~ A Brand New Year --- Happy 2011 to All ~

Nothing special cooking at my house today ~

just taking a little break from the kitchen after the holidays.

Instead I thought I'd share some eggs from one of our chickens, Sugar ~ our Amerucana (or "Easter Egg") hen, lays these beautifully colored eggs. The outside of the shells are light olive green, while the inside are a bright Robin's egg blue. Each Amerucana lays colored eggs ranging from light brown to various shades of blue and green, and each hen will lay the same color of egg her entire laying "career".  :)

Sugar ~  about 2 weeks old 

What a surprise it was when I cracked open her first egg and saw that beautiful blue interior.  (The egg tastes no different than any of the other chicken's eggs.)

Another close up ... I loved her markings as a young chick. :)


All of our hens began laying prolifically in mid-to- late summer, as winter approached and the days grew shorter their egg-laying tapered off a bit (as is to be expected) and will pick up again as the days grow longer, come spring. 

I don't have a picture of her full-grown (it's time to take current pictures of the hens), but here she is with her "sisters" early in summer of 2010.

We thoroughly enjoy our chickens as pets (and the bonus is, that they also provide fresh, organic food for the table.) Each hen has her own distinct personality and they are quite entertaining to observe.

 During the day we allow ours out of their pen to roam the property ~ they do a wonderful job of keeping the insect population under control.

If you have a little space in your yard and an interest in chickens (and fresh eggs~), I would highly recommend you consider raising a couple for yourself. 

    Many communities allow keeping up to 4 to 5 hens ~ (check into local ordinances.)  A hen house and pen does not have to be elaborate, and can be set up in a corner of your yard.  I had a lot of fun searching 'google' images for "chicken coops", and "hen houses" while were were in the planning stage of our hen house and pen.  You might be amazed at the varieties and styles of coops and houses available.

I am often asked if hens need a rooster to lay eggs... no, they do not need a rooster to lay eggs.  However, if you want fertilized eggs to eat, or you want to allow your hens to raise their own chicks ~ a rooster is a must.

To read more about our Chicken Keeping:

  Click HERE to see pictures of the chicks when we first brought them home last spring.

For our Hen House construction click HERE and  HERE 

~*~*~*~

There are plenty of great resources on the internet with information on how to keep your own.

One of my favorites is Backyard Chickens , and you can find many other excellent resources by doing an internet search.

Thank you for stopping by today!