Tag: eggs

The Candling: Part 1

~ Crystal Sands ~ Leave a comment

Day 8 of 21

I candled the eggs today! I made a video, but it’s terrible, which means I simply cannot share it. I make videos all of the time for my teaching, so I know how to talk the camera. Things started strong, but then, I actually started candling the eggs. I got so engrossed with my candling that I was literally flashing the light into the camera and mumbling to myself about the Salmon Faverolles being unusual chickens. So no video, but here are the results of the candling:

Salmon Faverolle egg #1 = dud
Salmon Faverolle egg #2 = dud
Hector egg #1 = fertile
Hector egg #2 = fertile
Bianca egg = fertile (Yay!)
Cora egg = uncertain but I lean toward dud (It will be interesting to see if I am right)
Juliet egg = dud

I will have to think on this and share some analysis of these results tomorrow, as these fertility rates are not that great. I figured, with two roosters and one being so young, that our rates would be higher. I think these results are related to a combination of generally polite roosters and some interesting hens. Three is perfect for us, but I would never be able to sell hatching eggs, even though the babies who hatched would be super smart–like so smart they can’t live with the rest of the flock and boss you around and won’t let you leave the house without giving them a treat. .

Yeah, I can never sell hatching eggs.

Instincts

~ Crystal Sands ~ 3 Comments

Day 2 of 21

Today, I snuck one more egg under Ruby, so I’ll take out an extra after I candle the eggs in a week. I decided to add an egg from Bianca. Bianca is an Easter Egger who looks just like Juliet, but is the most perfectly sweet chicken in the history of the world. It occurred to me today that you would just want to have another chicken like that sweet girl if you could. So I added her egg to Ruby’s stash. Ruby seemed pleased. She didn’t even peck my hand.

I have the coolest story relate to Ruby.

Eggs have to be turned during incubation. If the eggs are not turned regularly, the baby chicks will end up sticking to the shell. The eggs must be turned regularly until 3 days before hatch. At that time, the turning has to stop because the baby chick has to get into position to be born.

Mama hens do all of this naturally, which is just fantastic to me. I am fascinated with instincts because I can see how powerful they are in animals. It makes me wonder about human instincts.

Last night, I went to the garage to get my phone I had left in the car. Ruby’s crate is in the garage at night, and I heard this strange, repetitive little thumping sound coming from Ruby’s crate. I went over to her crate, and in the garage light I could see what was going on.

She was sitting just as she normally would on her eggs, but I could see she was moving, ever so slightly. At first, I wasn’t sure what was going on, but then I realized she was turning her eggs. And then I realized she was turning her eggs with the muscles underneath her, which seemed so cool to me.

I have never seen this happen, even with all of the mama hens I have observed. It was a treat to witness this.

photo credit: Emiel Maters, Unsplash

Egg Art

~ Crystal Sands ~ 1 Comment

Day 332 of 365

Today, the eggs were so plentiful and pretty I decided to do a photo shoot. I do not know why chicken ladies everywhere love to take so many pictures of eggs, but we do. Clearly, we think eggs are beautiful, but why? It has to be related to their life-giving capabilities.

When I put eggs in the cartons, if I have time, I make egg art in the cartons. I’ll put certain colors together or arrange in order of shade. Ron is amused by this. He said today, “That’s a lot of work to do all that.”

“It’s worth it, I guess, because it’s art to me.”

Ron seemed to get this.

A Farmer-ish Report

~ Crystal Sands ~ Leave a comment

Day 331 of 365

Today, the chickens didn’t get driveway time for the first time in months. They do not need it anymore. The snow is mostly melted, and they have their 3/4 acre of fenced area back. I told them yesterday it was the last day in the driveway, and I think they mostly understood because, this afternoon, only a few of them were waiting to get out into the driveway. One was Faure. It made me sad to tell her no, but they are safer in the fence. I now just have my few driveway usuals to keep track of–Kate, Juliet, sometimes Bianca, and, of course, Ruby.

Kate is still laying her eggs somewhere where I can’t find them. I have to keep hunting, but it’s a task. I tried to watch her pretty carefully today, and she was in the fence with everyone else most of the day. Still, no egg from Kate again today, and I know she’s laying. I’ll have to keep looking.

And I added up our totals for egg sales and feed costs for March, as I am determined to keep good records this year. It was a good month., Here are our totals:

Feed cost for organic feed: $165.55
Egg sales: 24 dozen @ $5.00 per dozen = $120.00:
Eggs eaten by our family: 8 dozen @ 9.89 per dozen (for comparable eggs at the store) = 79.12

That means those girls made a profit this month. I wish I knew how to make raising chickens in the way I raise them more profitable. It’s not that I need them to be profitable for us because they are my good friends, but I wish for it to be possible for chickens to be treated better in our food system. They are abused beyond all reason, but people are used to fairly cheap eggs. There are some companies that are doing some pretty good work, but most people I know do not buy humanely-raised eggs when they buy them at the store. They cost quite a bit more, and times are hard.

Still, I wish we could figure out a way to do better.


Chickens like duck eggs too.

