Foxhollow Poultry Farm

This weekend we put up the portable poultry netting in the rain. It was a simple process that took a minimum amount of time and made our chickens really happy. They didn't even care if it was drizzling rain, they just roamed around all day and enjoyed their new grass. We will move the fencing as necessary to keep them all on fresh grass all season long. It is electrified to keep out the predators.  Here is a picture of the hens enjoying their new pasture.

Last night I was awakened by a loud chirping at 2:00 am.I got up, being careful not to awaken my husband, and got the flashlight.  It was the sound of the first arrival of Blue Slate Turkey poults hatching. We set 36 eggs from our current breeders to hatch for future breeding stock. Yes, we keep the small incubator in the bedroom, doesn't everyone?? I have since moved him along with 5 of his brothers and sisters out to the brooder house. They will be a staggered hatch which will continue for about 4 days. The Blue Slate turkey is considered critically endangered by the American Livestock Breed Association. They are heritage turkeys. Although we can still acquire some from a couple of hatcheries, we decided to hatch our own due to their cost.  Here is a photo of one of the first to emerge.

 

Yes we are buried under pullet and quail eggs and yes here is still another recipe for pickled quail eggs. Like all other sequels it might be redundant, but have had a lot of requests and you gotta do what you gotta do. It follows. Got our facebook page set up and it is coming along nicely, however I can see that it can be quite a black hole where all of your time can go into with very little effort. It is still fun and have found lots of friends and a few fans. Great for networking. It would be a great project for the winter months when there is not too much else going on here.

Pickled Quail Eggs 3 the final sequel.

SWEET AND SOUR EGGS

1 3/4 cups of apple cider

1/2 cup cider vinegar 12 oz. red cinnamon candy (like the little red cinnamon hearts)

1 tablespoon mixed pickling spices 2 teaspoons Kosher or pickling salt (the course kind)

 1 teaspoon garlic salt

Hard boil 24 eggs and cool. Peel the eggs. Heat all of the pickling ingredients to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Cool. Pack eggs into a glass jar and pour pickling liquid over the top. Let sit for two days before eating. These will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks. They are yummy.

 

 

 

I was asked by a friend from the Des Moines Farmer's market to set up a Facebook page. (Foxhollow Poultry Farm) Seems like a good idea. I am trying to set it up and I think I have the hang of it, but this time of year I probably won't be spending a whole lot of time on it due to the hatching chicks, ducks, quail, turkeys, etc. We are really expanding right now and we haven't even been able to plant the veggies yet! All these hungry little mouths to feed. This week we are getting more layer ducklings and poulet rouge chicks. Will post a picture when they arrive. Another 300 to care for! I really love the baby poultry.

Egg production is climbing ever higher. I have a New Hampshire chicken that is laying an egg about the size of a goose egg every three to four days. It weighed about 6 ounces. Ouch. We used one of them for breakfast last week and discovered that it had 3 yolks in it! Will get that picture uploaded as soon as I can. This is the first 3 yolk egg I had seen. Last flock I had a chicken that laid an egg inside an egg. That was really weird the first time I cracked that one open, only to find another whole egg, shell and all inside the first one. They definitely keep it interesting.

Tai

Last year the Iowa Lottery called us again for some of our barnyard "talent". Our white Orpington hen named Mattie was chosen as the Iowa Lottery's spokeschicken for their Cheaper by the Dozen Promotion. They came to the farm to take some digital pictures (CGI) of her beak in order to be able to manipulate it on the computer so she could appear as if she was speaking. The next day she had to go to the studio so we could get the rest of the shots (her sitting on a nest of golden eggs with microphones in front of her as if she were a celebrity at a press interview.) the whole thing was hilarious to watch as they filmed it. Well that was last year and I thought Mattie's fame and fortune days were over. I was watching tv during lunch and happened to see Mattie's commercial was being run again this year. "Crazy", I thought jokingly saying to myself that she should surely be due some residuals. HA. Well the studio that did the spot called the next day to say that Mattie woud have another check in the mail as they would run the spot all of April  due to popularity. It makes me laugh so hard to think that this chicken's commercial was so popular that the lottery brought it back. Mattie is worth her weight in gold, not only as a tv star, but also as a pet. She is the tamest calmest bird I have ever seen. I told her she could retire now, but she still lays an egg daily. Check out the Iowa lottery's website to view her commercial. It is funny. Here is the link:: http://www.ialottery.com/PressRoom/N08-26-08_player.html

Here is an awesome recipe for pickled eggs. We use either quail or small pullet hen eggs. This recipe has almost a barbeque flavor to it. Good way to use up those extra eggs.

1. Hardboil about 2 dozen eggs and cool.

2. Peel eggs.

3. Make pickling liquid.

Pickling liquid:

1½ cups cider vinegar

½ cup water

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon mixed pickling spice

1/4 tsp chili powder

¼ teaspoon liquid smoke 

2 teaspoons salt

Combine above ingredients in a saucepan and boil for 5 mins. Cool.

Pack hardboiled eggs into a jar and cover with pickling liquid. Let set for 2 days before eating.  Will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Yummy.

Our quails are finally hatching. Here is a photo. Even though they only take about 18 days to hatch it still seems like a long time to wait. They are dark brown with yellow and black stripes down their backs kind of like a chipmunk's stripes. Adorable. If you think a baby chicken is cute then multiply that by 10 for the quail chick's tiny size. They are a little bit bigger than a quarter. They kind of match their egg shells in this picture, so look closely.

Quail chicks

More babies on the way this week... Chicks by Friday. I love spring!

Tai

I delivered some quail eggs to Mojo's yesterday, Mojo's is a super nice restaurant . I talked with the chef and he told me he was going to "antique" them. The process is simple, but produces a nice hardboiled or pickled quail egg for charcuterie, appetizers, or garnish that looks like it is truly antiqued.

Hardboil your eggs first and cool them.

Next steep some strong black tea.

Crack the shell on your hardboiled eggs by rolling them around on the counter.

Leave the cracked shell on the egg then soak in the tea for several hours.

Drain and peel the eggs.

He said that it makes them look like tiny dinosaur eggs. How interesting would that be for an Easter appetizer! I am definitely going to try it tomorrow for a lunch I am having.