Backyard Chickens - A Farming Post

I shall begin this new blog with a perhaps boring little post about getting a start in chicken-raising.  Non-controversial and contains no danger of offending, although I can't make that promise for all future posts!

“There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.” 
― Aldo Leopold

The day our first chickens arrived.

~For me, I was very interested in chickens and eggs, but not in experiencing the baby chick and in between stage, so we started out with already laying hens.  We started with Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rock & Rhode Island Reds.

~Within a few days, they were used to their new digs & were providing yummy eggs for us.  They have beautiful dark yellow yolks.








By the following year, I was ready to try my hand at incubating.  By this time we had received a few various stray chickens, including an Americana rooster.  My first little chick took 12 hours to peck out of its shell.  I did not know how strange this was, but experience now tells me that they should be out in 30 minutes or less.  I ended up calling someone for advice.  I "helped" it along with a dropper of hot water.  It was one of our few yellow chicks & even though it was always a little strange, it was one of my favorites.  Unfortunately, something killed it when it was a few weeks old.  At any rate, it was a bit of a turning point for me in having animal compassion, b/c I felt very responsible, having chosen to bring these lives into the world, and I worried a lot until all were hatched.

Romans 1:20 - For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead;


Hatching out these chicks was a Wonderful Homeschooling Experience, (capitalized just like the important words that Pooh says!)  Truly amazing.

After hatching chicks, we need no convincing about the miracle that life is.

We ended up keeping three roosters from that batch so that when May 2012 rolled around, I felt chances were very good for incubating again.  Those baby chicks were also a marvel to us.


Having said what we ended up keeping, we also butchered some of our chickens.  The children helped & we all ate them.  This past fall we butchered quite a few roosters and have enjoyed them this winter.  I have excellent brine & crockpot recipes that make roosters & non-meat birds rather yummy.

This brings me to the sad truth that sooo many people, perhaps especially children are quite removed from their food sources.  Is there a taste difference between one of my chickens and a chicken nugget?  Of course.  There is also a huge difference in the life of these two chickens.  As a farmer's granddaughter, growing up in the least populated county east of the Mississippi, it is hard for me to believe there are those who are not accustomed to the raising & slaughtering of small farm animals.  However, I know it is so.  This past December we introduced a girl to a hen & she mentioned that she thought chickens had fur.  A grown-up at my work, after buying some eggs from me, said that they tasted to "farm-y."

Perhaps I am not capable of a "little" post.

2 questions I often get asked:
~No, I do NOT refrigerate my eggs.  There is no need.  They can last weeks like this, although mine never last more than a week, b/c we eat them up!
~I do NOT wash my eggs before selling them.  I try to choose the cleanest ones for selling.  When eggs are washed commercially, they are power-washed at a specific temperature for a specific amount of time.  I do not have that kind of control in my kitchen.  Eggs are porous and when you wash them you are inviting contaminants to enter.  If a child needs a little washing, you can use sandpaper or do what I do - just wash them right before you use them.

There are many types of chicken coops, "tractors" you move, nice ones.  We built off an existing structure.  You will never recoup money put into this type of thing, so the cheaper the better!  There are recommendations for square footage per bird, etc.  2 great choices are:

~Raising Poulty the Modern Way by Leonard S. Mercia   or
~Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow

I do believe that Maine has a law that you need to purchase a minimum of 6 chicks.  You can do this from any ole' farmer/hillbilly, Blue Seal, or check out McMurray.

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/standard_breed_chicks.html

It's been my experience that even with selling extra eggs and allowing for free-range eating in the warmer months, the result is still
"The most expensive eggs I've ever had"
to quote my husband!

However, we think it is well worth it.  If I can do it, trust me, you can too!