Chick Days

Dark Brahma hen

Nellie, the Dark Brahma

Did you know that Dark Brahma chickens have feathered feet? I have two Dark Brahma chicks, Nellie and Jolene. They are very noisy and energetic. When they are older, they will lay brown eggs. It is going to be interesting to see what my girls look like as they get older. I can’t wait until they start laying!

~Natalie

Golden Laced Hen

Golden Laced Wyandottes are beautiful birds and great layers. I chose them for the show bird category. Doris and Ingrid, my Golden Laced Wyandottes, are very playful and friendly. When they start laying, they will lay big brown eggs. This breed is considered rare, so we are lucky to have two of our very own!

Ingrid, Golden Laced Wyandotte

~Caroline

Meet the Chicks

Salmon Faverolle Hen

Flo and Bev are my Salmon Faverolles. They have fluffy feet, fluffy cheeks and a fifth toe! They are hardy and great layers of light brown to white eggs. My Salmon Faverolle chicks are very friendly and love to be held. They like to lay on their back in your hands. I’m excited to show this rare breed at the fair this summer.

Flo, three days old

~Caroline

Tina

Meet my Araucanas, Wanda and Gretel! Araucanas are also called Easter egg chickens. They will eventually lay lots of green and blue eggs. Our adult Araucanas, Tina and Piper, don’t look at all alike. Our chicks look the same now, but you never know! I’m planning on taking one of these girls to the fair.

~Natalie

Wanda, one of our new chicks

Piper

Chicks Galore!

The day finally arrived! On Saturday, we traveled for about two hours to pick up our little bundles of fluff. When we got to Murray McMurray, they brought out our chicks and took off the lid. We knew there were more than twelve , but they were too jumbled up to count. They told us they sometimes pack  extras, but we didn't know how many! As we unloaded them at home, we counted 16 little peepers! After dipping all of their beaks in the waterer and putting the heat light on, some of the chicks were very hungry and the others seemed pretty confused. Once they had all explored the brooder, they decided to take a nice long snooze. We got six different breeds of chicks, and we will feature one breed every day this week.

Chick Update!

Come out to the Golden Egg on Saturday, March 9th, 9-noon for our 2nd annual Eggstravaganza! We will have brunch and you can meet our new chicks. Here is a Wordle about our chickens that you'll see on our farm.

Coming soon to the Golden Egg...

It's chick season! Yesterday, we ordered a dozen new chicks from Murray McMurray Hatchery. On March 2nd, we are journeying up to Webster City, IA to pick up our order! We are super excited for the new addition to our flock. Our little peepers were very specifically selected. We don't want to give TOO much away, but we'll give you a sneak peek.
We each want to have a pen of three for the fair, so we got four great egg layers (one extra in case of casualties). For the show bird category, we both chose two beautiful breeds that also are great egg layers. Watch for details regarding our second annual Golden Eggstravaganza!

January on the farm!

Howdy y'all! It's January out on the farm! Since it's so cold, (and it's winter!) we don't have many greens for our henny pennys. But we got a cabbage and hung it in their run and they loved it! Recently, we have been talking about what kinds of chicks we want to get this spring. We'll keep you posted on that.

Lately, we have been feeling crafty! Our first project was knitting. At the beginning, it was pretty bad, but we have been working on it, and have gotten a lot better. We have been making tree huggers for our farm. Second, we went to the art store and got a big bottle of Mod Podge. We decorated outlet and lightswitch covers.

On the nice days, the boys go out to work on the dock. They have been making a lot of progress!

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

1 ¾ c all-purpose flour

1 t baking powder

½ t kosher salt

2 eggs

¾ c granulated sugar

½ c canola oil

1 t vanilla extract

6 oz lemon yogurt

1 T poppy seeds

2 t lemon zest

Heat oven to 350˚ F. Coat an 8 ½ in. by 4 ½ in. loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt, sugar, oil, and poppy seeds.

Gradually add the flour mixture into the egg mixture, stirring until just mixed.

Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (55 – 65 minutes).  Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the bread cools, prepare the glaze. Combine ¾ c confectioners sugar and 2 T lemon juice. Spoon the glaze over the top while the bread is still warm on the rack.