We finally hit a new milestone at our suburban homestead last summer- preserving eggs! When we couldn’t keep up with the eggs our hens were laying we had to make some decisions.

What a wonderful problem to have. But I also wanted to make the most of our surplus for those winter months when the eggs dwindle. Especially because I knew that most of my girls were in for their first serious molting (usually happens around 18 months old) and so we’d be short on eggs come winter.

So, I did what most modern-day, first-generation homesteaders do- I took to the internet and started researching…

I found some conflicting information from some of my own trusted resources, but enough research to try a few different options. Because I have learned the hard way, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” (or mason jar).

So I chose to both Freeze and Water Glass my eggs. I had only frozen a few eggs before and it worked well, but I wanted to try both and do a side-by-side comparison of preserving eggs for our family – and for you all.

The most important thing to remember here is that you do what feels right for your family!

READ THIS if you’re thinking about starting your own flock.

Here’s our ‘Eggsperience’…

Preserving Eggs by Water Glassing

Water glassing is a process where you essentially overload the eggshell with pickling lime to nearly completely stop the exchange of air between outside and inside the egg. You’re trying to plug the microscopic air holes that allow a baby chick to breath, in order to keep the egg in ‘suspended animation’. Old school homesteaders did this as a way to hold eggs without the need for refrigeration. This method is used to get homesteaders through the lean egg time- over the winter when hens slow down laying because of the decrease in sunlight.

For preserving eggs this way they need to be PERFECTLY clean, with a full bloom still intact. Getting some poop into the lime water solution will allow any contaminants to enter the eggshell before it is sealed up.

Water Glassing Recipe:
1 ounce pickling lime
1 quart water

• Measure 1 ounce of pickling lime, add the lime to a sterilized half gallon jar (or ½ the recipe for a quart-size jar).
  Mix lime powder into water well; it doesn’t really dissolve.
• SLOWLY add eggs, trying to get pointy side down
• Add airtight lid
• Store in a cool dark place for up to a year
• Can add more eggs and water as you get them.

 Pros –

• Shelf stable (in a cool, dark location)
• Can last over a year
• Simple Process- mix pickling lime + filtered water, set eggs inside

Cons –

• If there is any chicken poop or dirt, it can enter the egg via the shell and you can get sick (salmonella not death)
• The eggs become more watery the longer they sit
• Your kids can easily crack an eggshell and the rest of the batch is ruined (ask me how I know

Preserving Eggs by Freezing

This method for storing eggs is as simple as it sounds. It is also more familiar to most of us as a way to preserve, but that doesn’t automatically make it better.

The only trick is that you crack and scramble the eggs before freezing, and have to use a freezer-safe container.

The eggs thicken after thawing, so I use two to three times as much water and/or milk to thin them out before making into an omelet or scramble. They work great for baking as is or thinned out a little too. They do take up space, but my 2 cup square freezer containers hold roughly eight eggs, perfect for my family of four. The containers measure 4”x4”x2” – about the same size as a single large muffin. You can also use large silicone ice cube trays and freeze in smaller portions. The typical ratio is 1 scrambled egg = ¼ cup.

Pros –

• Comfortable process and pretty foolproof as long as your freezer stays frozen
• Easy to use, almost end up with more egg ‘mass’ after freezing

Cons –

• Take freezer space and energy to preserve
• It’s best to take time to defrost them. DO NOT microwave these to defrost; you will be disappointed. Set in a water bath or take out the night before and place in the fridge to thaw.

Storing Fresh Eggs

You can store eggs fresh, unwashed from your backyard (or farmer) on your counter for two weeks. We have a rotating rack that helps us keep fresh eggs on the top and easily accessible.

You can store eggs in the refrigerator for up to six months, but the quality diminishes after a month or so- which is why we preserve them in other ways.

• Refrigerate: Store eggs in the coldest part of the refrigerator, away from the door and pungent foods, at a temperature of 40°F or slightly below. The temperature on an inside shelf is more consistent than the door, which is opened and closed frequently. Eggs can last about three months or more in the refrigerator, but unwashed eggs can last about two weeks unrefrigerated.
• Hard-boiled eggs: Hard-boiled eggs can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

My Preserving Eggs ‘Take Aways’

I will hopefully always have enough extras to be preserving eggs. But we’ll likely only water glass a few eggs, as we run out of plastic freezer containers. It was pretty heartbreaking (and stinky) to throw away 16 or so eggs in the middle of winter when I realized that something was wrong…

Also, if you want to try this- use more and smaller containers- because, even though I should know better, I put too many eggs in one 2 gallon mason jar…

You can also dehydrate scrambled eggs and freeze dry them if you have the right tools and patience. I might try and dehydrate some this summer as well… but freezing has worked best for us so far.

