New chicks!

We had eight baby chickens hatch last week! They are zooming all around in their enclosure, and Henrietta (the mother hen), is teaching them all about the ways of the chicken. We'll get some pictures posted soon!

We're Expecting (Again)!

Last week, one of our New Hampshire Red hens "went broody," meaning she stayed on the nest to hatch some eggs. Hatching eggs is quite an undertaking, so hens don't do it very often.  (We've only had three hens go broody in two years!) She sits on the nest for three weeks, getting up only once a day to eat and drink.  She flattens her body out to make sure the eggs are covered, and she turns them frequently--not that easy when you don't have hands!

We moved her to a separate location so she wouldn't be disturbed, and sneaked a few more eggs from other hens under her. Adding eggs is a delicate process. We place the eggs in the nest box near her, and she pecks us fiercely as we're doing it to "protect" the eggs she already has under her. (Gloves are recommended for this operation.) After we back away, she uses her beak to push the eggs under her where it's nice and warm. Timing is also an issue. To move the hen to her separate enclosure, we have to relocate her at night so she'll be too sleepy to get upset. The next day we add some additional eggs, once we're sure she's going to stay on the nest. We want all the eggs to hatch around the same time, so we don't add any more after the first day. 

We hope to have some more little chickies running around here in a couple of weeks.

Chicks @ 2 Months

Here are some new pictures of the chicks--they're almost two months old now. 

We think this chick is a hen, due to the small comb.  She's a mix of Barred Rock and ...something. We're calling her "Barred What" or "Not Rock" for now. I love the delicate feather pattern.





Our black chick has developed a lot of red in her head, neck, and breast feathers. Again, small comb size, so it's probably a hen.

We keep some cinder blocks on bare earth, and flip them over to reveal tasty (in a chicken's opinion) worms underneath! Probably a rooster: well-developed comb and wattles, and a hint of iridescent green on the tail. 

Boy or girl?  I'm still not sure!  

Fresh Lima Beans

 

If you think you don't like lima beans, do not count them out until you've had fresh limas. They are tender and delicious--we consider them a totally different food than frozen and canned lima beans from the grocery store.

Cooking is simple:  put the shelled beans in a pot and add enough water to cover them. Boil them until they are tender.  Season with butter, salt, and pepper.

Here's the hard part: the shelling process before cooking.  We sell our lima beans still in the pod, which must be removed to get the beans inside. The fastest method we've found is to cut part of the pod edge off (opposite where the beans are actually attached to the pod). You can determine where to cut by holding the pod up to the light--you don't want to cut the beans inside. Once you've removed some of the edge, use that opening to pry open the pod and retrieve the limas inside. (It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it.) Limas freeze well, too!

Green Zebra Tomatoes

We just discovered this tasty little treat! Every season we select new varieties of tomatoes to test, while keeping our old favorites. One of this year's newbies is the green zebra tomato. When ripe, it has yellow skin with green streaks and spots running down the sides. The inside remains pretty green, reminiscent of a kiwi fruit. The flavor has a little zing to it, faintly lemony, that makes it different (and better, I say) than your average tomato. The tomatoes aren't that large, so you might have to use two to three slices to ensure full coverage on your sandwich.

Bruschetta

No measurements, just whip this up with fresh ingredients!

Topping:
Tomatoes (Our cherry toms are nice and sweet)
Basil
Elephant garlic (It's mild)
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Chop up the tomatoes
Coarsely chop basil (leaves only)
Finely chop garlic (it remains raw, so start small and add more as needed)
Mix up the toms, basil leaves, and garlic in a bowl, and drizzle in the olive oil
Throw in some freshly ground salt and pepper

Bread:
Slice some good bread that will hold up to grilling. (I think our Maison Nord rosemary bread is perfect!) Brush each side with olive oil and toast it on the grill.  It should be a little crunchy, but not blackened.

Assembly:
Spoon topping onto the bread.

Eating:
Hunch over your plate--half the topping will fall off as soon as you take a bite. 

Variations:
Add a little balsamic vinegar to the topping, especially if the tomatoes aren't as sweet
Mix in some cheese, like fresh mozzarella
Kick up the flavor by spreading pesto on the grilled bread before adding the topping
Use yellow tomatoes or a red & yellow mix

Chicks @ 1 month

The chicks are now 1 month old. We're getting a better sense of what their adult feathering will be, and we're checking for comb development, size, and fancy feathering/large tails. Bigger and fancier usually means they're roosters. We have nine chicks altogether, but some are pretty camera shy. 

Not camera shy:  I think this chick was posing for the picture! 

This one is at least part Barred Rock, but the pattern doesn't look 100% Barred Rock to me.

I'm hoping the smallish comb means this is a hen instead of a rooster.

Here's a great example of the awkward teenage phase.  This chicken's wing feathers are developing, but the chick still has lots of the lighter down, giving a scruffy appearance as the new feathers poke through.  This one is at least part New Hampshire Red.

A NH Red rooster breeding with a Barred Rock hen should produce males with the Barred Rock pattern, and black females with some red neck feathers. I think that's what we've got going on here, but I can't be sure. And I'm not a chicken breed expert (yet).

This white one is part Delaware, and has black feathers at the wing tips, which is a Delaware characteristic.