VIDEO: Adding the “Cluck” to Cluster Cluck

An Egg’s Incredible Journey

Perhaps the greatest joy of keeping a small chicken flock happens when an egg hits the frying pan The bold orange yolk is as pleasant to the eye as it will soon be to the taste buds  No grocery store egg can compare with it That egg followed an amazing journey before becoming human breakfast

Months earlier, folks at Hoover’s Hatchery collected hatching eggs from their numerous brooder flocks and trucked them to Rudd, Iowa, then gently tucked them into incubators On each egg’s yolk is a tiny cell with combined genes from the rooster that mated with the hen

When Can Chicks Start Eating Veggies?

Mom is the best teacher That’s true with both people and chickens

While a mother hen is teaching her chicks, she can also instruct observant people

Years ago, most baby chicks had the good fortune to have a mom  In those preindustrial days broody hens patiently sat on fertile eggs for 21 days until they miraculously hatched into peeping babies Then, for the next couple of months, she kept them warm, protected them from danger, and taught them how to choose a healthy and balanced diet

That’s not common today  Nearly all baby chicks are