Sunday

~ 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!

















16 comments:

  1. Great post Mari...your chickens are wonderful. We love our backyard poultry and the eggs are the BEST. Also, in peek production time, I tend to be a baking fool to keep up with the production, lol.

    Happy New Year!

    Blessings!
    Gail

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  2. Happy New Year Gail! You and me both... (baking fools during the heavy laying season!) We also try to share with anyone who wants fresh eggs. (Our dogs LOVE to get scrambled eggs once or twice a week too.)

    Thank you for stopping by ~ you're such an inspiration, I'm so appreciative of all that you share.

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  3. What gorgeous chickens, and the eggs....wonderful! I hope someday to live where I can have chickens. I hope, I hope....

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  4. I love your chickens...they are so cute!! My grandmother had guineas and I remember going with her to pick their eggs. My paternal grandfather had a hen house and I would go with him to pick eggs. I was never afraid of chickens. Then my sister married and lived with her in-laws. They also had chickens..but they were MEAN!! They would chase you and peck at your feet. Ever since then I have been terrified! But seeing your photos took me back to my grandmothers house and the fun I had with her. Thanks so much for sharing and making me smile!!
    -April

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  5. Love your post...and the chickens! They are so cute.

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  6. Many years ago my family had some of these chickens but no one believed me when I told them about the green eggs...it was exasperating!!! I'm so happy that blogging actually shows the colors...
    Have a wonderful week and your new header just made my mouth water and wish for fresh berries!!!

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  7. Such beautiful eggs! I love the colors on the shells...
    Wish I lived closer...boo hoo!

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  8. OH Sugar!! She sure was precious as a baby chick!!!
    perfect name for her :)

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  9. What fun this was! I'd seen those adorable peeps but I hadn't seen the hen house post~ I'm amazed at the BEAUTIFUL interior shell color... Happy New Year to you & your flock :-)

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  10. Happy New Year..so happy to see the girls again..and I am reminded once more that mother nature/God..is the best artist..the inside out of that egg..is perfect harmony in colors..
    I bet the eggs taste great..

    Here they would need a house?

    Do they make a lot of noise..we are on 1/2 acre..small..the little house would need to be heated? We are often under 0 F.. Why am I asking..I hinted and my darling said no:)

    So cute what Jain said!

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  11. I never would have guessed you could have an egg wtih a green exterior and blue interior! How beautiful!

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  12. Beautiful post, Mari! The peeps are SO CUTE!!!! Love the colors of the eggs!!! XO, Pinky

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  13. I don't have my own chicks, but I'm fortunate enough to purchase farm fresh eggs and wow, they're so much better than store eggs. I couldn't believe the color difference in the yolks when I cracked the first one open, but now I'm spoiled.

    I buy several dozen at a time, and look forward to seeing what colors I'll end up getting - mostly brown, but some pink, blue, and green. Btw, did you know the color of the chicken's ears will be the same color as the eggs she lays (Martha Stewart).

    :)
    ButterYum

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  14. Merci de nous permettre de visualiser de si belles photos et pour l'amour que vous apporter à ces chères poulettes et leurs petits...
    Bisous

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  15. Mary, what gorgeous eggs! I always love it when we get some of those in our CSA box. And I'm looking forward to when we move to the farm and can have some of the chickens, myself. Thanks for sharing about yours.

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Thank you for your comments, friends ~ they make my day!

A Sampling of my food . . .

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