Greetings all,
In the evenings while dinner is cooking, i'm often sipping tea while baking a pie, cake, cookies or . . . egg shells. I like to multitask those chores which require attention in spits & spurts, around something i have to focus on. I use the oven heat for dual purpose & bake tomorrow's recess while we eat dinner (sometimes cake decorating is best done after the children have gone to bed!!) I can't tell you how much easier this is with my husband home cooking the dinner . . . i still have 4 children asking homework/ party/ sports scheduling questions at the same time!!
So tonight i was baking our hen's egg shells to make shell grit to give back to them for an additional dose of egg-making-calicum. Rather brilliant. Just 10 minutes in the oven at 170C to remove any flavour of them being their own eggs, crush & serve separate to their grains/ pellets/ corn. They look like sequins & smell like burnt meringue.
Lots of city siders have been asking me "is it really that easy to keep chickens??" as i live in suburbia too. Well i'm home all day & spend at least half an hour with our chicks every day: handling them, spot cleaning, hand feeding fresh fruits & vegetables - it's no wonder they laid eggs all through Winter with the animal husbandry. Then add 4 children who cuddle & treat them with fresh clover & grasses every afternoon!! We make the time. I'm sure most of what i do is unnecessary, but they greet me at the gate, they are wonderful friendly company, they love me back Ok??
In short, it's a lot of effort for a couple of cartons of fresh eggs a week, but it's so satisfying for our family & my husband is loving the manure on the rest of the garden, literally nothing is wasted. Ok, i've also found handsome soldier out in the chicken run picking up the affectionate Pekin Bantam chicks - little balls of pom pom feathers - who sit in your hands & chatting to the ducks
I have decided that ducks are nearly impossible to photograph, especially ones who excitedly waddle towards you, it's just like trying to photograph a toddler!! Their feathers are so warm, i'll find the children sitting with a duck on their lap, hands under their wings, adorable. Can you believe i'm actually scared of birds??
I raise everything up onto crates - from the road side - saves the coop getting wet from the ground up, insulates that little bit more from the cold, you can rake under them & i just really like old coloured packing crates!! Love Posie
