When Vince agreed to move back to MO, I had to promise that I wouldn’t beg for chickens. Occasionally, I will mention how much I miss chickens and he says “We are NOT getting chickens!” I always say “I know .. I just miss having them.”
So far, we’ve been able to get eggs from a Mennonite farmer. It’s probably 15 or 20 miles from home and we get 5 or 6 dozen eggs per month. Last time, we had to wait a week or so before he had 5 dozen eggs. They’re selling a lot of eggs and chickens don’t lay as much in the winter. It’s been almost a month since we picked up eggs and it’s time to call and get on the waiting list again for 5 dozen eggs.
Yesterday Vince asked for fried rice for dinner. We had ham, and several veggies to go into the rice and I was happy to fix that for him. I used three eggs in the fried rice. I first got three eggs from the carton, decided to use only two, put one back, then said “No! I’m not skimping (yet).” I made enough fried rice for us to have it for two meals. I used leftover ham, a little bacon so I didn’t feel extravagant using three eggs. I thought back to when we had way too many chickens and I had way too many eggs. I would take 6 or 8 dozen a week to the women’s shelter during the summer when the chickens were laying so much. I’d give them to friends, the UPS man, anyone who would take them. Now, I feel like I’m begging to get eggs and never want to buy more than two dozen at a time at the store when we run out before we can get them from the Mennonite farmer.
So, while Vince was loving the fried rice he had requested and I was thinking . . he should be thinking he’s lucky to have me for a wife since I cook whatever he requests, this might be a good time to mention chickens.
I said “I know I promised not to ask for chickens but Vince . . now is the time that having chickens would add to our food security. I feel like it’s a matter of need . . not want at this point in time.” He looked at me and didn’t say anything. A few minutes later, he said “Where would you put them?” Oh . . that’s progress. Sometimes we’ll pass by a cute little house and there will be chicken outside and Vince will say “They have chickens!” I’ll say “He loves his wife!” Just joking . . sometimes . . and Vince will say “Don’t start! You promised!)
Last night, he didn’t say “you promised”. I told him I would put them over on the north side of the house, inside the fence. No one would know they were there. He said “What are you going to do when Oscar starts eating chicken poop?” I said “I was planning on you fencing the area so he wouldn’t really get to that part of the yard.” He still didn’t say no.
One of the reasons Vince doesn’t want chickens is because of the cost of feeding them but the cost of feeding 5 or 6 hens vs. 50 or 60 chickens is way different. We had a head of old broccoli and I picked it up and I said “This is almost all they would need for a day!” He said “Don’t save it yet . . I haven’t said yes!”
I wasn’t going to save it because baby chicks have to eat baby chick food .. not broccoli. The good news is . . he didn’t say yes but he also didn’t say no.
I still have quite a bit of freeze dried eggs from when we had chickens and I use those for cooking/baking and sometimes for scrambled eggs. I figure if we have 6 chickens and they’re all good layers, and I freeze dry the eggs we don’t eat in the spring, summer and fall, then when we’re getting just a few fresh eggs in the winter, we could make it through with freeze dried eggs.
Keep your fingers crossed . . I’ll keep you posted.
Sibyl says
Judy I have also heard of something called water glassing eggs. You use a solution of lime water (I think), and put raw unwashed eggs that still have the bloom on them, and they are supposed to last all winter. I am just passing on something I had seen on some of the homestead people I follow. I don’t have chickens, and would be hard–but not impossible for me to have them here in the city.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I have read about that technique but not something I would do. I’ve seen what they look like and how easy it is to lose a whole batch of those. I would guess less than half of them last all winter. I saw a lady cracking open some in a video this morning and she said she smells each egg to be sure it’s still good. The yolks were all runny in all of them. Not for me!
Freeze dried eggs are amazing. Except for boiled eggs or fried eggs, we like the freeze dried, then reconstituted eggs better than fresh.
We’re in a subdivision where we aren’t supposed to have them . . probably but someone on the street behind us had ducks for a while. I’ll put mine where they won’t be a nuisance – I’ll keep them clean and not smelly and they will be far from anyone’s home or patio. And, no roosters (probably). Vince hasn’t said yes yet so . . who knows if it will happen.
Janet says
Has Vince seen the price of eggs right now in the grocery stores? You NEED chickens!!
judy.blog@gmail.com says
That’s my argument but when you figure the cost of building a coop, buying feed, heating the coop when the temps drop below zero . . I can buy eggs even at $7/dozen (I currently pay $3/dozen from the Mennonite farmer) for less than it costs to raise chickens but . . IF/when eggs are impossible to find, having a few laying hens will be priceless.
Stephani in N. TX says
Eggs made the headlines on the national news this last week as the item having gone the highest in price due to our inflation situation. Eggs are certainly not 3 cents a piece these days. A good reason for having chickens if you’re so inclined.
Marilyn Smith says
I have read a few postings about freezing eggs lately. You cannot freeze in the shell, but can by putting one egg into an ice cube tray, freezing them and then placing them in a zip lock bag (I think wrapping them in plastic wrap first). I am going to try this as we often don’t use a dozen up before their expiration date. I don’t make many cakes/cookies anymore and we don’t eat a big breakfast anymore either . Maybe scrambled eggs/bacon once or twice a month and use them in making dinner recipes when called for. I paid $5.38 for a dozen large eggs at Smart and Final this week.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I’ve heard of that too but have never tried it. You can also salt the yolks to dry them, then grated them and I hear they taste a lot like parmesan cheese. The whites can be frozen and used for most anything egg whites are used for. I only eat the yolks so I keep a container in the fridge and put my whites in it. I keep 6 whites per cointainer so my angel food cake needs two containers of defrosted egg whites.
Linda B says
I am really looking forward to chick and chicken stories again. Keeping my fingers crossed for you. Such good entertainment!
Sheryl says
I hope it works out for you. I think eggs are almost $7 for 18 here right now.