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs                                                Shobe Biz Communications

Remember that vintage Volkswagen ad where too many people are stuffed into a Volkswagen Bug?

Sometimes when I open the door to my spare refrigerator in the garage I think of that ad.  Dozens of vintage eggs cartons filled with organic, multi-colored eggs are stacked to the top of every shelf. It looks as if the refrigerator was laying the eggs itself.

I usually try to sell the eggs a day or so after they are laid. I even make presents of the eggs by bringing them as hostess gifts. But, sometimes I'm so busy with  life that the eggs simply stack up. Wasting the precious output of my happy hens simply isn't an option.

Here is a decent article (get past the opening, get to the facts, and ignore some of the grammatical errors) about the many ways that you can preserve your eggs: Twelve Ways to Store Chicken Eggs to Keep Their Freshness by Fahran Sheikh.

Some of the options that Skeikh  includes are:

1.  A blooming good idea: Don't wash unwashed eggs. The eggs have a bloom on them that keeps them fresher longer.

2.  The ostrich technique: Bury unwashed eggs in dry sand.

3.  The beach-goers technique: Coat them with mineral oil.

4.  The "I'm all mixed-up" technique: Beat them like scrambled eggs, put them into airtight containers and freeze them.

The only one I've tried so far is not washing the egg until I am ready to use it. I've noticed that the bloom does help the egg stay fresh much longer.

With 12 new hens just two months away from laying,  it's time to start exploring my options, again, for keeping the girls' eggs fresh. I think I'll start first with my own technique: cleaning out the spare refrigerator.

Day #1 of the Hatch

The Incubator                    copyright Shobe Biz Communications

I've never hatched an egg before. (Why does Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss keep popping up in my mind?) After having raised three rounds of day-old chicks over the past year-and-a-half,  I decided to venture out and try something different--incubating fertilized eggs.

First things first, I hatched a plan. I desired a flock that would lay a variety of multicolored eggs--eggs that were olive, and blue, and chocolate--eggs that would make great photos. I, then, began to research purveyors of fertilized eggs.

When I typed in olive eggers--a cross between the Black Copper Maran and Ameracauna, and fertilized eggs on my Google search, I was directed to Chicken Scratch Poultry, a online site that sells fertilized eggs or day-old chicks.

I emailed Angie, the very friendly owner at Chicken Scratch Poultry, and placed an order for twelve varied chicks: 4 Olive Eggers, 2 Welsummers, 2 blue egg Ameracaunas, 2 French Black Copper Marans, and 2 French Blue Copper Marans. Angie was very helpful and communicative and told me specifically when the package of fertilized eggs would arrive. And, that date was today, March 7.

To see a box with the words "fragile" inscribed on it at my front doorstep excited me to no end. Carefully packed inside the box was a split egg carton, with six wrapped and marked eggs on each side. 

I unwrapped the eggs from the carton and gently placed them into my Farm Innovators Pro 4200 Incubator that was on the island in my kitchen. The night before, after a delicious dinner at a Korean barbecue restaurant, I had come home and set up the incubator. In about three hours, the temperature was within the suggested 99 to 100 degrees F and the humidity was within the suggested 55-60% (after adding a little bit of water into the bottom of the tray).

The soft hum of the incubator suggested that my baby chicks were beginning to "bake". I noticed that as my house cooled in the evening, the incubator needed a slight adjustment to maintain its temperature. What I didn't expect was an incubator sensitivity to any slight turn of its top dial. With a slight twist, the temperature quickly rose to 101 degrees. I took the top off for a few minutes to let the  temperature drop. By turning dial to the left just a bit, the temperature fell back into range.

I now have 12 potential fertilized eggs going through the process of being potential chicks. Research shows there is a 50-80% hatch rate and then, there is a 50% chance that the chick can be a rooster. So, if you're searching for hens who are good layers, you may have better luck purchasing day old chicks. Unfortunately, I am the adventurous kind and believe in testing my scientific luck.

I'll keep you posted as the days progress!