~ Crystal Sands ~ 1 Comment

Day 319 of 365

Tonight, I am still working, so I thought I would just share a little farm update and this picture of Bairre in Ron’s lap. That dog is beautiful. He’s a fantastic brat, but he’s so beautiful. It’s adorable to me that he still makes himself fit in Ron’s lap. Bairre relishes his role as the baby of the family right now.

We got 19 eggs today, which is just great! We didn’t have a duck egg this morning, but I saw one in the yard this afternoon. Sadly, it was a soft shell egg. It worries me a little to see a soft shell egg. Of course, if you see just one, it’s not a big deal. It does just happen sometimes. But repeated soft shell eggs can be a sign of a problem. Still, I am working on not worrying so much, so I am going to let it go. Hopefully, I just won’t see any more soft shell eggs.

The chickens had a treat of it though. I took the soft shell off, so it wouldn’t feel too egg-like (some chickens can get such a taste for raw eggs that they will start eating the eggs right there in the nest boxes). I have never had this happen (I am knocking on wood), but I do try to listen to the chicken lore and avoid things that might entice a potential egg eater. However, I was not going to waste that beautiful egg yolk.

So I found a bowl and put in the egg, minus the soft shell. Three chickens came running. It was Kate, Joan, and Penelope. Somehow, they were able to eat that egg pretty much unnoticed by the rest of the flock.

And I’m telling you that chickens really like duck eggs too. I could see on their little faces they were greatly enjoying that egg. It was really cool to see.

The First Duck Egg

~ Crystal Sands ~ 4 Comments

Day 318 of 365

It was as if the ducks gave me a present this morning after all that trouble last night. Today, we got the first duck egg of the season, and I am over the moon!

I have been keeping track of when the ducks begin and end laying each season because I am very interested in how long our ducks will lay eggs. I have not encountered many people who have kept Indian Runner ducks for more than a few years, so I am anxious to see how things go with our ducks. I did hear from one person online who said he had an Indian Runner duck who was laying until she was about 8 years old. Our ducks are 5 now.

Two years ago, we got the first duck egg on March 17. Last year, it was March 21. This year, we got the 23rd. They are pretty consistent. I will be so interested in seeing how they do this year. I noticed a decline in number of eggs per day last year, but it wasn’t much of a decline.

And, of course, we will keep all of them for the rest of their lives (some make it to 12 to 15 years, I read), whether they lay eggs or not.but I also really love duck eggs. So I’m always super happy to get them!

If you have not tried ducks eggs, I highly recommend them.

My Favorite Farm Chore

~ Crystal Sands ~ Leave a comment

Day 306 of 365

I remembered to take my phone with me to the coop this evening when I collected the eggs because the chickens sometimes make beautiful little nests of eggs. I wanted to share this on the blog, and I was in luck.

One of the joys of my life is collecting eggs every day, and every day I report to Ron how many we got for the day. Today was a pretty slow day of late, just 12.

I don’t know why eggs are so beautiful to me. Maybe it’s because they are so practical and magical at the same time. I love practical, but I also love magical. How that can be I just don’t know.

Eggs are archetypal, aren’t they?

Farmer-ish Report: Egg Sales for January and February 2023

~ Crystal Sands ~ Leave a comment

Day 296 to 365

A couple of weeks ago, I was chatting with a fellow farmer friend about selling eggs and the loss we take on them. We were talking about the prices of eggs going up and shared what we thought we would have to get for a dozen eggs in order to maybe break even. We both, at the same time, said about $12.00 per dozen–at least. And, even then, that would not address our labor. Raising chickens humanely means good space and good care.

We also take the welfare up a notch on our little chicken farm in that we let them rest in the winter instead of adding light to the coop and also keep “retired” hens until they pass away, which, as my skills in animal husbandry have improved, can be a lot of years. And, I guess, if you follow my blog you know that we step it up another notch around here in that we do our best to give our chickens what they want, within reason, most of the time. Some of them are very good at expressing their needs; some of them have many extra needs.

Of course, chickens are much more than eggs on a homestead. They provide pest control, and for us, their composted poop fertilizes our garden. It’s so great because we feed our chickens organic food only, so we have organic compost for our organic garden. Our chickens are our partners and help us create a cycle of sustainability on our homestead.

Plus, I love these animals. They are fantastic to me, so they are so much more than money. However, I was curious to carefully track sales and costs because my dream is to have a barn with a lot of chickens and sell the eggs. It is clear from the first-of-the-year report that this dream is never going to come true.

Without further ado, here is my first ever farmer-ish report on egg sales. This is for January and February 2023. Things will be way better in March and April, as these first numbers include food for the ducks, and they aren’t laying at all yet. Still, our 7 ducks do not eat that much in the winter. They are very efficient.

Eggs eaten by our family: 7.5 dozen x 9.89 per dozen (organic, humanely raised eggs) = $74.18

Eggs sales: $68.00 (13 dozen x 5.00 per dozen plus a few tips)

Feed cost for organic feed: $434.44

That’s a loss of $292.26. We sill have some chicken feed left, which will help a lot with March’s numbers. Plus, we got 22 eggs today, which is going to help so much with sales. We should have much better sales for March and April. On top of this, we have stacks of compost out there that will feed the garden for a whole year.

