What happens when a girl from Miami and a guy from Chicago move to a 118-year old house in small-town North Carolina and care for our rescued chickens.
In the winter, the hens don't lay eggs every day. In fact, after their Fall moult which was a few months ago, they have not really laid at all. But just as the winter solstice passed, Meg started laying again. She hasn't been having an egg every day but so far we have 4. Gertie isn't laying again yet, as far as I can tell.
One of the questions we a lot, now that we are vegan/vegetarian, is what do we do with the eggs from our girls.
Well... the simple answer is, we eat them.
Or, mainly the hubby does. I don't eat eggs a lot ever anyways. I mainly used them in my baking. But since I made the switch to a fully vegan diet right around the time they paused in their laying, I've been looking at substitutions for when I'm baking. So it hasn't been a big deal.
There are many reasons why people choose to become vegetarian or vegan. One of my main reasons is to avoid participating and supporting an industry that subjects animals to cruelty and torture. I don't need eggs (or meat or dairy) and I don't want it enough to make the animals pay that kind of a price. I just can't justify it any longer and I can't continue with it now that I'm aware of it.
As I mentioned before, our 3 chickens were rescued. We keep them because we like them and we like taking care of them. We aren't going to eat them and we didn't get them for the eggs. We aren't going to kill them or get rid of them when they stop laying - which could be tomorrow or years from now. The girls are going to lay eggs as a part of their natural cycle. We are not raising them for breeding chicks either. So, because we know where the eggs came from, how the hens are treated and what their future is, we feel comfortable eating the eggs. Outside of know that about any food, I try not to risk it.
Of course, we are lucky in that we are able to do this. If we were living in Florida still, or even another location here, this would be difficult to impossible. If that were the case, I do not forsee us eating eggs at all.
But we don't.
We live here. We have the girls (and Napoleon, of course). We do our best to take care of them and to avoid causing harm.
“People are complicated, irrational creatures when it comes to how they view animals. [...] I’ve come to the conclusion that all people are basically good, and that goodness rebels against cruelty to animals. Therefore, people convince themselves that anything they do is not cruel to animals. I don’t think they even really completely buy their rationales, but they cling to them anyway. Believing something false to clear your conscious is easier than changing your lifestyle to do so.” —Mindy Quittem (source)
Boy, you can say that again.
I’m intrigued by human behavior. In fact, I think I should have studied sociology or marketing in college rather than philosophy. Logic and critical thinking are great. I’m so glad I developed some critical thinking skills. But how good are they when most of the people around me are more motivated by “50% off” or “everyone else does it, you should too” than by logic? How helpful is it to be able to analyze complex ideas like “obscurantism” when the entire notion is obscure to most people?
Mindy Quittem’s comment above illustrates the divide between what we know and what we do. We all know animal cruelty is wrong. We all know killing animals needlessly is wrong. We all know veganism is right. But there’s a gap between what we know and what we do. There is a line between what we believe and how we behave.
“A quarter of Americans say animals deserve the same rights as humans, while almost all of the rest agree that animals should be given some protection from harm and exploitation.” The majority of Americans believe one thing, yet behave in a manner contradictory to what they believe.
There are plenty of valid reasons for this: lack of choices, lack of education, social pressure to conform. Most of us vegans have experienced at least a little delay in our own transition. Personally, I believed veganism was right for over a decade before I made the switch. I was just so comfortable eating milk and eggs. It was so easy not to think about where they came from or who got hurt in the process.
It wasn’t cognitive dissonance. I didn’t lie to myself. I just chose not to think about it. In fact, when asked why I wasn’t vegan I responded:
We all draw our lines somewhere. For me, that line is currently between flesh and other products. For most meat-eaters, their line is between pets and farm animals. Or, their line is between horses and cows, or humans and animals.
I draw my line as a practical matter. For me it’s extremely easy to abstain from animal flesh.[...] But it’s harder to give up eggs and milk.
I won’t argue that I shouldn’t give up milk and eggs. I certainly agree. I just haven’t done it yet. I suppose I’m a little like a smoker who talks about quitting but never does. They *know* what’s right, they just don’t act on it yet.
It’s hypocritical for a doctor, who cares about health, to tell someone else not to smoke and then to light up themselves. It doesn’t mean the doctor is wrong to tell someone to quit smoking. It just means they are addicted.
