Have you ever just done something on a whim?  This was a crazy whim, but I did it!  What was I to do with a surplus of eggs, feed them to the pigs or put them in the borrowed incubator that has become a fixture in my kitchen?  I decided on the latter! 

I put 87 chicken eggs in the incubator figuring about half of them might be fertile.  Well, I guess my little roosters are taking their jobs seriously, because out of 87 eggs, 75 hatched!  I guess I should have bought a lottery ticket, huh?

The whole process is fascinating and something I think everyone should see in their lives.  What a great home project.  I know you can make a simple incubator at home with a shoe box because my dad has done it.  I don't know how, but if you googled it, you might come up with something.  You do have to turn the eggs everyday, however.  With the one I have, it does it for you.

So as the chick begins its journey out of the shell, it makes its way out with a special tooth on the end of its beak called an egg tooth.  This tooth is absorbed into the beak a few days after hatching.  That process is called pipping.

Here's a chick starting the pipping process.

The chick pips its way around the shell.  Here are some a little more advanced and one that has just hatched.

Look out world, here I am!

All dried off and fluffy, headed for their new digs in the chicken hoop!

Through the generosity of friends, I am using their incubator for the second year in a row.  Nineteen days ago I had an (over) abundance of chicken eggs and there sat the incubator in my kitchen with nothing to do.  I plugged it in, cleaned it up and put 87 eggs in it!  Day number 19 is the day (it takes 21) you stop the rotation and put the eggs in the hatching tray.  When I got home tonight I stopped the rotation and opened the incubator to start moving the eggs.  Peep, peep, peep!  It's so amazing to hear them talking inside their shells. 

I have written about this before, in case you'd like to read about it.  I also wrote about hatching turkeys, but as I look back over the entry, my photos are missing.  I will have to try to recover them, but here is one fascinating photo of the poults starting to pip out of their shells.

And since we're on the subject of poultry, my son left for work this morning only to discover 2 wild turkeys attacking my tom!  He came back to the house to tell us and I went out and chased them off.  Mean buggers.....but man can they fly!

I just spent the better part of 45 minutes writing a lengthy entry for today and hit the back button accidentally and lost it all.  What a bummer.

I will try to come up with most of what I was blabbing, I mean blogging, about!

On August 11 I wrote an article for Countryside Magazine.   It was published in the current (Nov/Dec 2008) issue on page 98.  I am honored that they decided to publish it, but I am also realistic in the sense that all of the articles are written by the readers.  I love to write and that's why I started this blog.  The article certainly has inspired me to write more. 

With that said, I allowed them to publish my email address because I love to talk chickens and answer questions others might have.  I also love helping others get started with their chickens, since it is my belief that everyone should have at least 3 layers in their backyards!  Three is the magic number because if one should die, the 2 still have each other!  They can bring so much enjoyment to your life as well as their eggs.  Do you remember part of Herbert Hoover's 1928 campaign slogan, "A chicken in every pot"?  My slogan is "Three hens in every backyard"!  Good thing I am not running for any office.

Cities like Portland, OR and Missoula, MT are allowing backyard flocks.  Other cities and towns do not allow chickens because they are considered farm animals.  I am not suggesting you break the law, but I am suggesting you take a "don't ask, don't tell" approach and get a few if you want them.  Just ok it with the neighbors first any be sure to give them fresh eggs in return.  A rooster is a dead giveaway that you've got chickens.  The good news is, you don't need a rooster for a hen to lay an egg, so give it a whirl.

With the publishing of my email address, I have received some very nice emails from folks all across the country.  Some have had many questions and if you have the chance to check out my categories on the right side of this blog, you will find chickens at the top.  There's a lot of info in there that may answer some of your questions.  I had an email from a woman who had several questions that I thought others might have as well, so I will answer them here and add it to the section.

 I have a family of five, how many egg layers do I need?

You should figure out how many eggs you need a week.  Some people eat a lot more eggs than others.  Chickens are funny creatures.  They are like milk cows.  Their production will peak and then taper off.

Today was our first of 3 butchering days.  I have about 130 birds here, or I should say "had".  We are down by 42 today.  I have raised them along side mine for friends and they help butcher.  We learned a couple of new things today while butchering.  There's a tendon on the chicken's foot that you can pull and it makes the chicken's toes grab things.  Yvonne's little boy had a great time with that chicken foot and even had to take it home to show his dad!