What to Do After the Chickens Hatch

The Broody Lady Rah Rah                         Credit: Shobe Biz Communications

My Farm Innovators Model 4200 Incubator just arrived! This is my first foray into hatching chicks in an incubator. The eggs will be shipped next week from Chicken Scratch Poultry and will be a mix of Olive Egger, Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, French Black Copper Marans, and Welsummer fertilized eggs. I'm going for the different colored eggs this year for photographic and innovation reasons.

Since this is my first time incubating eggs, I thought I should bone up on some research. Travis Kellar of The Sentinel (Pennyslvania) wrote an informative article How to Raise Baby Chickens After Hatching. The Chickens should not be removed from the incubator until 48 hours after hatch. The brooder needs to be kept at 95 degrees and the temperature should be reduced five degrees for every successive week.

For the last several years, I have used a 250-watt heat lamp in the chicks brooder. For the brooder, I found a large wooden box and created a lid for it out of a wooden frame and avian wire.  In the chicks water, I put a few drops of apple cider vinegar and feed them yogurt to help them avoid pasty butt.

Who doesn't enjoy raising baby chicks? Now, it's time to try something new. I can't wait to see how the incubator works and how many chicks successfully peck their way into their new home!

Minaret's First Egg

Minaret's First Egg                          Photo Courtesy of Eve

Minaret, a lovely local Ameracauna who is relatively "new" onto the scene, just laid her first egg--an egg with a lovely bluish tint--for her "mother", Eve. (To everyone's surprise, Minaret didn't end up being a rooster!)

As we Chicken Women all know, there's nothing quite like a hen's first egg. When I came home last spring from a vacation to a local rural valley, I discovered my hen's first egg on the floor of the coop. I was so thrilled that I immediately began taking pictures. And, then, my girl Coachie, as if obeying some celestial clock, decided to lay her second egg for me while I was standing there...ah, there's nothing like "birth"!

A hen's first egg (oeuf) is definitely a cause for celebration. Eve seems to know how to celebrate in style--with a "pop" of the cork from a yummy bottle of champagne and a toast in honor of the young "gal.". Congratulations, Eve and Minaret!

Eve is the newbie owner of four lovely hens and a talented writer, photographer and foodie. She spends a good deal of her time whipping up delicious yummies both locally and in France and writes a wonderful foodie blog called Blue Moon. (Check it out. I just may have to whip up her delicious recipe on homemade Potstickers as an appetizer for Valentine's Day!) And, her mother, Tana, is proud to say that she is the great-grandmother of this new egg--although, as she said in her email, "it will get eaten!"


Here's a link to the story I wrote last spring about my Coachie's first egg: The First Egg.

Which Came First--The Chicken or The Egg?

Are you a member of Team Chicken or Team Egg?

Chickens Offer Support to Children with Autism and Aspergers

Peg's Buff Orpington                    c Shobe Biz Communications

For us chicken owners, we already know how chickens affect our lives. We can be in the lousiest of moods and all we need to do is head to the coop or walk to where the chickens are free ranging, and we will soon erupt in smiles and giggles. Chickens really do some of the zaniest things. They light up our lives with their antics.

It wasn't until recently that I heard of therapy chickens. Oh, sure. I've met therapy dogs and even a rabbit or two, but therapy chickens? I first heard about them while I was interviewing Ruth Haldeman, the creator of chicken diapers, who sells her product via chickendiapers.com.  Ruth said that she receives orders for chicken diapers for therapy chickens so that the hens may be brought into institutions and homes without any mishaps.

Are therapy chickens becoming a trend? Perhaps so. The Missoulian posted a video clip on their website about Jana Clairmont who takes her two chickens, Alex and Carlita, to seniors at the Poison Health and Rehabilitative Center. The chickens let the seniors pet them, talk with them and receive comfort from them.

The Chicken Whisperer has a Therapy Chicken Facebook page that supports comments about therapy chickens. One woman wrote in that a bipolar woman used to rely on her chickens for comfort, that was until they were taken away. Another woman says that her seven-year old autistic daughter has a hen as her best friend.

In fact, chickens helping children with autism and Aspergers seems to be growing. In a report in the Examiner, a two-year old autistic boy in Florida was learning socialization and eye contact through his hens, that was until the city cited the family for having chickens in their backyard. The family fought the restriction by noting that the chickens were helping their autistic child as well as providing an organic food source for their child. The city was reviewing their ordinance when the chickens were brutally slaughtered. Now, the community is flocking together to bring the family new chickens.