I believe much of what we do is defined by habit and not by actual conscious choice. [...] most people don’t have a rational reason behind the majority of their daily habits. They often just act without thought.
So how do we change this?I think we change it by making veganism more socially acceptable. We do vegan education and vegan outreach.
Not only does my rooster love me and like to jump up onto my hand and (usually) come when he is called but is now on his way to being an entertainer.
Okay, he already entertains me for hours, as do the girls, but now we have fun playing together too. We already play a sort of "tag" where I run around the yard and he runs after me but now I've taught him to jump from one hand to the other.
I'll have to get a video of this but he jumps up on my hand and then I hold up my other arm/hand a fair distance apart and he half-flies/half-jumps to it. We'll do this several times in a row or until one of us gets bored or tired.
You may not know this, but chickens are inquisitive, interesting animals who are as intelligent as mammals like cats, dogs, and even primates. Dr. Chris Evans, administrator of the animal behavior lab at Australia’s Macquarie University, says, “As a trick at conferences, I sometimes list [chickens’] attributes, without mentioning chickens, and people think I’m talking about monkeys.”
My goal is to teach him to remain calm enough that we can bring him other places so that more people can get to meet and actual live chicken and learn more about these sweet animals outside of a dinner plate.
Erik Knutzen and Kelly Coyne started keeping chickens in their Echo Park backyard a little more than a year ago. The two are co-authors of "The Urban Homestead," a handbook for city dwellers who want to live off the land as much as possible, and the couple were interested in taking their urban farming experiments a step beyond harvesting artichokes, blueberries and zucchinis. So last summer they purchased four chicks, and now they are obsessed."I used to think it would be so great to bring the laptop outside and just watch the chickens and work," Knutzen said. "But I can't get anything done when I'm out here because I can't take my eyes off the chickens. They are hypnotic."
Any urban dweller interested in living green has good reason to keep chickens. They reduce garbage by eating your leftovers mixed in with their feed, and they will pick off those irritating caterpillars destroying the vegetable garden. Their poop is an excellent composting aid, and they will even trim your grass and weed for you, if you let them. Added benefits: farm-fresh eggs right from the backyard and the amusement of impressing friends with an interesting new pet -- and for many it is a pet, not a future entree.
"Bottom line, chickens are a lot of fun," said Dave Belanger, publisher of Backyard Poultry magazine, who has seen subscriptions more than triple since he launched in 2006.
Because neither Knutzen nor Coyne had kept chickens before, their venture began with lots of research on message boards and websites. They learned it's best not to name the chickens and get emotionally attached (they did anyway), and that chickens are social animals, so it's better to have more than one (they have four). Then there was the whole question of constructing a coop to ensure maximum chicken comfort and safety.
"I was talking to a friend of mine who used to be an architect who keeps a lot of chickens, and we think that architecture students should have to design chicken coops," Knutzen said. "It's the perfect way to practice how to meet a client's specific needs."
An infinite number of chicken coop plans are available in books and online, but most share the same concept of four zones: a run for the chickens to scratch and peck in the dirt, a place to eat and drink, a covered and secure roost in which to sleep at night, and, of course, the nesting box to lay their eggs.
In Mount Washington, furniture designer and artist Dakota Witzenburg built a chicken coop for his wife, Audrey Diehl, for Christmas last year as part of their ongoing effort to live green. When designing his coop, his priorities were keeping it easy to clean and making sure his chickens were safe by sinking corrugated metal at least 6 inches below ground so that burrowing predators couldn't get in. But he also considered aesthetics.
His innovations included a green roof planted with succulents, and he's considering a pulley system to make raising the roof easier. He chose yellow cedar and redwood planks not just for their sturdiness, but for the patina. "I didn't want it to be something I had to maintain," he said. "This will gray out nicely."
Diehl has been keeping an elaborate blog on her chickens' development and socialization at greenfrieda.blogspot.com.
"I'm kind of obsessed with them," she said. "Chicken people always talk about how chickens are better than TV. You could watch them all day and never get tired of it."
Oriana Bielawsky had her boyfriend, carpenter and doghouse designer Billy Peshel, build a midcentury modern coop to match their midcentury modern house (and their midcentury modern doghouse) in Laurel Canyon in fall 2004. Bielawsky didn't even want a chicken, but Peshel found one wandering on Mulholland Drive one night as he was driving home, and nobody responded to their "Chicken Lost" signs, so they decided to keep her.
