Farewell, Betsy

Betsy was a good hen.

Her gentle clucking as she roamed the yard was so…chirpy. She always kept her black and white feathers so sleek and shiny. She was a model hen in every way.

Betsy, that coyote took you before your time. We will miss you.

And don’t tell the others, but I liked your eggs the best.

The Problem with Pigs

Pigs are destroyers.

It’s one of the things that you just don’t know until you see the dead daffodils.

Or the torn up lawn.

Or the broken door to the shop where the food is kept.

They love to roam, rut and roll. Its part of their nature. Unfortunately, it’s also detrimental to landscaping and the checkbook.

But in the end, I’ll forgive them.

Cause I LOVE bacon.

It’s Spring, and that means…

Chickens!

And just in time, my dear, wonderful friend Kimberlee designed a gorgeous website to let the world know and to let those in Washington order!

Stop by and check us out!
www.pasturedsensations.com

The Shoemaker’s family

I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage about the shoemaker’s family going without shoes…well, apparently the same holds true for the chicken farmer’s family. Except for us, it’s chicken we’re having to live without.

Last year was supposed to be a test year to see if there was enough of a demand for the pastured chickens in the area and if it was something we were willing to do. The answer to both was yes. In fact, the answer to the first question was a very enthusiastic yes! So much of a yes in fact, that Paul started selling the chickens I had counted on to see us through the winter! I finally had to put my foot down and tell him the rest of the chickens were for us.

Even with that, I’ve all but run out of chicken now. And since I am completely unwilling to eat the comparatively flavorless and less healthy meat that’s sold in the grocery store, we’re all impatiently waiting for the weather to warm up enough for us to get more chickens out in the pasture.

Each day we’re getting closer and closer to the day we get our first batch of chicks. I just sent out the announcement email to our previous customers telling them to get their orders in now!

If anyone reading this is in the Puget Sound region and would like more information on getting pasture-raised, organic, soy-free chickens, email Farmer Paul at pasturesensations at gmail dot com.

As for me…I’m off to place my order! I will NOT run out of chicken again!

Betrayed by the Girls

We’ve got five hens that we raised from day-old chicks. They are collectively known as “the girls”, although I also call each one Betsy. It just sounds like a hen name, and I can’t tell them apart, so they’re all Betsy.

Hens don’t start laying eggs until they’re 4-6 months old. We got the girls last March and they started laying eggs in August. Of course, they didn’t all start at once. For a couple of weeks we got 3 eggs a day. Then it went up to four and finally all the girls were giving us an egg every day.

And what eggs they are! Thick, deep yellow yolks. Deep, deep yellow. So yellow that it changes the color of pancake and sugar cookie batter.

We gave a few away to family and friends when we fell behind on using them. But it never took long for the egg carton to fill back up. Like the bottle of wine in the old Christmas classic movie “The Bishop’s Wife.” Magical, really.

Then last Sunday, we changed our clocks for daylight savings. And we stopped getting our five eggs a day. In the course of one week, we have gone from five a day, down to two. And I’m afraid that even the two will disappear soon. And I’ll have to start PAYING for eggs again. Store-bought, dull, mass-produced eggs.

Oh, the humanity.