I’ve said it many times before, but I dream of having my own little family of hens. Honestly, the laws around here a bit foggy and we are yet to get clear answers on whether or not we would get in trouble by building a small chicken coop in the back of our little plot of land. So for now, we are reliant on local farmers for our eggs and believe me, they are few and far between this close to the city.
We used to have a “if we can’t get them fresh, we do without” philosophy because the thought of buying grocery store eggs, even organic free range ones, was a stretch. So we would go vegan for most of the colder months. But with Little Man being allergic to milk proteins, being most likely gluten intolerant and having problems with soy and legumes, eggs were a necessity so we have been buying eggs from the grocery store for most of the last 5 months.
Most of our local sources dry up in winter. Either they get just enough eggs for themselves so they stop selling them or they plain out over-winter their chickens elsewhere since their coops are not warm enough. This last reason is why our favorite little family can only supply us with eggs 6 to 7 months out of the year. We had found a year-round source a while back, but we stopped going after we realized the chickens were not treated at a standard we approved of (over crowding and very little attention and love). We had started finding meat spots and blood in almost every single eggs which meant something was wrong and the owners were not addressing the issue.
Usually, by the beginning of May, our little flock was back from their winter vacation and we would start our weekly drive down to the farm. But this year, since temps were still so cold, it took much longer for them to be brought back and to start laying again. For the last 4 weeks, we have taken a drive on Saturday morning, hoping to see the little sign by the road. Every week we came back empty handed…
Until this week that is! Oh happy happy joy joy!
What a beautiful sight : Baskets full, ready for returning customers. Some eggs were still very small, but Little Miss loves those, saying they are a perfect size for little bellies.
So until late next fall, we will have our farm fresh eggs. We will set out early every Saturday morning to make sure we get our share. We will most likely take the slow road through the outlining villages, saying hello to very familiar scenery. And so it starts, our growing season rhythm. Renewing relationships with our food, finding our way back to hold friends. These people have seen my children grow, they’ve shared their hard work and love for the land with us. They are our teachers, our inspiration. How we miss them when winter keeps us inside. But how glorious our Springtime reunions are.
Hope all of you are having a wonderful week-end!
PS : My portrait project will be a bit late this week. Seems I’ve thrown my back out and I haven’t exactly been bringing my camera out and about. It,s been hard to rest with so much that is happening, but I’m doing my best to take it easy.Ā
Glad eggs are back on the menu for you – freshly laid local ones are so lovely. Hope your back recovers soon š
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Thank you… I actually caved and took some pain killers tonight. I never really take them, but it’s getting worse. Ah well… when the body talks, you have to listen… and fresh eggs is always good medicine. š
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So glad your egg supply is back. I have two hens and they lay one or two eggs a day between them (usually one, sometimes two). It’s enough for us, but more would be nice. I hope you’re able to have chickens someday, we’ve really enjoyed the experience.
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We can’t wait. But we also want to do it right and having our winters, that means planning right. I would be more than happy with 2 eggs a day. š But we are aiming for 5-7 hens so hopefully, that won’t be too hard. I read somewhere that you can freeze eggs. So when you have a lot in summer, you can freeze some for winter. I’ll have to look into that maybe.
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We are very careful about where we purchase our eggs as well. I am hopeful to have chickens added in next year here! Anyways, there was an interesting talk on eggs on NPR just a few days ago. I’m sure you could find it online if you were interested in it. Talked about understanding the most responsible ways to buy eggs if you did have to buy them from the supermarket. Broke down some of the labels and terms such as organic, cage free, humane certified, etcetera. I found it quite interesting and considering the relevance to your post, I thought I would mention it to you.
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I would love if you could send me the link. I remember watching a documentary once where the lady called to get the definition of “free range” and the guy said that each chicken was guarantied 4 sq.ft and got something like 3 hours of natural light a day. It was depressing. I won’t lie at having wrestled with the idea of buying eggs all winter. I’m hoping to find another solution until we get our own.
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I will look on NPR and see if the talk is posted and follow up with you. I know what you mean, they talked about how “cage free” doesn’t necessarily mean they get to go outside and/or have any natural light at all. Very misleading.
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Very misleading indeed. Thank you for looking. I would sure like to have a listen. xo
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I did find a link to that NPR radio talk I recently heard. Here it is: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/12/23/370377902/farm-fresh-natural-eggs-not-always-what-they-re-cracked-up-to-be
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Thank you so much! Will watch it as soon as the kiddos go down for a nap tomorrow. š
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Nothing beats farm fresh eggs, well except those from the backyard š So glad your farmer is back and those chickens are laying.
Take care of yourself. xo
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We are pretty sure we will try our luck with the ordinances. The rule really is unclear about it and we know so many that have chickens around here. š I want a little coop so badly.
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hello lovely woman!
yes, i want a little flock of hens, and 2 goats. lol Miss7 has already decided that egg collecting would be her job.
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Yes, Little Miss said the same thing. But she also informed me she would like hens that won’t peck at her… That could be a tall order. š I wish that little flock and goat dream for you. What a fun little yard you would have!
