All About Eggs

I've received a lot of mail asking about chickens & eggs, so I'll try to answer some of your questions. There are many different varieties of chickens, we currently have 5. Some chickens are dual purpose, eggs & meat. But we ONLY eat the eggs. I'd have a hard time eating a pet that we've raised from a chick. The chicken pictured in this post, Marzipan, (photo credit: Christopher Ameruoso for OK! Magazine) is a silkie chicken. I like to refer to them as the "kittens" of the chicken world. Silkies are darling, fluffy & very mild-mannered. They are wonderful with children & will sit happily on your lap. Every time someone new sees one of our silkies they ask "What is that?". I have several friends who've gotten chickens after meeting mine. Silkies do lay eggs & the eggs are about 1/2 the size of a regular chicken egg (see photo for comparison to a Buff Orpington egg). They taste the same & they're perfect for recipes & as a "diet" egg. Farm raised eggs really do taste better & it's nice to know that our eggs come from happy chickens! Follow @Erin_Murphy

Farm Fresh Eggs!

This year in addition to fruits & vegetables, we're adding something new to our garden: chickens! Despite the fact that I love animals, I've always had a slight fear of birds. I think this can be traced back to some traumatic childhood experiences. Once while riding my bike, an enormous black crow swooped down & plucked hair from my head & knocked me to the ground. Also, as a young teen, I was chased daily by a pair of swans, who would follow & peck at me when I sailed past their nest. I've also had some negative experiences with angry geese & roosters. Surprisingly, when our local feed store mentioned that they had chicks for sale, with very little prodding from the kids, I quickly agreed. I learned a couple interesting facts: The reason you can get 1 day old chicks is because they don't nurse & are separated from the hens before they hatch. Also, they can determine the sex of a newborn chick with over 90% accuracy. This is important because many people want eggs only, not baby chicks & many neighborhoods don't allow roosters.
The chicks have been delightful, funny, friendly, EASY pets so far. We have seven: 2 Buff Orpingtons (Sally & Omelette), 1 Plymouth Barred Rock (Spot), 1 Black Sex-Link (Dot), 1 Americauna (Dot) & 2 Black Silkies- pictured above (Disco & Daiquiri). I'll fill you in on their personalities & more as we undertake our adventure in farm fresh eggs!!
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