Also, there’s lots of ways to use those eggs during the summer! We hard-boil about a dozen a week, and even make lemon curd (recipe is in our book, Small-Scale Homesteading.)

Would you try water glassing to preserve your eggs?

Have you frozen eggs before?

Dig In,
Michelle

The post Preserving Eggs: Water Glassing vs. Freezing Eggs appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

This is our family’s story of how we transitioned through loving our backyard chickens to ultimately culling them
after they stopped laying.

For us crazy chicken people it’s *finally* time to place our orders and prepare for our hearts and homes to be overrun with cuteness and chicken poop. We pick up our new girls next week from EggPlant Urban Farm Supply and we can’t wait!

But this story is about our Old Girls, our first flock at this home, because although no one likes to talk about it- even those adorable baby chicks get old. My advice is to have a plan BEFORE you bring them home. It’s helpful to know what you’ll do once they stop laying, get sick, or just really old.

Truth Talking

This was a more emotional experience than I was prepared for. Much more so than when I’d had them in a farm setting, or that one time we had to cull a nasty rooster. We had 4 hens in our backyard chicken flock which my oldest son named Netty, Betty, Stella, Bella. They were regularly carried around, hand fed and in general, doted on.

I need you to know that for our family,
two things can and do co-exist:

1. I loved raising and tending to my girls; from fluffy baby chicks, to their awkward adolescence, molting, bumblefoot, vent gleet, even on -15F days where I had to change their water multiple times a day. They’re really endearing animals. Tending to their needs and completely spoiling them was our pleasure. Getting those eggs was awesome too!

2.I loved knowing where this meat came from: When the time came, we knew the girls had enjoyed a life far better than any of their counterparts who end up in a grocery store come from.

Now, I still get an occasional emergency rotisserie from Costco- but on average I really like knowing where my food comes from.

So, for us- once we got over the emotional roller coaster, the answer was clear. We’d be butchering our hens before Winter set in.

How We Decided it was Time

My family hadn’t gotten more than an egg a week from the girls since the end of August. I think I was in denial for quite a while…

After almost 2 full years of happily laying in the nesting boxes I began to find eggs scattered in the backyard. This was likely related to the Japanese Beetle ‘feeder’ I had made for the girls. They became so obsessed with the beetles that they didn’t return to their nesting boxes to lay their eggs in fear of missing the next bug!

The Perfect Storm

Two of our four hens contracted bumble foot in late July and I figured the ‘no eggs’ was directly related to them taking their sweet time healing from that. Also a shout out to my dear friend, Nicole- a vet tech who helped with the initial backyard surgery. I owe you one girl!

Then one of the Ameraucana’s went into a full molt, then a Black Australorp followed. Hens usually slow down or stop laying while molting because feathers are all protein, and that takes A LOT to regrow your whole feather duster.

Egg Eaters

As I mentioned earlier, the hens weren’t going back to their nesting boxes to lay, so they were laying in the yard. Eggs laying around usually leads to one thing; egg eating. They were likely all eating eggs by the end. I only ever found a few remnant shells, but all four hens wouldn’t stop laying at the same time.

We tried many things to deter egg eating, and encourage laying in the coop. Replacing their finely crushed egg shells with oyster calcium in case that was the issue. Placing ‘false eggs’ for the nesting boxes and continuing to use the herbs that I grew to help promote laying and keep/get them healthy.

Since we had an egg eater, we couldn’t give them to a farmer to enjoy their retirement only to wreak havoc by teaching a new flock of hens to eat eggs…

It was Time

So, I guess once the molting was over, I had to ask myself a hard question. Was I going to keep a flock of non-laying hens through a cold Minnesota Winter? Cold winters can mean boredom for the girls. I’ve used lots of ways to combat boredom before- from scratch blocks, hanging cabbages, new roosts, swings etc., but this time it didn’t seem like a good trade off.

The idea of doing all that work without return didn’t sit well with my homesteader heart.

it was time

Having “The Talk” with our Kids

We talked to our sons about it at length. My husband and I reminded them of our discussion back when we first got the baby chicks that they would have to say goodbye to our backyard chickens at some point.  Our one son was fine with it, our other boy cried for hours when we first brought it up. He was sad about losing them for weeks.