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Signs of spring–fresh eggs and sore backs, from being in the garden! I hope you bounce back quickly!
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Thank you Kerry. I can’T even blame the gardening, just an aging back with a little 2 year-old that likes mommy to do somersaults in the trampoline :-). I hope so too. I never do well with being laid up this time of year. I’m not a very good patient.
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I recently read that egg allergies can actually really be a soy allergy since chicken feed may contain soy and it can make its way into the eggs. So you do want to be careful where you get your eggs since your son has issues with soy.
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Wow, I didn’t know that… he will be tested at the end of the month and the tests include wheat, gluten in general, soy and corn. I guess all that can be in the feed as well. You make a good case for mixing my own feed when the time comes. Thank you!!!
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What a good news! I hope in the very next future you can eat your hens’eggs… I have been raising hens for 3 years now and it is such a pleasure…
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Lucky… I envy you all chick-mamas! I hope to join your little club very VERY soon.
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Beautiful eggs! I love the return to good, local, fresh food that this time of year brings. And hope your back is better soon!
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Thank you Andrea… As I reply to all my lovely comments, we’ve just come in from covering all our tender garden plants with sheets because it will drop down close to freezing tonight. *sighs* Thank goodness for fresh eggs to remind me that Spring (and summer) are actually on their way!
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Oh no! I am sorry your back is injured, I hope you have a speedy recovery. I think doing without is great as long as nutrition is met, since he has allergies you have to do what you must. Take care!
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Thank you Karen… back pain and my life right now don’t mix. But I’m doing my best. And yes, I agree we must all do what needs to be done. In 1 month, we go for full allergy testing for my son and will finally know the extent of his food stuff. I can’t wait.
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Oh I totally hear you about the eggs. We are blessed to have a few sources during the year. But like you, we usually have to default to grocery stores in the winter. š¦ Happily, we are enjoying the more nutritious eggs as of now. š Our family goes through about 30 per week. Kind of justifies getting our own chickens too. One day…
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The joys of living in the city right? Yeah, we go through about 18 to 24 eggs a week here. My son alone eats 1 to 2 a day. And I agree, we would never regret getting the chickens. š
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What a lovely sight! We’re really lucky round here that there are farmers eggs for sale all year round, and I find they’re so different to supermarket bought eggs in taste, I think I’d struggle to go back to supermarket ones purely from a taste point of view even apart from ethical concerns. Hoping you get your own chicks soon, I have a feeling you wouldn’t be the only member of your family to be overjoyed at that! And look after your back, there’s a whole Summer of gardening ahead of you, so pace yourself!
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Oh how I agree! The taste just doesn’t compare. When we take trips downtown, we hit the market and one little stand often has little half dozen organic farm fresh eggs for sale. If we are lucky, we buy them right up. Then I keep the grocery store ones for baking and pancakes. š
Gardening didn’t hurt my back, doing somersaults with my ever-growing son though, I might have to slack a bit.
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I hadn’t known that blood and meat spots were an indication of poor husbandry, I thought they just indicated an older bird? I’ve also heard the they occur more frequently in fresh eggs because they are actually there in older eggs but they just fade enough that you can see them. We very occasionally have both, and of course we take care of our girls. So, I’m curious as to what you have learned that makes them happen?
What a lovely summer rhythm you have! We used to do the same when we had a CSA/raw milk share and it was a wonderful weekly occurrence.
Hope you are feeling better soon!
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Hello Coco… It,s what I used to think as well, but I know that they didn’t happen all the time. But when we started seeing them in 10 out of 12 eggs a dozen, I started doing some research and foudn this site : http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/1/egg-quality-handbook/28/blood-spots/
That is when we started really observing the hens and realized many had been severally pecked by others, they had barely a few feet each and they were never let outside of the fenced in wired area. So I’m thinking the fungal toxins, fright and disturbances might have been behind it.
Yeah, we decided to just go to the farmer’s market if we needed this year and we stopped our CSA share. We had been using it as a crutch to be lazy and not worry about our food production. All part of our New Year intentions! š But you know, a bi-weekly trip to the farmer’s market has a nice rhythm to it too.
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Thanks for this! It all makes sense. Also, the picture of a “blood spot” is different from what I would’ve thought of…that is a more of a blood blob! We’ve never seen anything like that in our eggs, thankfully!
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The last dozen we bought from that one farm, I broke and egg and litterally gasped loud enough that my husband ran in. I was making a huge batch of pancakes and we threw out the whole think, it was bright red. It was so scary. That was it… We broke the last of the eggs in separate bowls and the ones that were fine were used into an omelet. We never went back. š¦
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Our hens aren’t laying yet and so once a month I buy eggs from this wonderful farmer who free ranges his chickens. Those eggs are down right AMAZING! So I understand just how happy you are!
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It’s such a treat. People that don’t know the pleasure are missing out. Yeah, every time we get to the farm, the kids run to the back of the barn and the chickens run out to greet them. They feed them grass and the chickens snuggle up. š That is the kind of family farm I want to support!
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