So far, raising 30 chickens been a great learning experience. I feel a bit more country now, ya'll. But I admit that my feelings as I watched the chicks tossed into shoeboxes for the ride home were less than confident. Some of my siblings, who will remain anonymous, made their cordial dislike for chickens known. I would be flying solo. I wasn't eggs-actly crowing at the idea of cleaning a coop and all that, but:
"Where there are no hens, the coop is clean.
But much increase comes by the eggs of a hen."
The idea of gathering healthy home-raised eggs was romantic enough that I was fairly undaunted by the dirty side of it. Except for the prospect of butchering. Since I got a mostly straight-run (50-50 hens/roosters), we thought we could have an unfortunate amount of roosters that we would make the best of by putting in the freezer. And all the gory stories happily told by friends with chicken-slaying experience left me balking. So far though, I believe (I hope) we only have 4 roosters, so we're all safe for the moment from the strain that impending butchering puts on relationships.
I'm interested in nutrition and in being self-conscious about food. A good resource is the documentary "Food, Inc." But here is some info about eggs from free-range hens, as opposed to caged hens producing mass-marketed eggs.
Eggs from free range hens had up to:
We turned an old tackroom in our 80 year old barn into a Chicken Suite, and the chickens strut in and out and find pasture. We shut them in the coop at night as a precautionary measure against a remix of Nickel Creek's "The Fox", except with chickens instead of geese. ;)
The idea of gathering healthy home-raised eggs was romantic enough that I was fairly undaunted by the dirty side of it. Except for the prospect of butchering. Since I got a mostly straight-run (50-50 hens/roosters), we thought we could have an unfortunate amount of roosters that we would make the best of by putting in the freezer. And all the gory stories happily told by friends with chicken-slaying experience left me balking. So far though, I believe (I hope) we only have 4 roosters, so we're all safe for the moment from the strain that impending butchering puts on relationships.
I'm interested in nutrition and in being self-conscious about food. A good resource is the documentary "Food, Inc." But here is some info about eggs from free-range hens, as opposed to caged hens producing mass-marketed eggs.
Eggs from free range hens had up to:
- 1/3 less cholesterol
- 1/4 less saturated fat
- 2/3 more vitamin A
- 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
- 3 times more vitamin E
- 7 times more beta carotene
We turned an old tackroom in our 80 year old barn into a Chicken Suite, and the chickens strut in and out and find pasture. We shut them in the coop at night as a precautionary measure against a remix of Nickel Creek's "The Fox", except with chickens instead of geese. ;)
Maybe it takes some long-term vision to look at dirty chicks and see the culinary possibilities to come from their eggs. I think I've learned about how God must view we stinky people; He sees the His glory displayed in the end product of His loving sanctification in His long-term vision, so He rolls up His sleeves for the dirty work of lovingly sanctifying us.
Will and Jed have lots of fun with the chickens. Maybe sometimes a little too much fun...
Picture this: Two boys. One chicken. A trampoline.
True story.
True story.
No chickens were harmed. Honest.
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