Another thing my son showed everyone is how to put a chicken to sleep.  You have to turn it upside down and then tuck its head under its wing.  When you set the chicken on the ground, it stays that way.  Sometimes they will get up on their own and sometimes you just give them a little nudge and off they go.  Pretty funny.

Of course, all of the adults had memories of watching the chicken bounce around without the head, so we made sure the kids in the bunch got to see that too.  Gotta make those memories! 

If you'd like to see pictures from last year,just check out this entry.

It is so nice to have those birds in the freezer and have "fresh" chicken all year long.  It just doesn't compare to anything you buy in the store.

The short answer to the question below:  We had seven people total.  It took us about 3 hours.  We weren't all busy 100% of the time, but close. 

The long answer:  If 2 people gather the chickens and one cuts off the heads, then the chopper can become the gutter as well.  (That's generally my husband's job.  He does the gutting and most of the chopping of heads.  My son does some of the chopping.)

Two can scald and pluck (we have a plucker) and then 2 do additional cleanup of feathers.  After the gutting is done, they go in a bucket of cold water.  The lungs are much easier to pull out if they are cold.  After the lungs they get a good cleaning and into fresh, clean water to chill.

My husband said today it would be nice to have 2 people gutting in order to keep up.

Warning.......not for weak stomachs!

Ok, I am just going to lay it out there for you.  I won't mince words.  Chickens will eat ANYTHING!  I have seen chickens eat some pretty disgusting things over the years, many of which I do not care to mention.  Believe me, you're better off not knowing.  That's just chicken reality. 

One of the biggest reasons I have meat birds is for clean up.  They are excellent at foraging in the field and cleaning up after the sheep, pigs and cows.  Suffice it to say that the animals I just mentioned don't digest whole grains well.  It has to go somewhere, so it comes out.  Chickens love scratching around in the manure for those grains.  They also eat fly larvae and other bugs that love manure.  That's just chicken reality. 

So today I went out with the camera to get some pics of the cows all lounging behind the wind break.  It was late morning and they were in the shade.  While I was out there I spotted a fairly fresh cow pie and about 4 ft. from it was another that the chickens had already taken care of.  Seriously, with chickens you don't need to harrow.  I was thinking how interesting it would be to take a picture of each to show what they are capable of.  Just then, one of the meat birds decided to join me.

They are quick, believe me!  No sooner did I snap the picture and he was scratching his heart out, up to his chicken elbows in a fairly fresh one.  Now, up until this point in my life I thought they only liked the dried out ones.  I must say though, that this flock of meat birds loves water, mud and the pig wallows.  They are like a bunch of kids in a mud puddle!  He peeled the top off that cow pie just like it was the skin on an old-fashioned pudding cup!

So this is what it looks like when the chickens are finished with it.  They are amazing at clean up.  That's just chicken reality!

 So if you are what you eat, what does that make me?

When I was a child, I was witness to a dowser or water witcher.  I believe it can be done, my husband doesn't.  I think 90% of it is actually in the belief, sort of like The Secret.

On a yahoo list I belong to, the subject of too many roosters and not enough pullet chicks came up.  The following is a response by one of the listers.  I have never heard of this before, but it might be fun to try!

Use something made of brass like a key.  Tie a string to the key, hold the egg in one hand, suspended by the string in the other hand directly over the egg (very still) and then stand very, very still. (key does not touch the egg).
The key will start to move and swing. If is swings back and forth the egg has a pullet. If the key swings in a circle the egg has a rooster.
We would mark the eggs with the male or female sign and put them in the incubator. Sure enough...it worked.  The next 12 years our percentage rate of correctly sexing the eggs was around 90-95%!!  It is simple and exciting.

What the hay!  Give it a go!

My flock of meat birds is an interesting lot this year.  They are all very friendly and will come running as a group when they see you.  They think you have food!  They are also the most traveling flock I've ever had.  They are ranging far and wide to forage.  I am pleased with that.  That's the biggest reason I have them, for clean up!

I grow my birds slowly and without commercial grower.  I believe the grower ration only encourages them to eat more, grow fast and develope leg and heart problems.  Mine all seem very healthy and happy.  They still have some growing to do before butchering time.  That will come later in the fall.  If you'd like to see an excellent write up on butchering chickens, go to this link and read all about it!

