Do Your Chickens Lay Eggs?

That's the first question everyone asks when they find out I have chickens! When I say, "Not yet," they always seem disappointed. I'm left feeling that the ladies and I have somehow let them down. But then, I explain they were just born in mid-April, these things take time.
I really think some of those inquiring minds just want to know when they might be the recipient of some of the little brown delights! Before the chicks even arrived, I had people lining up for the eggs. With 17 hens, I assured everyone, there will be eggs to go around. When they are all laying, I should have almost a dozen and a half eggs a day!
Well, Friday, August 26, 2011, it finally happened, the first egg was laid. I opened the door to the nesting boxes and there was a hen sitting. I gave her some privacy in within minutes was rewarded with a small, smooth pinkish-brown egg. It is a beautiful little thing! And, no, we haven't eaten it! I'm waiting to see what my first dozen look like!

On Saturday, there were two more eggs, laid in two different nesting boxes. They look a lot like the first. The first egg was definitely laid by a Black Australorp. I know because I saw her. I can only guess they are also from the Australorps. Today, there was one egg. I guess getting a production schedule takes time. But for now, I'm just relieved to say that, "Yes! My chickens do lay eggs!"

Fresh Organic Chicken $2.09/lb

Well, today was the end of the line for the meat chickens. We loaded them up and took them to a local poultry processing place at 7 a.m. I have to say, I was surprised at the line of pickup trucks in front of us carrying crates of live birds. The edge of the driveway also was lined with bird-filled cages, the "early birds" so to speak. The "chicken ranch," as the sign proclaims on the front of the processing building, is run by a Mennonite family. I noticed on the sign-in sheet, some of the folks ahead of me drove around 45 minutes to bring their birds to this farm. The man who helped Big D unload our birds said they can process up to 450 birds a day.

We didn't actually weight the birds when we got them back, but Big D said the average weight of each whole bird was a conservative five pounds. Figuring the original cost of the chicks, the feed, the bedding, and the processing, we paid $2.09/lb for our organic home-raised chicken. 

Not the prettiest picture, I know. But will taste great on the dinner table - in a few weeks, after packaging them, Big D doesn't want chicken for a while!

Top 10 Reasons I LOVE July!

Everyone has reasons why they like or dislike something. There are lots of reasons why I love summer, but here are the top 10 reasons why July is one of my favorite months.
10. - It's the only month of the year with NO school days
9. - Thunderstorms
8. - Football/cheer practice starts, signaling the beginning of my favorite season - football season!
7. - Long days filled with lots of sunshine
6. - Trips to the pool with my kids
5. - Picking berries
4. - The hot hot days
3. - My brother's birthday
2. - It never ever snows!
1. - Farmers' Markets are loaded with the first of summer's bounty

Farm market fare - I got the peppers and cabbage at a market about 3 miles from my house and the zucchini and pickles from a market about 6 miles from my house in the other direction.

One of the reasons why I love where I live is the availability of fresh produce in the summer. Within a 10 mile radius of my house, there are at least a dozen farm markets. Some are larger with greenhouses and pick-your-own opportunities, and others are little tents along the road at the front of the family farm. Also within that area is the largest weekly open-air market in the entire universe. I love to look at the rows of vegetables lined up for inspection. Nothing tastes as good as vegetables picked early in the morning on the day you put the on your table.
Recently, I stopped at a local market - reported to have the very best sweet corn in the area.  It was still before lunchtime, but I got the last dozen and a half ears of corn they had for the day. Turns out, it was the last 18 ears they were gonna have for a week. An excessively wet Spring put a wrench in their planting.

Summer love - my 18 beautiful ears of corn

Since Big D could eat corn at every meal, I decided I wanted to put up corn this summer so we can enjoy the freshness all winter.  When I was a kid, my mom froze corn. I remember sitting beside her as she sliced the kernels off the cobs, reaching over to grab a rectangle of the juicy yellow pearls as they dropped onto the tray. I also remember the excitement of getting a package of that frozen corn out of our freezer in the middle of winter, anticipating that just picked taste.

No fancy gadgets needed, just a really sharp thin knife. I still like eating the rectangles of corn!

Because that's how my mom did it, and because I don't have a pressure canner, I also froze my corn. But, instead of using bags like my mom did, I used these really cool reusable freezer containers Ball makes. I got four beautiful pints of corn out of my 18 ears.
This was so easy, I think I'll be visiting a local farm soon to get a bushel of corn!