Even though there is no sun to help the build up of light, as the days lengthen the chickens have begun to lay again. Yesterday I collected TEN eggs.
Eggs are laid with a thin film of protein sealing the pores on the egg, a natural way to help them stay fresh for longer. So I never wash them. If you wash them they are then vulnerable to contamination and must be refrigerated. But with all this mud and with all our chickens being free range the pigs are getting a good number of eggs to eat. I just collect the eggs, boil them up, cool them and feed them to the pigs like candy.
Yesterday was warm so I cleaned out Tia and Txiki’s sleeping area. Usually I am throwing bricks of frozen solid manure with the rest just frozen to the ground and immoveable, so it good to get it really clean. I leave one part of the shelter as deep bedding this I just pick the cow pats out of and spread more straw on top of. The floor of the barn is concrete and cold. They like to sleep in the deep beds. 
I also attempted to clean out the piglets toilet corner but they are hopeless – always wanting to play with the fork. And throwing forkfulls of pig manure outside with little piggies trying to CATCH the fork AND any flying material means someone will lose an eye before bedtime.
It is wet. We did not get the forecast ice, or even much of the rain they were sending out red alerts about. This part of the plains had air full of thick wet fog and great droplets of water that did not rain down as much as hang around. It is 43F/6C already this morning and this looks to be our high for the day. From now the temperature will drift slowly back down below freezing.
Everything is sodden.
Today I will load the little chicks into a big dog crate (after putting Boo on the chain) and take them into the big chook house where they will meet the big chickens from the safety of their own house, in a few days and at night I will release them. It is time to get the turkey house cleaned out. When I come back from the UK and my mystery destination (any guesses yet?) we will receive a new set of layer chicks. They will be ready to lay between 4 and 5 months old so I like to start early.
Poppy the sow was observed being bred by Manu the other day so that is good news as I have a date for her. No-one saw him breed Molly so I have no idea about her, we will just follow the signs. I timed their meeting so that she would farrow six weeks before Poppy so if my plan works Molly will farrow in late March and Poppy in May. The gestation period for swine is three months, three weeks and three days. But you know what they say about plans and mice (or pigs).
I hope you all have a lovely day.
Love celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
91 responses to “Cook us some eggs”
[J] We have exactly the same weather right now, temperature inclued. Damp clings to everything, and the mud and dirt spreads like a virus! Yuk! I’ve shut the rams and wedders into their shed for today, as otherwise they will poach the pasture: best to save the grass for a drier day!
We are the same – I locked the cows up on the concrete pad today – they just pug up the land, churn it into mud when there is a thaw like this one coming. c
I do miss our chickies and their lovely eggs. And if I ever buy a small bag of washed potatoes instead of a giant sack of “dirty whites” Big Man rolls his eyes at me!
ALL potatoes in the supermarket here and thoroughly washed. All eggs are washed and refrigerated too – there are rules about things like that! c
😢😢
How geography changes things! There are NO refrigerated eggs in Australia and we are advised to store them outside the fridge also. Potatoes: some small ones are washed: they have that label in BIG letters on top of the bag: all the big ones simply seem to have been brushed . . . .
Stupid question here, but I’ve always wondered: Do the pigs eat the egg with the shell ON? Or do you peel it? Sometimes my dog would just eat an egg I dropped accidentally, shell and all.
Also, what’s your tried and true way to hard boil fresh eggs and get them to peel fairly cleanly?
We’re having tule fog here today in inland Northern California – so mysterious and wonderful – we don’t get it at my house very often. Everything is a misty pink.
https://thekitchensgarden.com/2013/02/10/how-to-steam-eggs-no-need-to-boil-at-all/ When i ‘boil’ an egg for me I steam it. It never fails to produce an easy to peel egg – even when they are fresh. Also – yes – the pigs eat the eggs shell and all unless they are pregnant – too much calcium – same as cows. I just put the pigs eggs in a big pot and boil them. c
If you don’t use Celi’s steamed egg method you could try cooking the eggs by bringing them to the boil in the water instead of adding them to boiling water. Once they’re boiling hard, turn off the heat and let them stand for 10 minutes Then, when they’re done, ‘shock’ them by dumping them in a bowl of ice water. I’ve found that works even with very fresh eggs (literally straight out from under the chicken).
That’s how we boil ’em ♡
I read once that EU law says that eggs cannot be washed, where as US law says that eggs have to be washed. I’m in the former camp.
With the mention of snow from Patrecia I wouldn’t be surprised if you are close to Poland, maybe Hungry, Czech, Austria?
You are correct and that is why in the UK the eggs are on a shelf whereas in the US the eggs are refrigerated. I went to Prague for a job once and just loved it – the locals carted me about showing me all these teensy weensy bars hidden in the backs of houses and shops- it was amazing. c
Your trip to Prague sounds magical. I love when you meet local people – they give the best advice and, as you said, show you things/places you never would’ve known about otherwise. ++ The eggs weren’t washed in Malta, they weren’t refrigerated – nor were they in cartoons if you bought eggs at a small store. I didn’t know then about how washing removes the natural protective coating…
Now THAT is the way to really see a country…the way a local does!
