If you were anywhere near Cherry Valley Feed a couple of months ago, it was probably hard to miss the big, hand-written wooden sign that comes out every year: Baby Chicks 4 Sale. The thought of a handful of fluffy little chicks is always too enticing for me to pass up and every year I turn into the parking lot so I can just have a look at the little fuzz-balls and try to pet one. One year, when I was seventeen, I came home with two of the little fuzzies, and though my parents were not pleased at first, they have now become a permanant pet at their household because of the fresh eggs.
Now, living in my own house with a very large backyard, it was a no-brainer; of course we would pick up a couple chickens! I love eggs, I eat them almost every day and find them to be a sort of "diet food", helping me stay full and eat less throughout the day. My fiance lived in a city where having pet chickens was absolutely unheard of, so he was all for it!
If, like us, you purchased your fuzzy chicks the very moment that sign went up (we couldn't bare to wait, they were too cute!) Then your chickens will most likely be eating their "egg laying mash" now and in just a few short months you will start to have an over-abundance of eggs! To keep your chickens happy, be sure to always provide them with fresh water and a little box with some straw to lay in. For optimal nutrition in your eggs, buy the right chicken food (Cherry Valley Feed carries it for a very good price) and mix in a little flax seed meal. This, as well as letting your chickens run around the yard eating grass and bugs for a few hours a day, will produce eggs with a very high omega fatty acid content.
As much as I love eggs, I was not thinking very clearly when we picked up not just a couple of chickens, but 4 little baby birds. Now our four little babies are big chickens and soon I expect to have 3-4 eggs a day (all chickens lay differently, but we got a breed that lays a lot of eggs!) and even though my fiance was excited to have chickens for a pet, he absolutely hates the taste of eggs and refuses to eat them in any form. When you have that many eggs coming to you daily, you have to get creative to keep them interesting! Of course there is the quiche, scrambled eggs, egg burritos, fried eggs and baked goods... but recently I decided I wanted something that looked a little different and exciting.
Once your chickens start laying thier eggs, try this quick and easy recipe to keep yourself eating up your fresh supply!
Eggs in Toast
2 pieces of whole wheat toast
butter
2 fresh eggs
a few sprigs of fresh sage, chopped
salt and pepper
a star shaped cookie cutter
Butter your bread and use the cookie cutter to cut a star shape out of the middle. Heat a non-stick skillet over a medium-high heat. Place the bread down, butter side down and crack the egg into the middle of the star. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and sage. Cover with a lid and cook most of the way. Flip the toast with the egg inside and finish cooking on the other side. Serve right away.
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