Even though Cecilia passed away this summer, her coop still stands, an olive green structure built on stilts to blend with the slope of the backyard. Bielawsky, who works in film production and considers herself more of an animal lover than a backyard farmer, said Cecilia became part of an extended family that included dogs, doves and cats. Plus, there were the eggs.
"Everyone loved them," Bielawsky said, "and they were the most gorgeous sunset orange color."
But the biggest change has been adopting a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. We are still figuring out what all that means to us, since it varies from person to person, but as I've said before, it has been great.
And when I talk about this "change" I don't mean just the way that we cook or the foods we choose, but really a whole mentality. We've learned a lot about the health benefits of cutting out animal-based food, the disgusting facts of factory farming and really just made a lot more connections that should have been obvious to us before.
Even though I've worked with and cared for animals all my life, it took the traumatic incident of the attack on Napoleon to really open our eyes and spur us to action. Thank goodness he has had a 100% recovery but how could we care so much for this one and then contribute to the torture and slaughter of thousands of others? Oh, and by the way, since so many people have asked... I didn't pressure the hubby into this change. He actually was the main driving force, for which I will be forever glad and thankful.
So yes, we had trauma and, yes, we have learned some sad things that reinforce our feelings but this holiday should be about joy and Thanksgiving. And this year we, I feel, finally celebrated in a way that supported that. While a few turkey's are "pardoned" (like other innocents who are spared from execution in the nick of time), 72 million for this day alone are not.
We got a few questions, which we were happy to answer, including "But what will you eat on Thanksgiving if you aren't having a turkey?" Well, I never really liked to eat turkey or ham. And I got an upset stomach from all the butter and fat every year, so I wasn't going to miss that. What we were having were all of the other amazing traditional foods with only a few ingredient changes and one substitution.
We had a Celebration Roast from Field Roast for our main. These (and their sausages) are so delicious I wish we had started eating them in general years ago. We also had an Apple Sage Mushroom stuffing, asparagus, a fresh field green salad with pecans, sweet potato biscuits, gravy and the hubby's famous roasted root vegetable mash.
This is one of the best things he makes. You chop up and roast any mix of veggies but we used: butternut squash, turnips, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, russet potatoes, parsnips, carrots and rutabagas.
Prep the veggies by seeding and peeling as needed.
Then we chop them up into equal size, sprinkle with some olive oil, salt and pepper and any herbs you may want. Then they pop in the oven to roast at 400 for about an hour or 1.5 hours until they are crispy yet tender. You then can food process them or hand mash them. We add some broth and EarthBalance and you are done!
I also made a (vegan) pumpkin pie with a pecan crust which may have been the best pumpkin pie I've ever made. I could not stop eating it.
Unlike previous years, I came away from our dinner with a feeling of actual thanksgiving and a lot of hope. It really confirmed that you could eat amazingly (which we kind of already knew) and traditionally but still in line with our goals. We could have people over for a holiday meal and know that no one would leave missing anything from a taste or emotional level. I think food speaks to us on both planes so knowing that we could still fulfill that meant a lot to me.
Many people may have seen this video of Palin and thought it was pretty bad but I'm not sure it really opened any eyes. The whole "pardon a turkey" thing is sort of a joke.
There are so many people out there who care about animals and the environment. The Prop 2 victory is evidence of that and a great start to what I hope is a wave of change. In this new world, this paradigm shift, I hope that awareness will continue to grow and an openness will find new paths.
I hope our experience will inspire you to think beyond what has been taught to you in the past and to seek new information and try new things. I'd love to help answer any questions or talk through your thoughts.
I wrote about the peacefulness of our little microcosm here in my backyard and today I had one more of those moments.
When I go to let the chickens out in the morning it is usually just after dawn. The sun is up but it's still early and quiet. Except for the birds and the squirrels. They've been running around, chasing each other in the trees, looking for food and water and ready to warm up in the sun after a long cold night.
Before my guys come out I rake out the coop, put down the "fresh" and their feed. I get fresh water for their bowl and dump out the old. When we had the early snow this past week, we've made sure to fill up the bird feeders and put out a pan of water for the songbirds too. Lately it's been so cold at night that both water pans have a thick layer of ice on top in the morning.
