Not Chicken weather

My spoiled chickens are really upset by this weather. They have been in the coop for a week now even though the door is open. I bring thawed water and food to them, but they are used to lots of grass and exercise. The local birds are doing the best they can and loving the frozen apples on the tree. There is about 1/2 of ice crust on the snow that I had to break through to get down to the coop this morning. It's beautiful, but I like green grass.

Be A Good Egg!

Happy Helping Hens 2008 Donation!!!!

What a great first year of the Be A Good Egg project. The donation was just made to Heifer International of $130.00. My girls want to send a big THANK YOU to all their customers for buying their eggs and making this donation possible. The $130 went to buy 6 flocks of chicks and an additional $10 donation. There are lots of gifts to choose from and with $130 I had lots of choices at that level, but I finally went with my original intention of putting the money toward chicks. As I've said before, my girls bring me joy, entertainment, nourishing eggs and are zen like so buying chicks for families in need and not just giving them nourishing eggs to eat and sell, but the entertainment and joy the chickens bring too...well, I had to go with this choice.

Here is the description in the Heifer online catalog for chicks:
Chicks: A Good Choice

A flock of chicks can help families from Cameroon to the Caribbean add nourishing, life-sustaining eggs to their inadequate diets.

The protein in just one egg is a nutritious gift for a hungry child. Protein-packed eggs from even a single chicken can make a life-saving difference.

Heifer helps many hungry families with a starter flock of 10 to 50 chicks. A good hen can lay up to 200 eggs a year - plenty to eat, share or sell.

Because chickens require little space and can thrive on readily available food scraps, families can make money from the birds without spending much. And chickens help control insects and fertilize gardens.

This is the message from Heifer after making the donation: Thank you for making a gift through Heifer International's online gift catalog. Because of your donation, we can continue doing our work across the globe — offering livestock, training and other resources to struggling families can become self-reliant. And because of the commitment each recipient makes to "Pass on the Gift", one purchase from you can create a ripple effect that soon empowers entire communities to lift themselves out of hunger and poverty once and for all.

A BIG Thank You again to our customers. Our girls should be laying again soon, but we have a little snow right now and they are not very happy about it. I encourage other small flock owners that just give eggs away to do the same. Our friends are very willing to pay for our eggs and especially knowing the money is helping others. It's a win win.

Don't know what to get for the person that has everything or wants nothing this holiday season? Heifer International is a great way to give in someones name or consider your favorite charity.

Spread the word. Spread the Love. Be A Good Egg!

Trivia to feed the world

I was tipped off to another great organization to check out. Freerice.com . I just went there and they have a trivia or vocabulary game that you play to earn rice donations. It's fun, educational and you are helping feed the world.

Remember...spread the word, spread the love and BE A GOOD EGG!

Susan B. Anthony

136 years ago this month, Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting in the 1872 presidential election. Thanks in a large part to her tireless activism, women enjoy the right to vote today. Sadly, Susan died 14 years before the 19th amendment was passed. Let's all honor her memory by voting in this historic election. Pictured left, Susan B. Anthony stands with her sister in activism, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. For more information about the lives of these women, we strongly recommend Ken Burns' amazing documentary film Not For Ourselves Alone.

I received this email from Glad Rags Newsletter and felt is was worth posting. Spread the word, spread the love, Be A Good Egg!!!!

Breast Cancer Awareness

October is almost over, but the awareness of Breast Cancer needs to be available all year, everyday. Let's all take time to learn more or spread the word to our sisters, mothers, aunts, cousins and ourselves. Lot's of information is available online...here is one spot nbcam.org. Be a Good Egg and remind the women in your life to take care of themselves and have regular exams.

Spread the word, spread the love, Be A Good Egg!

Good Eggs for the Holiday Season

Supporting our troops means more then putting a sticker on you bumper, but how can you really help? Here is a good organization that makes it easy, Soldiers Angles. You can get involved in many different ways, writing letters, making blankets, sending packages or making a donation to defer the cost of postage. These are Good Eggs really helping our troops and making it easy for us to do so too. www.soldiersangles.org
Spread the word, spread the love, Be A Good Egg!

