Is it Safe to Eat Eggs with Blood Spots?

If you’ve been eating or using eggs for any length of time (hello almost everyone!), you probably have had a blood spot in your egg once or twice While this isn’t appealing to the eye, you need to know that they are perfectly fine to consume or use!

Contrary to popular belief, a blood spot does not mean that the egg is fertilized It simply means that a blood vessel ruptured while the hen was laying the egg This can be due to stress, genetics, or health of the hen

Some stressors can be environment – lack of fresh water, diet,

Treat Idea: Sprouted Grains for Chickens

I set off on a little adult science fair project this past week I decided that in honor of Thanksgiving week, I’d try out a new treat for the girls I placed an order for some raw organic, non-GMO barley and alfalfa seeds You can sprout many different types of grain, beans or lentils Please remember to never feed your flock dried, uncooked beans They contain a toxin, hemagglutinin, which can be deadly for your chickens However, when you cook or sprout beans, the toxins are destroyed and are safe to feed your flock

I chose

Eggs! Color & Quality

If you’re a backyard chicken keeper, there is really nothing compared to the eggs your “girls” provide for your family The eggs are not only delicious, but there is something so fulfilling about raising your own food Heading out to the coop each day to collect your breakfast is one of the most rewarding parts of chicken keeping!

If you have different breeds of chickens, you may have a variety of egg colors If you’re one of those people who “only eats white eggs”, do your research and make sure you have the appropriate chickens My very first chickens laid

Gardening With Chickens

It’s August! What in the world? Where did the summer go? I’m torn between being ready for 2020 to be over (with Covid-19) and really wanting to throw the breaks on because I love this time of year! The mornings are starting to get a bit cooler here in Minnesota, but still warm up in the afternoon The cicadas are singing their song and the sunsets are stunning It’s also the time of year where our garden is starting to overflow with an abundance of produce! We’ve already had BLT’s 3 times and green beans until our hearts are

Happy National Egg Day!

Happy National Egg Day! I knowI realize it seems like there is always something to celebrate, and sometimes I lose track of all of our national holidays However, National Egg Day is something I can get on board with Hahaha!

So, today we will be talking about eggs and some fun facts surrounding them

Did you know?

  • The Department of Agriculture predicts that the average American eats 250 eggs per year That means there’s approximately 765 billion eggs eaten in the US alone each year! That’s a lot of eggs!
  • Eggs contain high quality protein Protein packed meals help

Making Heart Shaped Eggs & Toast for Your Valentine

Valentine’s Day is almost here Now, I know that many people don’t care for this holiday, but I don’t fall into that particular category! I’ve always enjoyed this day What a fun opportunity to celebrate the love in your relationships, kids, and spouse As an extra treat this year, I’m going to use some of my feathered girls’ abundance and make heart-shaped eggs for my family My daughter and I gave it a test run the other day and it was super simple! This is a fun and easy way to start off Valentine’s Day in a special way

How

Controlling Flies with Coop Recuperate™

It’s finally summer! There are so many things we love about summer after a long, cold winter; the warmth, the sunshine, the green grass and late nights around the campfire I could go on and on!

Looking ahead to the hot, humid weather, we need to talk flies Gross, pesky flies Chickens don’t like flies and flies can transmit disease or, even worse, your chickens can develop flystrike Google at your own risk!

Flies are attracted to manure and feed Some common practices to keep the fly population down in your coop include removing soiled litter and keeping bedding dry, cleaning

What Raising Chickens Taught Our Family

The first time that I raised backyard chickens, we started with a mature flock to begin with If I could do it all over, I would raise them from chicks and not purchase already grown hens and roos It went okay, but we didn’t have that bond that we do with our current flock

In fact, our first flock ended with a showdown between our 2-year-old son and our not so loving rooster, and me chasing everyone with a garden hose! It was quite a sight and the neighbors definitely had something to talk about for a while It was

How to Get Your Chickens to Lay Eggs in Nesting Boxes

One of the most exciting times we’ve had in our backyard chicken experience is the day we received our very first egg If you’ve gone through this, you know how thrilling that first egg is! When our girls first started laying it was very early spring They were technically still “cooped up” then But to our surprise, Coco plopped her first egg right there on the floor that day, and I didn’t even care because I was so excited!!

After our first egg, I remember researching what kind of nesting boxes I wanted We decided on a really

Meet Annie

Hi! My name is Annie and I’d love to tell you a little bit about myself, my family and how we got into raising backyard chickens My husband and I have been married for 15 years and have 3 kids I remember when our first son was born There is just no time in a person’s life like experiencing that first baby I remember looking at him and thinking how fiercely I loved him and how I wanted him to experience all that life had

Now fast forward to our life currently We have 3 kids and have the same