Did I ever mention I love Chickens?    They just crack me up to watch them.  Some people think they aren't very smart.  I beg to differ.  Every evening when I go out to put the animals to bed (close the gates, give the goats some grain and separate the babies so I can milk the does in the mornings) I wind up watching these certain 5 chickens.  They are meat birds, so they are all white.  The same 5 head out to pasture first thing in the morning.  This pasture is south and east of their chicken hoop.  The rest of the chickens take off for other parts of the farm.  These 5 have their route!  In the evenings the same 5 are still out with the sheep, catching mosquitos!  They walk around and under the sheep catching mosquitos out of the air and eating them before they land on the sheep!  Talk about pampered sheep!  Seriously, they have discovered a food source that none of the others have.  It is so funny to watch them stretch their necks and sometimes almost jump for the mosquitos!  Again, cheap entertainment.

I promised Cathy the garlic scape pesto recipe, so here goes:

Garlic Scape Pesto

1 pound garlic scapes

1 cup grated parmesean

1/2 to 1 cup olive oil

1/2 to 1 cup pine nuts 

Chop the garlic scapes into 3 inch pieces.  Put in the food processor and process until pureed.  Add pine nuts and then olive oils slowly.  I also add a few large squirts of lemon juice.  This helps to thin it down a bit.  Then fold in parmesan when done.

I first heard of garlic scape pesto through Mary Jane's Farm.  She tells all about it.  I don't care for her recipe because I am not a fan of lime.

It is said that imitation is the highest form of flattery. 

The following is an article I sent to the local newspaper in April.  I have been hounding them for over a year to do an article on backyard chickens and backyard gardens.  With the rising cost of groceries, I thought this was important and timely.  They weren't getting the job done, so I wrote my own article and submitted it.  Then in today's paper I see the Editor himself used parts of my article and put his own spin on it.  I guess I should feel flattered, but I don't! 

Here's the article I wrote a couple of months ago and submitted.

Rising prices.  Not a day goes by anymore without those two little words being heard, seen or spoken.  Much has been said about rising food prices to be specific.  I've heard a few people mention they're planting a garden again this year for the first time in a long time to help curb their grocery bills.

Yesterday, as planned, the phone rang early.  The man at the post office was calling to let me know my chicks had arrived.  That was obvious by the chirping in the background!  It always amazes me that 25 newborn hatchlings can travel such a distance and be so vocal the entire trip.  They all arrived alive in their speical little box. 

I have a routine I do with my chicks when they first arrive.  I smear vaseline on their little butts to make sure their downy feathers don't plug them up.  It helps.  Then I dip their beaks in the water and count them as I go.  The hatchery always sends and extra chick as well as an exotic, so I have 27. 

It was COLD here yesterday with a bitter wind blowing!  When I brought the little chicks to their new home I was a bit concerned it would be too cold and drafty.  After getting them settled, I went and gathered a bunch of scrap wool from shearing and plugged every hole and crack I could find.  Then I banked the outside of their brooding box with more wool to protect it from drafts as well.  Great insulation!  I have some bags of it for sale in my etsy shop for nesting material!  It makes wonderful nesting material! 

I buy Cornish cross from Murray McMurray hatchery and I have had good luck with them.  They are online, so you can check them out there.  I love getting their catalog in the winter to look at.  It's like a seed catalog!  Dreaming of spring.

When I first get my birds, I take each one out, one by one and smear vaseline on their butts.  This helps prevent that inevitable "poopy butt" they sometimes get.  It takes a little time, but I find it's worth it.  Then I dip each beak in the water to make sure they have a drink and off they go. 

I have a large box I use as a brooding box.  It was something that was given to me and it works perfect for that purpose.  I have a heat lamp wired to the top.

As a rule I only buy enough chick starter to get them feathered out.  I always stop to think about what they did before they could run to the store and buy chick starter.  They made their own chick mash and with 50 - 65 birds, it's not feasible for me.  The purpose of store-bought chicken feed (first the starter and then the finisher) is to pump the bird up quickly so that you can butcher them in a short amount of time.  I learned this the hard way the first year I ever raised butchering chickens.  They got so big so fast they couldn't support their own weight and would flop to their feed trough and just gobble down the food like they were starved.  Several died of heart attacks too.  They just grew too fast.