Eventually, the butchering day came.

After a major refresher (thank you YouTube) we prepped for it and had a day when our boys were going to be gone for a 5 hour stretch…

…Afterwards

Not going to sugar coat it; that was difficult. I was sad. I kept trying to remember that we gave them a good life. Then, as there was work to be done, I just kind of came to terms with it.

The birds have now all been stewed and souped on. Even my boy who swore he wouldn’t eat any of the meat, chose to and really liked the soup. And I have to say the bone broth was really amazing.

So, love it or hate it; that’s this Suburban Homesteader’s story.

This time around my boys are just as excited to get our new baby chicks. If anything, we’re all wiser, and if anything we will lavish even more love on this new generation of backyard birds because of our previous girls. We are definitely more appreciative of the meat we eat because of this experience.

If you are (still) interested in raising backyard chickens, read my Chickens in the Hood blog for more how to info.

One thing I know for sure; I’ll never judge another person’s decision on anything like this. It is such a personal choice. One that I am proud our family made.

Those girls will always have a special place in my heart, they were good teachers in so many ways.

I’m curious; if you have chickens, what are your plans for when they stop laying? Obviously, no judgment here

I can’t wait to share photos of my new fluffy babies with you all!

-Michelle

The post Fresh Eggs to Chicken Soup appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

My social flock, hoping for treats

With a cluck, cluck here, and a cluck, cluck there…

Raising backyard chickens is on a steady rise with no signs of slowing, and I completely understand why! In my opinion, raising hens is one of the simplest and most enjoyable ways we can plug back into our food system.

Since I got my first chickens almost 20 years ago, I’ve been lucky enough to raise chickens (roosters too) in a few different situations. First, a farm in Sweden, then a home with a few acres of woods surrounding it, and now in my fenced-in suburban backyard. Each situation has given me and the chickens unique freedoms and challenges.

Part of my old flock from Sweden

Chickens require only a few minutes of care a day, but it is DAILY care, and they’ll be more like pets the more you hang out with them. There will be a LOT of poop, and some amazing eggs. The continual chicken antics are an added bonus.

There are so many obvious benefits to raising hens:

• Convert Table scraps into eggs
• Break the disease and pest cycle in gardens/fruit trees
• Till your garden space for you
• Add to compost piles and work them for you
• Fertilize plants once manure is aged

The other intangibles include teaching your children, and/or yourself, some basics about where our food comes from, feeling like you can make a difference in the food chain, and companionship. Our hens make our whole yard more enjoyable, and we all spend more time outside because of them. And yes, even on those dark, sub-zero winter mornings, I’m always glad I got outside for a few minutes.

Think you’re ready to pull on your muck boots and join me in the coop?  I can’t wait to welcome you to our flock, but first there are a few things to consider.

Are Chickens Allowed?

Our two Black Australorp as babies

The first thing to do is find out what is allowed in your city. You’ll find this buried somewhere within the city code, like White Bear Lake. Some places have you license each hen, some license the coop, and many don’t have specific language in them about hens yet. But that is changing as more and more people are adding hens to their urban homesteading routine. Here’s a ChickenLaws PDF listing of how the Twin Cities metro cities line up with allowing backyard chickens, compiled and shared by Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply (THANKS GUYS!).

If you find your city doesn’t allow it, contact them to find out if anyone else has asked about it. Chances are they have. With minimal digging, a little internet stalking, and maybe a call to Bob at EggPlant, things can start moving quickly. I initiated the backyard chicken keeping code changes in White Bear Lake a few years ago. It was a great learning experience, and darn empowering to watch government work for the people!

The girls getting excited about fresh hay, the drawer slides back in to form the floor of their coop.

The Chicken Coop

You’ll need a solid coop to keep out the nasty winter elements and any predators. Chickens need at least 4 square feet per bird inside a coop, plus a fenced-in run area, and most also have much more open space to run in outside.

My husband, the designer + builder of our coop, researched a few online designs before melding them into one. The pull-out drawer makes cleaning the coop SO much easier than our last design.  It is designed to be moveable (if you’re Paul Bunyan) like the chicken tractor models, but ours has stayed in place. The run goes underneath the coop, and the girls love this space in the winter.  We tack frost cloth on the north side of the run in winter to keep the wind down and catch the sun for them.

