Category Archives: Chickens – All About

FOUR DIFFERENT EGGS FOR BREAKFAST

2014-12-17 - Four Eggs 2 2014-12-17 - Four Eggs

 

Fried eggs for breakfast. The unique thing was not the bit of chili and butter in the pan but that the eggs were from top to bottom: bought brown hens egg , pure white egg, laid by my Ancona hen, egg laid by my guinea fowl hen and a pretty speckled egg laid by my quail hen.  In the pan the pale yellow is the bought egg and the middle egg beside it is the guinea fowl egg. The latter took a bit longer to cook than the others. Very tasty treat. Yolk color is more often than not an indication of quality of the feed consumed and the general well being of the bird.

The bird that flipped the world: Secret histories of the modern chicken

2014-03-16 - Street Accident

 

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/06/the_bird_that_flipped_the_world_secret_histories_of_the_modern_chicken/

Guy Fawkes and Chickens

2014-11-18 - Alvin Crowing

The fireworks started before dark and when I went to close the chickens at dusk I found they were sitting high up in the Ngaio tree. I tried to entice them down but when darkness fell I gave up. To protect my animals from  stoats, hedgehogs, cats, dogs and all the wild things, real or imaginary, that roam the back yard at night I make sure that everyone is in and closed up properly. After a final check around the yard, with the racket of the fireworks still going on all around, I went to bed, hoping that nothing would get at my chickens.

At 1 am Alvin, the rooster, perched high in the tree,  bathed in bright moonlight as well as the light of a new street lamp and fireworks still going, looked out over ‘his’ valley and registered his joy by crowing. The rejoicing went on and on. Every crow louder and clearer than the preceding one and probably heard by neighbours kilometers away. Mrs Back Yard Farmer, a light sleeper, started muttering at the initial crow, the mutterings grew louder and transformed into threats regarding wrung necks and then degenerated into some impressive swearing in at least two languages. By 4 am Mrs BYF had enough. It was when she rose from her bed like the proverbial phoenix, incandescent with rage, I realised that I did not take into account the most dangerous wild thing that could roam the back yard – an angry Mrs BYF.  Armed with a few brooms and the flashlight on her phone she braved the dark, wet steps at the back door, located the rooster in the tree and threw brooms at him until he fluttered to the ground and took refuge under the coop. Mrs BYF, thinking her job was done,  started the perilous journey back to the house only to hear a loud crow behind her. This time she tried to find the rooster, intending to murder him if she got her hands on him, throwing stuff at him as she went.

By daybreak Mrs BYF had returned to her bed and I pretended to be dead. Should there ever be a repeat of this Guy Fawkes night I am certain that the only thing that will save my neck is the lack of a big enough pot. The rooster will be cooked.

 

Frittata di Borragine e Cacciatore (Frittata with Borage and pork sausages)

2014-11-13 - Frittata di Borragine 3

This morning’s breakfast was a feast put together by Mrs BYF (I knew it was breakfast, because I did not have wine with the meal). Borage (Borago officinalis) is one of the plants that actually thrives in Dunedin’s whether, so one has to make the most of it. The flowers and young leaves are delightful in a salad and the older leaves can be cooked like spinach as a side vegetable. Making a frittata with home made Cacciatore sausages was not only very pretty, but also exquisite.

RECIPE

Fry some onions and garlic in butter and olive oil in a heavy pan, ad the sausage and fry until it starts to color, then ad the borage leaves and cook until almost done. In the mean time, lightly beat 24 quail eggs (6 chicken eggs) with six tablespoons of water. Ad a bit of grated parmigiano cheese, salt and pepper and pour into the pan with the other ingredients. Turn the temperature down to medium and leave, without stirring, for a few minutes until it just starts to set on the top. Now put in in the oven under the grill until lightly brown. ENJOY !!! (If after 10H00 a good red wine is permitted)

The SIX golden RULES of keeping quail and other poultry

2014-05-13 - Baby Quail 2014-05-09 - Clean Food and Clean environment2014-01-21 - Happy Quails

Treat them well and they would reward you for your efforts !

Give your birds :

1. A balanced and specie specific correctly formulated diet

2. Clean water and fresh feed at all times

3. Optimal environmental conditions with correct temperatures, dry and drafts free with correct lighting patterns and intensity

4. Enough space with clean dry bedding in well designed cages providing proper ventilation

5. Well bred animals housed in the correct male to female ratio

6. An owner that enjoys keeping and attending to poultry

It is easy and enjoyable to breed and keep poultry

 

 

6. Free of insects and other vermin