So once they are feathered out, I only give them barley and/or wheat.  Whole grains are fine.  When I open the Chicken Hoop in the mornings to let them out, their feed is scattered on the ground and they can have their breakfast.  After that, they are on their own!  I provide plenty of fresh water and then they have to go out and find bugs and eat grass.  They do a great job of spreading the manure, which is part of the reason I have them in the first place. 

I don't have a set time that I grow these chickens out.  I just go by the weather and the season.  I eyeball them for size and check the weather and on a good day we butcher.  They are sure nice to have in the freezer!

I plan to add to this as I go.  I am continually thinking of more I should add. 

Things we use to butcher:

Picnic table, an axe, chopping block, cutting board (we use the formica piece cut out from our kitchen sink hole), sharp knives, HOT water, hot plate to keep water hot, (electrical source and an extension cord), canning kettle for scalding, skimmer to remove excess feathers from kettle, rags, bucket of hot water for hands, rubbermaid containers (for cooling the birds in water) or tubs.  5 gallon buckets work too!  We use a lot of these, gut bucket, etc.  Pliers for pulling the wing feathers, tall saw horse type of thing for hanging, along with nails pounded in and twine tied on the nails for the bird's feet.   Everything is washed down with hot, soapy bleach water and rinsed before using.

Since I believe it's important for folks to know where their food comes from, I took some pictures of our chicken butchering day.  It's interesting the comments one gets when you tell people you butcher your own chickens.  If they've done it before, there tends to be a lot of disgust in their tone, especially if they butchered chickens as a child.  Our senses are more keen when we are small and therefore the smell of wet, bloody feathers is what most are left with after butchering.  Now that smell doesn't bother me a bit and I could actually eat chicken for supper after an afternoon of butchering.

I am also quick to remind people that if you grow it yourself, you know EXACTLY what you're eating!  They may be grossed out by the process, but if they knew how commerical chicken was raised, I'll bet they'd think twice about ever eating chicken again.  I am thankful I live where I can raise my own food.

Here's part of the setup.  The turkeys will be spared until we can find a pot big enough for them!

My husband, Chris with a couple down and about 28 to go!  He's less than excited that I have a camera in my hand!

Off with their heads! 

We use a block of wood with 2 nails pounded in it.  Stretch the chicken's neck between the nails and whack!

Matt is happily waiting his turn!

The chickens are dropped in the buckets attached to the make-shift saw horse.  If you don't drop them in a bucket, they "run around like chickens with their heads cut off", well.......because THEY ARE!  And because they tend to squirt blood all over the place!  I will add here that the sight of which is something that always made me laugh as a kid and I will admit, it still does!  Call me sick, but it cracks me up.

When they quit flopping around, they are then hung to bleed out properly.  (No one likes baked chicken with blood still flowing through the veins!)

Here's my shiny, new plucker, ready to roll!  Once the birds are dipped in hot water to loosen their feathers, the plucker will be put to good use.  I neglected to get a picture of the scalding process.  I have looked around on the net for the proper water temperature to scald, but I haven't come up with anything.  All I can say is when it's hot to the touch, like when you put your finger in the water and immediately pull it out and say, "Ouch!  That's hot!"  Leave the bird in, swiching around for 15 seconds or so.  My FIL says if you leave them in too long it will set the feathers.  I need to study up on this part and get it down to a fine science.

Matt hard at work at the plucker!  You can see the canning kettle to the right, sitting on a hot plate.  That's the scalder.  The little goats are on leaf-eating duty just beyond that and my cold frame sits to the left on the south side of the house.  My flower garden in beyond that big willow tree on the other side of a fence, for those of you who've visited my blog before.

After the plucker, they are passed on to the table to finish the wing feathers and any pin feathers.  Then my husband does the gutting.  I also neglected to get a picture of that process.  You can go ahead and thank me, although if you did a search on the net, I am sure you could come up with instructions with photos!

Once they are gutted, they are plunged into cold water to remove the body heat.  After they cool they go through a final cleansing which includes ripping their lungs out.  Yes, that's correct!  I clean the inside as best as I can and give them a final rinse. 

Did you know chickens have hair?  They do and that hair needs to be singed off.  We use a small propane torch and singe their hairs off.  Back into clean, cold water they go.  When they have finally cooled enough, they are double bagged for the freezer.

The biggest one I weighed so far this year was 10 lbs. 13 oz.

 THE END!