Having fresh water is so important to the local birds and wildlife, especially in the cold. And it's such an easy thing to provide. All you need is a basic container, any shape, but about 6 inches deep is good. Then fill it up and set it out. Simple. Even if you don't have seed or food, water will be appreciated by the locals. And a good bush or shrub to hide in, so let those grow out a bit too if you can.
But back to today.
Once I let the chickens out of the coop the girls usually walk around the yard, check out the fresh food, scratch in the feed and flap their wings a bit (these are such basic things I'm happy to provide for my chickens when so many others don't even get that minimum). Napoleon, however, chooses to follow me around while I clean up the inside of the coop. I shake out his bucket and the hay the girls snuggle down into at night and he watches me while alternating between the inside with me and outside with the girls. His favorite thing lately, though, is to jump up on my knee while I'm in the doorway of the coop. He snuggles there for a bit while I watch the girls walk around and usually get their morning drink.
While I was standing there a little bird, I'm not even sure what kind, came and landed on the coop yard fence. He/she saw me in the doorway and peered at me with curiosity rather than fear. He jumped from the branch to the fence and wasn't sure if it was safe but really wasn't sure it wasn't either. After a few minutes, and because I was standing still and quiet, he decided all was well and landed on the rim of the water pan. For several minutes he dipped his beak and drank his fill of the fresh water. The chickens were still roaming around and I was about 4 feet from him but we all were calm and in harmony.
It was a brief interlude but a nice one. Our little friend flew away, probably to get some seed. I let Napoleon jump down and headed into the house. It was a nice reminder of all the other animals who depend on us and our kindness even if we don't think about it intentionally or even see the recipients. How much more good could we do if we intentionally thought about sharing with them and bringing more of this peace into our hearts, minds and lives?
I think it's safe to say that I am a huge Paraphernalia fan. I mean, I think I have a good 10 pieces now and I just love each one of them. In fact, I'm wearing my Anatomica skull necklace today!
I have a love of vintage illustrations and now I get to wear them. Miss Vanda has done a great job of sourcing and working with such unique images that I want almost everything.
But I have to say some of my particular favorites are, not surprisingly, chicken related.
In my original purchase, I bought the Fauna Claw necklace. I often look at my birds' feet and admire them for how perfectly designed they are.
And now, Vanda has just launched a new shopping site and continues to tempt me further!
Of course I had to have this Fauna Chickens bracelet. Doesn't it look just made for me! It even looks like my girls.
And I can't wait for this (because of course I placed an order right away) - the Menagerie Cpt. Poulet, Cultural Attachê Necklace. I mean, it is Napoleon! Right down to his military-inspired coat. And, even better, it's a locket! I may never take this off.
As always, I continue to be amazed and awed by Vanda's work. To celebrate her new site she is providing a 10% discount with the promotional code: YAYNEWSHOP.
I just love when some of my favorite sites give me even more opportunities to show them some love. Here's some fun adorable and funny wallpapers and icons for ya!
You do know Savage Chickens, right? You have to read this everyday, it's hilarious. There is also a mind-bending, eye-crossing wallpaper to download - get it here!
And where would we be without Cute Overload! ??? A fan designed a bunch of chick icons inpired by everyone from Karl Lagerfeld to Batman.
But my favorites are the Cute Overload! mosaic wallpapers. This one includes a fuzzy little chick as well as some classic like that bunny next to bottom row.
I was recently asked in an interview to describe my ideal Saturday. I think I said something like: "Waking up early, going to the farmer's market for local produce and then letting my chickens out to free range in the yard."
When a friend read it, he said, "But that is what you do pretty much every Saturday!" I replied, "Well, yeah, it is. I guess I'm living the dream."
I didn't occur to me until later that they were probably looking for a response that was something along the lines of: Waking up in a 5 star hotel to breakfast in bed, then strolling the streets of Paris while shopping for designer clothes, etc. Or something equally grand. But, while that would be totally great and I wouldn't turn it down, I feel happy and at peace and joyful when I am sitting quietly in my yard, watching the sun come up. The birds are chirping, the squirrels are running around finding pecans and chasing each other in the trees and the chickens are scratching up the ground and eating some fresh greens.