Community Supported Agriculture

Today I just want to put a little attention on CSA's or Community Supported Agriculture farms. We are members of the closest to our home. We belong to Dancing Roots in Troutdale, OR. These farms are popping up all over the country and they offer more then just great food. Our experience this year has been one of education, camaraderie and commitment. We go every Monday to pick up our share of the produce. We don't really know what we will get from week to week so it's sort of like Christmas. We also get some vegetables that I may not normally have looked into and it forced me to try some new recipes. If you are not familiar with CSA's there are lots of resources on the Internet and the links above are good starts. Just another way to Be A Good Egg.

Chicken Pic: On this post you will see Ruben, aka Ruben T. "Rooster" Cogburn. When he was a little chick I named him Mrs. Cogburn. Then he crowed one morning when he was about 4 months. He has his days when I think he should be on our table, but he is a good guy for his ladies. He always shares his food with them and keeps them "happy" if you know what I mean.

Gallus Domesticus facts

That's Latin for chicken. It's molting season and egg production is way down. The girls look terrible. Most are practically naked and new feathers are not attractive when they are coming in. Apparently molting is triggered by lower light levels and after molting young chickens eggs will get bigger.

-Chickens were domesticated about 8000 years ago.
I thought this one was pretty interesting, 8000 years, wow.
-A hen lives an average of 5-7 years, but can live up to 20 years. She'll lay eggs her entire life, with production decreasing every year from year one.
I get asked a lot how long a chicken lives. Until now I didn't know. I get asked this because I have no intentions of eating my chickens. My girls are here to lay eggs and have a peaceful, lovely life eating bugs and being cute. So far my oldest chickens are 3.

Remember, spread the word, spread the love, be a Good Egg.

Dog Gone GOOD EGGS

We adopted our chihuahua Meadow from a group called Chihuahua Rescue and Retirement when we lived in Florida. This is a family organization started by a sister and brother that was seeing good dogs put down at a shelter because they needed a little recovery time from an injury or health problem. They started taking the dogs home and getting them healthy and bringing them back to the shelter for adoption. What they discovered is they did not have any say in who adopted them at that point. So they created their own rescue and found good homes themselves. We had a fantastic experience adopting from this group, which has grown. They really work with you to find a perfect match and check you out to make sure you are a responsible animal owner. One of their rules is that you can not alter the dog in any way. Every once in a while Meadow asks for her ears to be pierced or a tattoo, but we have to say no, we signed a contract, all alterations are out.

So if you are looking for a new companion, there are lots of good pets that need good homes and turn to a local rescue like CRAR or check out Petfinder.com or the Humane Society. Remember...Spread the word, spread the love, Be A GOOD EGG!

Egg Info: The stringy piece of material in the egg is not an embryo but rather a special protein called chalazae which acts as a shock absorber for the yolk so it doesn't break.

Project Linus

I found another group of people I think mentionable as GOOD EGGS. They are Project Linus. This group makes warm and wonderful security blankets for children and teens that are dealing with illness in the hospital. A perfect example on how each of us can make incredible differences in each others lives. Something so small as a blanket can make a scary, cold stay in the hospital warm and tolerable. There may be a Project Linus in your area. Check them out. More GOOD EGGS are out there...let's keep looking. Spread the word, spread the love, be a good egg.

P.S. Today's picture is the COOP, where it all happens. This the the little chicken resort and spa. Even while they are closed in they have two 16'x8' runs and a cherry tree for shade on one side. Let's not forget the fantastic view of the valley from their roosts. Chicken Fun Fact: The chicken was once considered a sacred animal symbolizing the sun.