For a full rundown of getting the coop and your chickens ready to face the cold, read Preparing your Chickens for Winter.

A winter treat

Feeding the Birds

Most people who want to raise hens want to do so in part to give the chickens a good life, and running around scratching happily for bugs and seeds is what makes a good life for a hen.

In the winter when they can’t scratch around, you’ll need to help them out a little. I keep a supply of scratch grains and freeze dried meal worms handy. I’ve also added random ‘bird feeder’ types of amusements to their run just for fun.

There are many different kinds of feed, both organic and conventional. In my years of raising chickens I’ve used every kind out there. Chickens seem to prefer feed that looks like real grains but will eat the pellets too.

Admire the poop plate, doing its job.

Chicken Poop

You’ll have more hay and poop than you imagined, so you’ll need a plan for what to do with it all before you get your backyard chickens. It makes for great compost!

Cleaning the coop can be a lot easier, especially in the winter if you install a “poop plate” under their roosting bar. Ours is made of thin stainless steel and slides in and out of a frame. This allows me to remove the majority of the poop, and even when it’s below zero for weeks on end (Hey there, January and February) I can bend it enough so the poop pops right off! This saves on hay too.

Bringing Nettie back to the flock after her recovery

Sick Chicks

Chickens have an astounding number of ways to get sick. Luckily, I had many years of zero health issues…until this winter when one of my girls got Vent Gleet (EWWW). I learned a lot fast, and was able to treat her without going to a vet, but it was great to know that TeleVet was there (thanks again to EggPlant for that info!). But, yes, I had to bring a full grown chicken into my home, wash dried and frozen poop off her butt, then blow dry her so she didn’t catch cold. Yes, we’re now bonded for life.

Here’s another piece of wise advice from Bob Lies of EggPlant: “know before you get your chicks home if you are the kind of person who will spend $200 on a vet bill for a $5 chick.”

Bella, Betty, Nettie, Stella (yes our kids named them)

The Chicken or the Egg

There are well over 70 breeds of chickens that you could bring home from different hatcheries around the country. Many local suppliers get their hens from the same hatchery in Iowa, Hoover’s Hatchery.

Most northern chicken keepers will opt for a ‘dual purpose’ hen. This means they are good for both egg production and meat.  Another thing to consider is their overall size, as a bigger bird can handle colder weather. The store EggPlant Urban Farm Supply is the most small flock/backyard friendly I’ve found so far, as they let you purchase a single chick of any of their 10 varieties. Most other ‘farm stores’ require minimums of 2 to 5 hens of each variety. I’ve purchased chicks closer to my neck of the woods, from Hugo Feed Mill (their Chick List) and Houle’s Feed and have been happy with the chickens’ health from both shops.

Our egg stash after we missed a day collecting

Another thing to keep in mind is that different breeds lay different colored eggs. There are chicken breeders who breed for specific egg colors.

I’m just happy with the beautiful blues of our Ameracanas and browns of our Black Australorps.

The End of the Road

No one wants to think about this when they’re buying cute, fluffy baby chicks, but chickens do not live forever. They’re most productive in egg laying until about 3 years of age (depending on breed) and then taper off. You’ll have to decide how long you’ll keep a non-laying hen in a small flock. You could slaughter and use as a soup chicken, although this is a hard step for many. Chickens really do become pets even when you think they’ll be treated like ‘livestock’.

We’ve eaten our chickens in the past, but I’m not sure we’ll be able to do it this time around, now that our boys have come to love them. We will likely find a farmer friend to take them after they stop laying consistently, because in White Bear Lake the limit is 4 hens, and I need at least that many laying to keep our family in eggs. Read about our decision to cull our backyard flock HERE.

Chickens are Social!

Bob, the human, showing the class Gimley, the Hen.

If you’re still questioning how big a deal backyard hens are, just take a look at the plethora of online community spaces for all us ‘Crazy Chicken People’. There are some useful, standard online resources like BackyardChickens.com, to university extension programs, to the slough of Instagram feeds dedicated to hens, like @henopause, @thedirtmag, @roundrockfarm; and be sure to check out #fluffybuttfriday… all of which I love.

I’ll Be At Egg|Plant

When it comes to taking care of another living animal, it’s nice to talk to another living person. And for that, there’s nobody better than the peeps at Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply. They find homes for over 1,000 baby chicks each spring, with Americanas and Gold Stars as their most popular breeds. You pre-order your chicks a few weeks in advance, so now is the time to get planning!