Still, the numbers speak volumes about my dream to have a real egg business. In fact, I think we may have to slowly downsize our flock and just not replace hens who pass away. I am not sure if I am going to give this report to Ron though. I think I might just lay low with January and February numbers and report findings after we get through March.

Return of the Light

~ Crystal Sands ~ 1 Comment

Day 291 of 365

One of the most fascinating things about homesteading is the way your body and life start to line up so well with the natural cycles of the planet. Before I started homesteading, I didn’t feel that connected to the seasons, well, except for fall. Fall is–and has always been–the most wonderful time of the year to me. But winter in the north was miserable to me because I was stuck in the house all of the time. I love a cozy house, but part of Hygge is going outside first. To me at least, happiness in the winter is a process.

Once we started homesteading, I felt every change in the season and all of the days in the middle with so much more connectedness. That’s the only way I know how to describe it. I love watching how the chickens and ducks and wild animals in our area respond to the changes in the light and the temperatures. They are all so resilient and so connected. I guess we are too, of course, but maybe we just forgot.

This time of year, I am in awe of how quickly the light is coming back. Being from the south, where we did not have the big swings in light between summers and winters, I was shocked at how dark it got here in Maine in the winter and then how light it was in the summer. Before I knew how to enjoy the other seasons, the winters used to take a such a toll on me. Now, I don’t mind them too much and enjoy the winter in many ways, but I am always still so thankful when the light comes back.

The chickens are really starting to lay eggs now because of the light, and it’s wonderful. I have been able to add a couple of customers off of the wait list to my weekly deliveries. It’s awesome to see people be happy about our hens’ eggs.

But I also see the ducks and chickens are starting to get a little friskier. I even saw Rooster mating a couple of times this week. He’s a very old boy. His mind is mainly on mac and cheese these days, but spring is coming. It’s sugaring season, and all of my friends who tap are starting to tap their trees. We do not yet because I am nervous about the cooking, but I know our Maples are waking up. The squirrels are acting a little differently. The wild birds are too. It’s like they know the warmer temperatures are coming pretty soon.

And the light is coming back.

The Precious

~ Crystal Sands ~ 2 Comments

Day 285 of 365

Arwen has been laying eggs for a few weeks, but I had yet to figure out which egg she was laying–until today.

If you don’t remember Arwen, she was the baby chick who, this summer, would run under the fence into the big chicken yard and steal watermelon. I had never seen anything like it. I have seen smart chickens, but I haven’t seen such cool-headed, smart chickens, except for maybe Poe.

And that is who Arwen reminds me of–Poe. Poe was not only smart, she had this coolness about her. She was wicked curious about everything and had a way of making her needs and wants known without ever seeming demanding. My other super-smart hens, like Broody Hen, Ruby, and Juliet, can be really bossy. You’re just like, “ok, ok, whatever you need.” Poe was patient. You could tell she just really liked you, and if you could throw in some grapes, well, all the better.

In my time with Poe, I only saw her really down twice. Once was when she was dying, and the other time was after she had been mated for the first time. We had an aggressive rooster at that time. When I saw what happened, I could see Poe was devastated. She lay on the steps by the coop the whole rest of the afternoon, her body in a heap. I’m not gonna lie, seeing Poe like that made me have deep, deep, deep questions about everything I thought I knew–and everything “we” think “we” know–about chickens and animals in general. But I digress…

Arwen is like Poe, and like Poe, she really likes Ron. She hangs around Ron while he is working. Ron said today that she even hangs out with him while he chops wood. The loud bang of the ax keeps a lot of chickens away, but Arwen is curious–and not afraid. Ron said, this evening, she was out there with him all by herself for at least an hour, so he went and got a bowl of scratch just for her. He said she was there eating it forever. This made my heart happy. Arwen is special.

Earlier today, I saw Arwen in one of the nest boxes. I was so excited because I have only seen her in the nest boxes two other times, and she moved both times. I have been so anxious to know what egg she lays. I very respectfully reached under her to remove the other eggs, so I could know which one was hers. Then, I had a second thought that she might move if there were no eggs there, so I went back and very respectfully put one egg back. I made a note of what the egg looked like, so I could still know which one was Arwen’s.

As I left the coop, I saw Arwen checking out the egg, and she seemed satisfied. I was hopeful.

Sure enough, I went out there just a little bit later and found two eggs in the nest box! Arwen’s egg could have looked like anything. She is a true barnyard mix. She is part Easter Egger and part Welsummer though generations of mixes. Her egg could be olive, light olive, dark brown, light brown, and anything in between. I am so pleased to share that this beautiful medium brown egg with a million speckles in the photograph is Arwen’s egg. It’s so beautiful to me.

Arwen is the last baby Rooster will ever have. She is the daughter of Cora and the great granddaughter of Poe. How wonderful that, after such a quest to continue her line two years ago, I maybe have another Poe.

Arwen is the precious for all the reasons.