Month: December 2014

Eggs in December. These days, no one ever thinks how odd that is. Before electric lights, eggs in December were like tomatoes in December. Stop any one in the street and ask, “Are eggs a seasonal food like fruits and vegetables?” The idea that eggs are seasonal sounds absurd. No matter what time of year you go to a supermarket, you will see carton after carton of eggs.

Yet, egg laying hens are sensitive to the amount of daylight. As the days shorten in late summer and fall, their egg production drops. In December and January, the hens here lay only a sixth to a fifth of the eggs they do in spring and summer. The number of eggs the hens lay starts to increase in February, and by March, they really go into overdrive.

The way the large egg producers keep egg production up year round, is by keeping laying hens bathed in artificial light. They also don’t keep laying hens very long, from 18 to 24 months. Then the hens are done with. A hen is born with all the eggs she will ever produce. You can either get her to lay all those eggs as quickly as possible using artificial light, or let her take her time laying her eggs over a longer period of time.

Which makes you wonder how it is that year round, we are able to buy most any type of produce in supermarkets. None of it comes out of thin air. Someone has to plant it, tend to it, and pick it. Here is an interesting article as to how much of the fresh produce in our stores is produced: Hardship on Mexico’s farms, a bounty for U.S. tables

Late afternoons are special times for the chickens. As the sun sets, and shadows stretch to the edge of the lawn, the roosters and hens make their last rounds before heading to their roosts. They find things to eat, court, and enjoy the last rays of the sun.

The yellow rooster is Billy, the five year old rooster who is the progenitor of many of the chickens here. He no longer rules the roost, but he’s made his peace with the rest of the roosters, and seems to enjoy retirement. This spring he was looking pretty ragged and walking with a limp, but he recovered over the summer, and is well on his way to growing back his tail feathers.

A typical rooster lives from five to eight years, so for a rooster he is a senior bird.

Feathers hide the truth that roosters are made for running. These are birds that run much of the day. Most of the time, they are running after hens. And when there are too many roosters, it’s time to remove the more aggressive ones.

Some days when I go out, the hens look into my eyes and tell me which roosters they want me to sell or eat. I’ll do anything for the hens.

The legs on these roosters are amazing. Look at the size of the feet. It’s no wonder these birds can tear across the grass at blinding speed. Due to all the exercise they get, the older roosters have meat as red as beef on their legs and thighs.