-22F last night and got 9 eggs from 10 hens today!

[gtaus]

Just so you know.....I have hens 5+ years old that lay regularly all spring, summer and fall. Some of them are giving me daily eggs through the winter right now.

They just might surprise you.

Yes, I'll have to see how it works out with my girls. I only have a couple hybrid production hens that have a short life expectancy. The others are traditional breeds that might live for many years longer.

 

[twendt]

I'm on my 3rd year of my RIR hens (2), 2nd year of my SLW(2) and have( 3) , 6 month old Barred Rock pullets. The SLW and RIR are MOLTING, so no eggs, the Barred Rocks have started laying, so I'm getting small eggs right now, (and eggs not laid in the egg boxes by one hen . hope she'll get the idea, NEVER had this issue before...., seven might be my " pushing the envelope number". They have 3 egg boxes to lay in, I thought that was SPOILED enough!! Guess, not!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I have learned to make eggs a number of ways for breakfast. I also make some pretty good custard for dessert. Recently I started pickling eggs which to the surprise of Dear Wife and myself are very good with salads and/or as a relish with a meal. I'm slowly learning other ways to use eggs, but baking skills is something I never did growing up.

Like most boys my age, I was in shop class while the girls took Home Economics. At my age, I truly wish boys were given the chance to take cooking classes back in the day. But we were funneled into gender expected classes when I was growing up. Looking back, I wish we had been exposed to more things than construction, welding, plumbing, or running electric wire. All good skills, but I really feel that cooking skills would have served me well in life. Thank goodness for YouTube videos which help even old guys like me.

That really was a disservice society forced on young people for far to many years.

I remember seeing all the things made by the "shop class boys" and thinking it was unfair we were excluded.

I am sure there were boys in there wishing they were allowed to learn basic cooking and sewing.

 

[aart]

All good skills, but I really feel that cooking skills would have served me well in life.

Never too late to learn how to cook and bake

That really was a disservice society forced on young people for far to many years.
I remember seeing all the things made by the "shop class boys" and thinking it was unfair we were excluded.
I am sure there were boys in there wishing they were allowed to learn basic cooking and sewing.

Indeed it was.
My middle school class was the first to swap this out and I got to take shop.
HS was still a bit biased, instructor wouldn't let me take drafting
(which I ended up doing for a living thanks to the CC),
but young welding instructor welcomed me to his class with open arms(not literally),
and I got to take shop there too(instructor was my golf coach of the first women's golf team).

 

[gtaus]

I remember seeing all the things made by the "shop class boys" and thinking it was unfair we were excluded.

I am sure there were boys in there wishing they were allowed to learn basic cooking and sewing.

Yes, I am sure that there were girls that would have enjoyed some of our shop classes. And I know that I would have benefitted from taking basic cooking and sewing classes. Mind you, I enjoyed my shop classes when I took them. But one semester of basic cooking and sewing would have served me well through life. I find myself cooking a meal every once in a while for Dear Wife and have discovered that sewing tarps and canvas is actually good to know. Again, thank goodness for YouTube videos.

BTW, I cooked up some breakfast omelet for Dear Wife and we enjoyed that this morning. And I usually make her an egg breakfast (with pancakes, waffles, etc...) on the weekends. She is more than happy to let me in the kitchen to cook her a meal. So I try, and she pretends to enjoy it. She is by far the better cook, but I do what I can.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Yes, I am sure that there were girls that would have enjoyed some of our shop classes. And I know that I would have benefitted from taking basic cooking and sewing classes. Mind you, I enjoyed my shop classes when I took them. But one semester of basic cooking and sewing would have served me well through life. I find myself cooking a meal every once in a while for Dear Wife and have discovered that sewing tarps and canvas is actually good to know. Again, thank goodness for YouTube videos.

BTW, I cooked up some breakfast omelet for Dear Wife and we enjoyed that this morning. And I usually make her an egg breakfast (with pancakes, waffles, etc...) on the weekends. She is more than happy to let me in the kitchen to cook her a meal. So I try, and she pretends to enjoy it. She is by far the better cook, but I do what I can.

I applaud you for getting in there and learning to cook and sew.
Yes sewing is largely utility not necessarily for decorative things.
It is a skill everyone should learn at least the basics for.

 

[Chris-n-Kate]

I have learned to make eggs a number of ways for breakfast. I also make some pretty good custard for dessert. Recently I started pickling eggs which to the surprise of Dear Wife and myself are very good with salads and/or as a relish with a meal. I'm slowly learning other ways to use eggs, but baking skills is something I never did growing up.

Like most boys my age, I was in shop class while the girls took Home Economics. At my age, I truly wish boys were given the chance to take cooking classes back in the day. But we were funneled into gender expected classes when I was growing up. Looking back, I wish we had been exposed to more things than construction, welding, plumbing, or running electric wire. All good skills, but I really feel that cooking skills would have served me well in life. Thank goodness for YouTube videos which help even old guys like me.

How do you do pickle eggs?

 

[aart]

Yes sewing is largely utility not necessarily for decorative things.
It is a skill everyone should learn at least the basics for.

My sewing machine is one of the best tools I own!
Bought that machine and learned to sew when pregnant with my first child 40some years ago. Not sure my home ec class taught me much, but maybe how not to skewer a finger. Made lots of clothes for us all when kids were little, other stuff thru the years....last thing I constructed by sewing was making feed bags into straw bale bags.

Sorry to hijack your thread @gtaus ..congrats on your egg production.
Got the Green-Eyed Jeallies about that...had to buy store eggs this week for the first time in 6 years.
Is that -22°F air temp or windchill?

 

[gtaus]

How do you do pickle eggs?

OK, since you know I'm not much of a cook, I really looked for an easy way to make pickled eggs.

What I discovered is that I could buy some cans of pickled beets at the supermarket. I would put some hardboiled eggs in a small glass jar, filling it up as much as possible with about 5 or 6 eggs. Then I would drain the juice from the pickled beets can into the jar with eggs. Depending on how well you pack the eggs in the jar, you might have to get juice from a second can of pickled beets. If I have extra room in the jar of hardboiled eggs, sometimes I add the pickled beets to it to fill it up. Then I let it sit in the refrigerator for ~3-4 days and the pickled eggs are done.

I never had tried pickled eggs and was not too sure if I would like them. However, I do like pickled beets, so I figured that I might as well try out a small jar of 5 or 6 eggs and I could eat the pickled beets with my salads. Turns out, I really liked the pickled eggs this way. I even talked Dear Wife into trying a pickled egg and to her amazement, she even liked them! So now I usually have a jar of pickled eggs and/or pickled eggs and beets in the refridgerator ready to add as a side dish to my salads or main meal as appropriate.

If you have never tried making pickled eggs, this is a super easy way to give it a go. Just use the juice from canned pickled beets.

 

[gtaus]

Is that -22°F air temp or windchill?

That -22F was actual temp, not windchill. When I was a young kid, I can remember a bad storm with temps at -50F and windchills at -80F. My best buddy and me went out cross country skiing that day, but we stayed in town because if you get caught out in a blizzard like that, you could end up dead. Now, even at only -22F actual, it hurts my old lungs to breath in that cold air.