It's so lovely to just sit still and silent for an hour or two. The other animals in the yard forget you are there and run near you or peer at you with curiosity rather than fear. We don't live in a very rural (or urban) area but we do get a bunch of different animals. We get all manner of birds, including songbirds, woodpeckers, crow, hawks and geese. We have bunnies, squirrels, chipmunks and groundhogs. In the evening we get deer who come up and nibble on the spilled birdseed.
This time is so addicting. Even though I know there are chores to begin and work to do, when I see the excitement of Napoleon, Meg and Gertie as they watch me open the door from their coop, I can't help but smile and feel happy.
Okay, I know everyone on the planet has probably seen this already, but I just love the sweetness and compassionate and playful interaction of this pup, kitty and baby chicks.
Thanks to CuteOverload for posting these. I'll do my part to pass this along without cluttering up a million Inboxes!
I'm a very lucky person. I have had the opportunity to have animals in my life for my entire life. I think the only time I have not had an animal friend around me was during my first three years of college. And only then because I felt it would not be fair to them, given my crazy school schedule.
But growing up, my parents had a dog before I was born. A Benji-looking dog that went from being a skittish pound-pup who would cringe and hide from strangers to my fierce protector who guarded me from everyone but my parents. I've had dogs, cats, hamsters, mice and gerbils. I've worked at stables, vet's offices and the Miami MetroZoo.
And now, moving to North Carolina, I've been able to meet some new friends... our three chickens.
I've been around all types of animals. Parrots, snakes, deer, possums, ferrets, snakes, elephants, pot belly pigs, hedgehogs, horses, lizards, etc. You name it. And I have to tell you, our chickens have one of the best personalities of any of them. They're social. They're inquisitive. They're caring. They're funny as all hell.
That is why it pains me so greatly to think of what we do do them just to eat their flesh and eggs. They can't move, they can't extend their wings (think of living your life with your arms bound to your sides), they cut off their beaks without anesthesia, they grind the male chicks up alive right after birth. They have no "use" for them... why keep them?
Colleen from CompassionateCooks.com does a great podcast (found on iTunes too) and she did this episode with a short story reading about a rescued hen. It was sad but sweet and worth listening too. Click here to hear it - it will take a minute or two to load. And if you like it, check it out on iTunes or on her site here. I'm still working my way through them all.
This is my Meg -
She's not a factory farm rescue but she is a rescued chicken. When we first got her and Gertie and Napoleon we thought it would be fun. We do eat their eggs. But we don't keep them for their eggs. And when they stop laying we will not kill them or eat them. We would have done that even before we became vegetarian/vegan. I would no more kill and eat our pups and kitties.
I just don't eat my friends.
And they are my friends. We do have a symbiotic relationship. They are fun to be around. They've educated us. They eat our veggie scraps like melon rinds and extra rice and bread (although they do get veggies and fruit just for them every day) and take care of a lot of bugs.
That's the kind of partnership I feel comfortable with. Not I use you then kill and eat you.
Not only do have we stopped eating meat but we've always actively boycotted fur and fur products.
If you can watch this video and still think it's okay to wear fur, a product that is not commonly worn and is based on mere spoiled vanity, then I don't want to know you.
You can't just bury your head in the sand when it comes to issues like this. You can't NOT watch. If your going to wear fur, you should be OBLIGATED to watch and know the suffering that you cause.
Today is absolutely gorgeous out, here in North Carolina. My favorite weather of all - cool, clear and sunny. It was so nice that I couldn't resist staying out with the chickens this morning and letting them run around the yard a bit before I went in to make breakfast.
This is the life that chickens deserve. Being able to spread their wings, scratch on the ground, interact with one another, eat some fresh greens and hunt for bugs and worms.
I have extremely crappy video capabilities on my little digital camera. This was low-res on the original video and even worse now that it is uploaded to YouTube. So, I know, you can't really get a good view of them.
What you can hear (and sort of make out) is Napoleon and the girls walking around and Napoleon finding stuff then making his little coo-ing sound to call the girls over, letting them know he found something good for them to eat.
It also shows him running over to me as soon as I got closer to the ground because he wants to jump up on my lap. He loves me.