The storefront of my dreams

Walking into Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply is like taking a step sideways in time. The shop itself looks like it was pulled out of the 1940s, but all the items inside along with the staff’s knowledge is 100% modern. The store is the product of a country girl marrying a city boy and some inspired compromising. After completing her horticultural degree, Audrey wanted to provide a place where she could help her neighbors grow great food right where they were. Audrey and her husband Bob (the chicken class instructor extraordinaire) put their passions into practice and have created a hub of urban homestead nirvana.

The chicken supply corner, my happy place

They sell chicks and everything you’d need to raise them into happy, healthy, egg-laying machines. From basics like bedding and feed, necessities for treating sick chickens (chickens are always finding new ways to get sick) to specialty treats, these guys have you covered! They celebrate the chicken keeping community each fall with a “Coop Tour” of backyard set-ups all across the Twin Cities.

Egg|Plant also has supplies for seed starting, gardening (including  organic pest control and fertilizers) canning, fermenting, cheese making, bee keeping, books on all these homesteading skills, and carry a supply of edible and pollinator friendly plants each spring and summer.  Leslie, the store manager, was a wealth of knowledge and has this way of getting you even more excited for your own projects! All these happenings are housed within this cozy, whimsical space in the hipster*ville between Merriam Park and Tangletown, right off I-94.

Chicken Classes

A class mate, and obvious chicken lover

Even the classes offered at Egg|Plant are fun and funky. I sat in on a class last Saturday and felt like I had found my people Even a chicken raising veteran like myself learned a few fascinating things about pecking order, and how each chicken has one eye that’s far sighted and one that’s near sighted, so they can see what they’re scratching on the ground while watching for predators in the sky. Just like Bob said during the class, “Chickens are VERY good at being chickens.”

A few really good tips from the class were:
*Build your coop for the largest number of birds YOU would want. So if the city allows for 8 hens, but you want to start with only 4, maybe build for 8 hens (they require 4 square feet per bird) in case you decide to increase later. Chicken coops are going to be the most expensive part of getting started with chickens so you don’t want to build twice!

*Electricity. Since many of us live “up North” you’ll want to plan on how to heat the water and coop, provide a light source during the cold winter months.

*Predators are a big concern for some people who oppose backyard hens. Accidents do happen, and it’s part of the food cycle I’ve been able to teach my kids about too. Also, there’s this idea that rodents will be drawn to the chicken run and feed. But as long as you keep your feed in a closed bucket or shed, and clean your coop so you have healthy chicks, you shouldn’t have a problem.

Bella, helping dig potatoes

Why Raise Backyard Chickens?

One of my friends, Deanna, listed these reasons for raising backyard hens: “You can’t beat the flavor of the eggs, involving our girls in the hands-on process of growing their own food, helping to create responsible food consumers, plus the fact that we’ve reduced our weekly trash and have awesome compost, it’s just such a win-win-win.” I think she really hit all the major reasons so many people are finding it not just worthwhile, but rewarding to raise backyard hens.

PSA: Chickens Lay Eggs without a Rooster.
You only need a rooster if you want more chickens.

Another basic REAL reason to keep hens is because you think animals should be treated humanely. Over the years, we’ve become more and more separated form our food; growing, processing and cooking it. The image of the two comparative chicken breeds looks like progress to some and like a horror story to others. I see a horrific manipulation of one of God’s creatures. Now, I know my 4 hens and there few eggs aren’t going to change the world. BUT… if enough of us make these small shifts, we really can make an impact.

The U.S. Government thought it was important enough that each person have backyard chickens that they created these flyers back in the day.

I think raising backyard chickens just makes sense, and makes for some great stories and great omelets too.

But don’t just take my word for it. Bob from Egg|Plant says that chickens “Are a fun and fascinating creatures, they make great pets, and they provide eggs! Keeping chickens makes you an active participant in your own food production. And they are beautiful, too.” Words from an expert who helps hundreds of families around the metro raise chickens each year. Three cheers for Bob and Audrey doing what they love.

I highly recommend hanging out online, talking with someone who raises hens, or visiting EggPlant or your local farm supply store before buying those cute fluffy chicks. But, like always, I also say give it a try, WE can do this!

Besides, who wouldn’t want a chicken to hang out with at your next bonfire?

Here’s to Diggin In, 

Michelle

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