Good Egg in Port Townsend, WA

We went on a little vacation to Port Townsend, WA this last week. I was able to track down an old friend, Bob Stamm, from my Rhinelander Flying Service days. While we were there Bob took us out to the Port Townsend Airport to see the new aviation museum and what is going on there. What's going on is GOOD EGG sort of stuff. Jerry and Peggy Thuotte are giving back to there community in a huge way. They are giving training on plane restoration to young people. These volunteers are learning more then just plane restoration and flying lessons. They are learning valuable life lessons, team work skills, dedication, responsibility and pride in a hard days work. Way to go Jerry and Peggy. Check out their website www.ptaeromuseum.com and learn more about this GOOD EGG.

P.S. The featured chicken is Ruby. She is an '05 Araucana and lays huge blue eggs. Ruby is one of my miracle chickens. She survived a pretty bad dog bite. Her wounds got infected during her recovery and Eric helped me clean her up and make a chicken intensive care. Once isolated she started to recover and returned to the coop a month later. I also call her my opera chicken. She sings beautiful little chicken songs.

Making a difference one egg at a time.

So we were driving home from a wonderful trip to Wisconsin a year ago and I was reflecting on what a happy life I have. I am so lucky to have a husband who is my best friend, a charming old farm house as my home, a fantastic view from our land, and the most beautiful friends and family anyone could imagine. I also get to wake up every day and if I so choose, do what I love...Make Pottery (muddyfishstudio.blogspot.com). While thinking about this I thought about my chickens and how they've changed my life. They are walking lawn ornaments. They are zen. They all have different personalities and are entertaining. I glow when friends ask me about my chickens. It's so incredibly silly, but it's true I just love them. So if they could make me so happy, maybe there was a way for me to spread the love and have them make others happy too.

I started out with 8 chicks in 2005 and have added chicks in '06 and '08. I had been giving my eggs away to friends, but all my friends where always willing to pay for them. So I thought I would change course a little. I would sell my eggs and the money raised would go to Heifer International at the end of the year. This way my customers get a good quality egg, free roaming for at least 8 hours a day, plus they have a very spacious coop and cage area when they are in at night, and my clients can also feel good because there purchase will go to a wonderful cause. My girls put out an egg-cellent product and at the end of the year they will be making other families in other countries very happy too.

My goal was to raise $100. I have already met that goal and still have three months of egg sales left. Be A GOOD EGG!

Namaste

P.S. The featured chicken is one of my Aussies, Teri. She is an Australorp and part of the '08 group. Australorps are known for their gentle nature and year round egg laying. Since I had decided to sell eggs I needed some winter layers. My Araucanas lay beautiful eggs, but come December/January they shut down the shoot and take a few months off. This will be the first winter with Australorps, we'll see how they do. So far they have lived up to their reputation for being gentle, they are very sweet natured and curious. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the dog in the picture is our chihuahua Meadow.

Be A GOOD EGG!!!

I believe we can all make a difference in the world. I really feel that making small steps to help others actually ends up making huge differences. Speaking from experience when I do something nice for someone seeing them feel good makes me feel good. It's a nice circle. Where I'm going with this is that we should all try to Be A Good Egg.

That's what this little blog is about, in a way. I'd like it to be a place to showcase my fabulous flock of working gals, my hens, and the good work they are doing and maybe learn a bit about chickens and kindness toward each other. In January of 2008 I started selling my chicken eggs with the idea that I would donate the money to Heifer International at the end of the year. I was selling them for $2.50/dz, but since the price of feed went up SOOOO much I changed the plan just slightly. I sell the eggs for $3/dz with $2 going to the donation fund and $1 to supplement the cost of feed and scratch. I'll chat about how this started on another day.

I'll also be showing off my girls and their life here on Fairacres. I hope you get a kick out of this little blog, maybe learn a thing a two about chickens with me and inspire you to Be A Good Egg too!

Namaste

P.S. The chicken on this post is Daphne. She is a Buff Orpington. Daphne is a member of the '08's. This means she was raised here on the farm in 2008. She's a gentle gal that makes a sound like a squeaky toy. She lays beautiful medium brown eggs.