Egg-cellent Timing
It’s springtime, if you go by the calendar date, and
not the temperature in central Iowa. Also nearly Eastertime, and chick-and-bunny-time
in the local farm supply stores. So, if
you’re considering keeping a few hens of your own, now’s the only time to start. Or so they say.
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| Our pullets & row-run roosters. |
So, when Kyra chose to raise chicks for her animal care
project at school, we didn’t know that much about the process. As we worked on her project, we learned that
a pullet (a hen less than one year old) is supposed to start laying eggs at 16
weeks of age. We learned that a henhouse
should allow 3-4 square feet of floor space per chicken. We learned that a henhouse needs one nesting
box for every three hens. And we learned
that when a mink weasels its way up from the creek and into the henhouse, it
takes less than two hours for it to pull the heads off each and every pullet.
End of project.
Not long after our failed attempt at raising hens from
chicks, Kyra underwent spinal surgery and was flat-on-her-back-house-bound for
four months. That’s four prime chick-raising months. When Kyra was (finally) out of her body cast
and once more able to sit up and get out and about, we decided to try raising
chicks again. It was the end of
October. Not your normal chick-raising
season in Iowa.
Against their better judgment, the local farm supply
store agreed to sell us two dozen day-old chicks. When Kyra and I went to pick up the chicks, the
box was filled with vigorous cheeping. The young woman that had driven the chicks
from the regional post office to the store came out to meet us, and say
good-bye to the chirping box.
“I wrapped a sweatshirt around the box, and kept it on
the front seat of my truck,” she said, as she carefully placed the box on Kyra’s
lap.
“Thank you,” I said, “They sound so happy!”
“I sang to them the whole way here,” the girl said. She started to walk away, then added, “They
like country music.”
“We’ll take good care of them,” I promised.
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| First Spring Eggs, Feb. 28, 2014 |
Yet, during this historically cold winter, I wondered whether
we were able to keep that promise in our drafty henhouse,
even with heat lamps and water de-icers humming, a fortified henhouse perimeter, and country music constantly
playing through the radio strapped to the wall.
Then, exactly 16 weeks after the chicks arrived, the first eggs appeared
in the nesting boxes.
The best eggs I have ever tasted, arriving right on time.
Those perfectly-timed brown, tan, gray, and
blue-shelled eggs continue to appear every day; at least a quarter of them double-yolkers. Our happy hens are playing a double-yolk joke
on winter oppression and human doubt.
The irony makes me smile.
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| Kyra & Hap |
Eggs are versatile, easy to cook, inexpensive, and, if
you’re picky about where you food comes from, widely available from your
local cage-free
farmer. Or, if you’re
really picky, you might consider raising hens yourself: Most city ordinances
provide for raising chickens for personal egg production.
On the nutrition side, an egg has about 70 calories and
6 grams of protein. Eggs contain many
essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D (which aids in calcium
absorption and mood regulation), choline (which assists essential brain
function), and lutein and zeaxanthin (which enhances eye health).
Here’s how our family fixes up amazingly quick egg meals:
EGG MUG INGREDIENTS:
Coffee mug
Fresh spinach (about ½ cup torn leaves)
1 Egg
Minced veggies (about ¼ cup)
1 Tablespoon parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Layer the bottom of a coffee mug with torn spinach
leaves. Crack an egg into the mug. Poke
the egg yolk with a fork (unless you want to clean up an explosive mess.) Top the egg with minced veggies (bell
peppers, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli, etc). Sprinkle about a tablespoon of parmesan
cheese (or a crumbled up slice of whatever cheese you have on hand) on the top
of the veggies. Cover the mug with a
microwave cover (or a paper towel or a saucer).
Microwave for 30 -45 seconds or so.
It may one or two tries to figure out just how much time your Egg Mug
needs to cook in your microwave. Run a rubber spatula
around the edges of the cooked egg mug to slide it onto your plate, or onto a
toasted English muffin. For your g-tube or pureed food eater, blend the Egg Mug with about ½ cup
almond or coconut milk and a squirt of prepared mustard. Beautiful and yummy, however you eat it!