Linda
I seem to recall that, sometime ago, you mentioned you’d be visiting France this year and my guess is that perhaps you’ll be staying with your French wwoofer and his family, as they stayed with you when they came to visit him in the summer.
Back in the 1970’s we lived in a rural setting and had a chicken house with layers in it. It was only for a couple of years and so long ago that I forget now much of what I learned in that time… but they were free range and I never found eggs except in the chicken house. I well remember tapping a free-range egg on the side of the pan to open and fry it and had to really bash it hard to get it to crack. Moving back into town a couple of years later and the first time I tapped a store-bought egg on the side of the pan it was so fragile it just shattered completely before getting into the pan… very disconcerting. And you’re so right, insipid is a good description of the store-bought ones… no flavour and a yolk that looks like cream instead.
Very mild here today and raining hard right now, with a freezing rain warning, turning to just rain early afternoon. We had sunshine yesterday morning and it was so beautiful and uplifting. The forecast has temps staying above freezing for the next week and up as high as 6c on the weekend… so I am a happy camper. Hope you have a lovely day too. ~ Mame 🙂
Your post was in the moderation file – that happens to you sometimes. I just won’t buy store bought – I would rather go without. We are getting warmer too in the next week – time to get some of the real chores done before it freezes again.
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…. I just wrote a long message and clicked on to post it… and it has completely disappeared.
Anyway….. to shorten it, I seem to recall you mentioning, a long while ago, that you would go to France this year and my guess is that you’ll be staying with your French wwoofer and his family, as they came and stayed with you last summer. Hope you have a lovely day too. ~ Mame 🙂
I would love to raise chickens, that’s on my list of my dream farm. 🙂
Chickens are easy to live with. And fun to watch – much love c
I’m glad you didn’t get the ice. My parents further north than you got 1/2 inch, treacherous for being out doing chores in.
Yes that sounds awful, and terrifying for the trees and power lines too
I have only 2 chickens now, after my big bold australorp died a few weeks ago, she was my good layer and laid every day, rain hail or shine. One of the others hadn’t laid for a couple of years, and I thought that was it for her, just a pet now, the other laid maybe once a week……now with Brenna gone, they’re both laying every day! even on very hot days. Perhaps her big forceful personality had something to do with it. I don’t eat a lot of eggs so 2 a day is plenty, Mirrhi and one of my cats share them.
I think maybe France ……somewhere there are gastronomic delights with lots of butter and cream:) Or Croatia, I saw a travel documentary on it, it looks like a wonderful place to visit, and delicious looking food.
Two a day sounds just right – interesting that they came back to laying after the big chicken died. I wonder why that was. hmm
I kindly say she had a big personality but really she was a big bully, I have wondered if she was taking all the food or not letting the others near it, and although they looked healthy, weren’t getting enough nourishment all the time to produce eggs. When I took them extras ….greens or watermelon….she’d race around grabbing it all and stuffing it in her beak, I worried she’d choke sometimes.
The best way to get your chickens to lay is to feed them heaps of protein – and if she was stealing it? – you are quite probably right..I have cows like that! AND pigs. Interesting that there are chickens like that too.
Yay for the eggs! Wow! TEN? We are getting two in one day, about three days apart. Can hardly wait to get our new babies in and slowly introduce them to the older biddies. Like you, we have two houses and a pen that can be closed off ’til the timing’s right. Might even try another troop of ‘homegrowns’. – Have a super day, everyone!
One day I am going to build a proper INTRO pen, maybe this year – so far it is dog crates! c
Hmm, you said the UK – Scotland?
Oh Scotland – I would love to go to scotland! c
I think India!
Oh I wish!! My friends frm the UK are off to india as we speak – I am quite green.. c
Well, I sent ‘my guess’ as to the ‘mystery destination’ to Celi privately quite awhile ago . . . . no, of course she just smiled! But ’tis odd that quite a few of us are saying France 🙂 ! To me ’tis logical – and she has that Chicago >< Heathrow return ticket so don't think she and her beautiful kids 'shouting' the extra part have thought too far afield . . . ?
My children might be shouting very loudly! c
*big smile” My apologies – we may have a possible ‘disconnect’. In Australia ‘to shout’ means to ‘pay for’ or ‘partially pay for’ for other people – thought it was the same in NZ . . . ? And thought your children were paying for some of your trip after London: sorry!! . . . . how ‘noise’ as in ‘shout’ came into this is somewhat beyond my comprehension!
I know what you meant – it was a play on words! It is the same in NZ.
My uncle had a hatchery and a large yard with lots of free range chickens. It was fun to go gather the eggs. They were left in a big metal basket on my aunt’s pantry counter. Washed just before use and the best eggs ever. It was interesting going along with my uncle to deliver chicks all around the area. I got to see lots of farms, also ended up eating lots of homebaked cookies and fresh milk.
I think France or Italy for your mystery destination. Stay dry.
What a beautiful memory – delivering chicks.. you would always be welcome! c