According to PetChicken.com, chickens serve a very real purpose for autistic children or children with Aspergers. "An autistic or Aspergers individual inherently needs to be assisted away from over fixation on the inner self. This encouragement to outward awareness and not to fear it can be found in the antics and curious jerky head motions that catch the eye made by all chickens. It is so captivating and funny. They will insatiable draw the autistic into attention to and care for the chickens in a way that will be a mutual bond that will last...Chickens, as with most pets, will coax a special needs child to innately accept that there is fascinating 'chaos' in life and that unpredictable things will occur with fun result."

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released that 1 in every 88 American children has an autism spectrum disorder. This number is a ten-fold increase over the last 40 years with improving diagnosis being only one of the reasons that this statistic has increased so much. With these staggering autism numbers, it seems that therapy chickens may have to be on the rise.

How do you raise a therapy chicken? There isn't much information on this but Hope Farm Projects Therapeutic Farm  (Elizabeth, CO), a 105-acre farm owned by Teri Allen, is doing what it can to support the raising and training of therapeutic chickens. It also has a therapeutic riding program; a job skills training program for people with disabilities; an animal rescue; therapy horses; and other small therapy animals like pigs, goats, llamas and ducks.

If you have more information about therapy chickens, I'd love to hear about it!

Chickens Going Nuts!

Coachie   -    copyright KeithSkeltonPhoto.com

See the crazed look in this hen's eyes? Yes, Coachie, my Giant Partridge Cochin, is eyeing a handful of unsalted Spanish peanuts. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that chickens would love peanuts. But, when I discovered a bag of "lost" peanuts in the pantry, I decided, "What the heck. The chickens loved yogurt. Let's see..."

As I opened up the door to the pen, a handful of peanuts in hand, just the smell of the peanuts nearly started a War of the Flock. Jersey, the Black Jersey Giant, came running toward me like a chicken on a wild rampage. I leaned down toward her. She pecked the peanuts from my hand as fast as she could to score as many as possible before the others. Being the grande dame of the flock, she also maneuvered her large feathery backside to effectively block the other hens until she had her fill.

Coachie, the more reserved and shy of the Foursome Flock, hung back until I stepped aside and offered her some of the tasty treat. Just like the others, she pecked away to her heart's content.

Even Diamond, the bantam Silver-Spangled Hamburg, loved them. The only thing was that the peanut was a bit too big for her mouth, so I had to split the peanuts in two, "spoon-feeding" them  to Diamond one half at a time.

Feeding chickens unique treats provides for a giggle-full morning. Just a couple of weeks ago, I gave the hens some nonfat yogurt. The yogurt went a'flying when the hens shook their heads to get it off their beaks. Sunflower seeds are a big-time hit. Pomegranate seeds, too. I can only hope that as they peck these bright red biblical treasures, that they're also downing some vital nutrients and antioxidants (that's if chickens require antioxidants...)

Backyardchickens.com has a wonderful treat chart. They advise against feeding chickens anything salty. They also advise against feeding chickens green potatoes, citrus, avocado skin and pit, candy, and chocolate and sugar. Jaki in Portland, Oregon, who has raised chickens for over 40 years, said that onions don't sit well with hens. And, the other day, while trading chicken stories with Kim, a colleague from northern California, she asked, "Have you fed your chickens mealworms yet?" I shook my head. "They are my chickens absolute favorite treat," she said.

Unable to get to the pet store today to stock up for the "disgusting" treats, I did notice as I was checking out at the garden shop that there was a box labeled, "Live Worms" next to the register.

"I'll take one of those," I said to the clerk. Now, I can't wait for tomorrow morning. Sun up means a whole new experience with a whole new treat. More on that later...

P.S. Joe from Facebook checked in and said, "From my garden, I'll provide damaged or fallen tomatoes....they go absolutely crazy for tomatoes. Yes, you are right, uncooked potatoes and some other organics foster salmonella and other bad things that can enter the flock and go into the eggs. Have fun on the worm feeding :) A friend of mine lets his chick'ns out in the back yard, there isn't a rolly-polly, earwig, worm, spider anywhere in his yard now ;)"