I haven't really discussed this much on any of the blogs but we have changed to being vegetarians. I have actually wanted this for a very long time but it can be hard when you live with someone who is not totally ready for the change, especially if they do most of the cooking.
But Napoleon's attack really brought the issue and the disconnect home and we were both ready for this. And I have to say, no diet change has ever been easier. Or made more sense.
We are not completely vegan. We still each cheeses and butter and, rarely, milk, as well as the eggs we get from our girls. The hubby still eats fish. I'm a bit of a seafood snob in general so I didn't eat much in the past unless I was within an hour of the ocean. In terms of the cheeses, most of what we get comes from a local goat dairy, so we are very familiar with how the animals are treated.
With all of the great produce out there as well as the huge surge in recipes, menu choices and prepared foods, eating vegetarian is amazingly easy. And once you get past the mindset that a meal needs to include meat it's been simple.
One of my biggest hurdles was the milk issue. I love cereal and eat it a lot, generally. I always have - ask my parents. If I wanted a simple dinner, that was what I ate. So I was I bit leery of the Soy/Rice milk products. But when we decided to make the change we thought we would give them a try. How bad could they be, right? And if we hated them, we'd just dump them down the drain.
Well, we tried the Silk Soy Milk and LOVED IT. Seriously, I couldn't get enough. We have now tried the chai and chocolate flavors too. I like to have a glass of the chocolate when I get home from work for a quick "snack". The hubby uses it in his hot tea in the morning and to make scrambled eggs. If you haven't tried it, you really should. It's a little sweet but yummy.
The two of us have slightly different reasons for doing this but, hey, as long as we're together on the end choices, I'm fine with that. We're just at the beginning (just 3 months or so in) but I've never felt better physically or emotionally. It's kind of exciting.
I'm trying to convince the hubby to do his own blog talking about the recipes he's making and the products we find and try. I hope I can get him to do it because I think it would help to have someone share this change from a very early step. A lot of the vegetarian blogs and writers and podcasters have been on this for a long time, which can be intimidating. We're still learning ourselves but we're enthusiastic. What do you think?
We've been talking it up and, of course there are always questions. Our culture is so ingrained with how meals "should be" but once you get past that, you'd be surprised to realize that it's so easy.
And as I'm saying to everyone who is considering it or who we talk about it to:
You don't have to do everything; just do something.
That means, you don't have to make a 100% vegan lifestyle switch overnight. Ease into it. Give up chicken. Have 3 nights a week be vegetarian meals. Anything is better than nothing. I think you'd be surprised how much you already do and how much you like it.
Plus, if you want to chat or ask question (or follow my daily yummy meals on Twitter) I welcome it!
I'm not one to buy a bunch of Rooster/Chicken themed items for my house just because we have them. I don't like to have a lot of collectibles or kitchy things around. I have enough dust catchers already.
I don't need any more cute dessert sized plates but I saw the expressions of the Roosters and nearly broke down and bought them.
I had to leave the story immediately because I was too tempted! As it is, the fact that these are available online is making it difficult to keep away.
Just like many a fashion show, there is a pecking order here and craziness often ensues. This blog doesn't quite live up to it's "daily" designation but we try to keep up. If you want some more frequent hilarity, check out Savage Chickens over there to the left! Or keep up with the photostream on Flickr.
As a part of having the chickens and having their food and the compost pile all be out in the yard, we get a variety of "visitors" who like to come out and snack on some of the bounty that is laid out each day.
We get tons of songbirds for starters, but we also get squirrels, deer, geese and bunnies
And groundhogs.
Yes, these two little stinkers live in our backyard. I think, under our garage. I'm sure one day the garage is going to sink into the earth becasue of them. And no, we haven't tried catching them yet. I don't mind them that much.
They do have a tendency to sneak under the chicken wire which makes up the coop yard fence. Their fat butts have previously pushed up the wire to the point that Napoleon was able to slip out. We put wood posts all along the bottom of the fence but we still need to do this in the new coop yard annex.
This morning I heard Napoleon squawking up a storm and thought something like a hawk or something was in there trying to get him. When we ran down the stairs and out the door we found that it was one of the groundhogs trapped in the coop and trying to get out!
Usually the chickens don't mind them when they get in the coop. Maybe today he was eating too much and they weren't happy about it.
We scared him so he ran into the brush and, I'm assuming, found his way out.
