Etsy is a sell site for crafters – each seller gets their own “store” on Etsy. It’s one of my favorite web sites. Not only is it fun to peruse (great user interface!) but since everything listed is made by the sellers, the individuality and creativity of each craftsperson/artist comes through. I apologize in advance if you lose work productivity today because you get entranced and can’t leave.

I opened an Etsy store of my own to sell pinbacks and magnets. There will be more chicken-themed items up soon. But, if you know any knitters, I’ve got some lovely magnets available made from a discarded knitting book. BTW, there’s a great photo of Snowball sitting on my shoulder on my Etsy homepage. Go see.

And for more fun, I’ve added a couple of Web sites to my link page on chickenkeeping.com. The chicken group in Philadelphia has put together a page of silly chicken stuff, including youtube videos and games. On a slightly more serious note, Christine Heinrichs has a blog that often discusses rare breeds and chicken issues – it’s good to check in with her once in awhile.

Have fun!

I dislike housework, but I enjoy mucking out the barn- especially on the first strong-hint-of-spring day. Today the sun was out, the snow was melting and I was in the coop, shoveling. The first step is to get all of the hens into the yard and close the door behind them so I can work without their underfoot interference. It’s not a big barn – a complete clean out fills just three muck buckets, but it is satisfying to do. I also swept down the cobwebs from the ceiling (not a pleasant job!) I splurged and emptied an entire bag of pine shavings in the coop, and filled the nesting boxes with them. Then I opened the door and let the girls back in.

I wish that Hencam had sound (maybe some day…) because you should have heard the comments. It was like giving a designer house tour to a ladies’ club. First there were the chuckling murmurs and quiet clucks. Then, Eleanor got louder and louder, which set Marge off. Buck- buck- BUKS! Then, Petunia had to try out the nesting boxes. She wiggled her butt and settled into the middle one on the bottom. Had second thoughts and decided to try the one to the left. Gave a chortle of admiration for the fluffy pine shavings, then got up and went to the nesting boxes above. By the time I left the barn, she’d tried out four of the six boxes.

So, it seems as if the hens enjoy spring cleaning as much as I do.

This catalog of pricey clothes and bed linens came in the mail last week. Look at the image they are using to sell their goods – farmstead eggs! (I don’t know of any large farms raising Americaunas – so I’m confident that these pretty blue eggs came from a small flock.)

I was disappointed that the clothes models weren’t posed in farmyards with chickens. In fact there was nary a hen in sight. Still, I felt just a tad more trendy out in the barn collecting eggs. Perrie lays a blue egg as pretty as the one in this catalog. Edwina’s eggs are speckled. The party girls lay dainty white eggs. The nesting boxes in my barn are filled with eggs as pretty as a picture – even more photogenic than the ones on this catalog cover- and better yet, not only do I have the eggs, but I have my feathered friends, as well.

What’s your worse nightmare? Taking a final exam naked? Zombies?

We food professionals have our own anxieties. A few nights ago I woke up in a sweat- I dreamt that I was in a restaurant kitchen plating pie slices and that I was using canned whip cream.

It’s cold – 20 degrees F. this morning, and a windy 25 this afternoon. But, the hens are winter-hardy. It’s perfectly healthy for them to go outside, and you can see them on Hencam, trying to scratch a morsel out of the frozen earth and pecking at a bit of glittering ice.

What you can’t see are the hens in my new barn. Lulu, Snowball, Alma, Maizie, Edwina, Twinkydink and Buffy live there. They rarely go outside. Why this difference in behavior? Because the new barn is so cozy comfy, sunny and spacious. It has twice the floor space of the old barn and windows on all sides. There’s water and laying hen pellets and roosts and  nesting boxes. In other words, why leave?

The hens in the old barn aren’t overcrowded. They don’t show any signs of stress. They don’t aggressively peck each other; they are healthy and laying eggs. But it’s a bit like living in a dorm room. Nice, but tight. The party girls, the white bantams, like to stay together and have elbow (wing? space) from the other chooks. You’ll see them outside the most.

The girls in the new barn have no reason to go out. Sometimes I think they have it too good in there. I feel like a mom. You kids need to get out in the fresh air I want to say. In answer, I can just imagine the girls whining do we have to?