Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

Henry had dark points on his comb late this evening but is behaving normally.

Phoenix's are coming and going too, and his behaviour is normal too. I wish I knew what was going on. I assume the colour change is due to variable oxygenation not just e.g. mood and he's dealing with some health challenge without other visible symptom. Llyn's whole comb is looking distinctly more grey and he appears unwell, though there's nothing wrong with his appetite

It's funny reading the above about hatch rates. I didn't worry about it. I limited the eggs, usually six, and hoped the would hatch three.

I limit to what the hen in question can cover comfortably, with a min of 4 and max of 9. If they're home grown eggs, I like to include an egg from each of the hens who does not yet have offspring. In these cases, a failure to hatch means hen(s) still haven't passed on their genes, so I have to hope they survive another year to do so. If they're purchased hatching eggs, they usually come in 6s. In these cases it's easier if only a proportion hatch, as ID-ing is hard when there are identical birds running with an otherwise heterogenous flock.

The upside to one or more not hatching is that the broody stays on the nest another day or two and the hatched chicks get to use what nature provides for their first few days, ie the absorbed yolk, before food starts passing through their gut. When I was a novice I thought they needed food and water straight away. Now I know better.

 

[Perris]

Oh yum! Custard! Do you have a recipe you can share with us?

As the owner of Michel Roux's book Eggs I feel duty bound to share his expertise on this very important matter

So the first thing to note is that this section in the book uses the plural 'custards, creams and mousses'. The second thing to note is that the basic recipe is called crème anglaise (of course it is). He has 6 photos to illustrate different phases of the making of this 'perfect accompaniment for many tasty desserts' (examples follow, specifically including raspberries Shad!) which I can't reproduce so you'll just have to settle for text.

"500ml milk, 125 g caster sugar, 1 vanilla pod split lengthways, 6 egg yolks.
Put the milk in a saucepan with 2/3 of the sugar, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil over a medium heat.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and remaining sugar together in a bowl to a light ribbon consistency.
Pour the boiling milk on to the egg yolks, whisking continuously, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
Cook over a low heat, stirring with a wooden spatula or spoon, until the custard lightly coats the back of the spatula. When you run your finger through it, it should leave a clear trace. Immediately take the pan off the heat.
Unless you are serving the crème anglaise warm, pour it into a bowl and leave to cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin forming. When cold, pass through a chinois.
The custard will keep in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days."

Enjoy! It wouldn't still be in the fridge the next day, never mind 3 days later, here

 

[ManueB]

Sometimes the "give people what they want" line os reasoning leads to some profoundly unethical outcomes.

I'm not condoning it in the slightest but there are understandable reasons why some countries use this method. Land size is one. It just isn't a practical proposition for someone in the US to travel to Europe/Africa/Asia and import some chickens. It's not a lot of trouble for someone in Spain to travel to Germany say and pick up live chickens. Most people I've known who have aquired chickens have done it through a breeder or farm, and most visited the supplier on more than one occasion prior to purchase.
I don't know how far I would be prepared to travel to make sure that breeding pair was the pair I wanted. I'm going to be spending more time with them than I do with any person. A considered choice having seen the chickens and often their parents and the conditions they are kept in just seems sensible to me and that's without all the deaths and stress involved in the order by catalogue, dime a dozen approach of the harcheries.

When I read @Iluveggers post I realized that not shipping chicks also means there is quite a difference in the number of breeds we have access to. It would be very complicated for me to do a mixed flock with say more than four different breeds of my choice. Someone like you, Shadrach, or people who are into breeding may be ready to travel more than eight hours to get a chicken ; I definitely wouldn't (especially as my partner does the driving).
I'm actually thinking of getting our next pair of hens from a breeder, to see how it goes and how they would fare compared to our four backyard mutts and our now four ex-batts. Within a five hour drive back and forth, I have access to three breeders, only two being serious. They both do more or less the same breeds and for the rare ones (rare for here) reservations must be made before the season begins.

Washers and srews were here when I got home this evening.
It took me half an hour to get all the nails out of the timber.
I picked the last of the raspberries this afternoon. Enough to warrent making some custard to go with them.
Some of the apples are as ready as they're going to get. I brought home a rucksack full of Bramly cookers and I think Pippins and something else.
Henry had dark points on his comb late this evening but is behaving normally.
View attachment 3235922View attachment 3235924View attachment 3235923View attachment 3235925View attachment 3235928

I've been meaning to ask before, why did you order all the furnitures ? Was it for convenience or because you wouldn't have been able to find them in Bristol ?
It could be the picture but it looks like someone had a food bob on the third and fourth photo!

Well done! And just to be clear, I am bilingual (which is often the same as confused), but I am really not sure about custard.
I think British custard doesn’t really exist in the US and maybe is closest to pudding (which has a whole different meaning in the UK!).

As the owner of Michel Roux's book Eggs I feel duty bound to share his expertise on this very important matter

So the first thing to note is that this section is the book uses the plural 'custards, creams and mousses'. The second thing to note is that the basic recipe is called crème anglaise (of course it is). He has 6 photos to illustrate different phases of the making of this 'perfect accompaniment for many tasty desserts' (examples follow, specifically including raspberries Shad!) which I can't reproduce so you'll just have to settle for text.

"500ml milk, 125 g caster sugar, 1 vanilla pod split lengthways, 6 egg yolks.
Put the milk in a saucepan with 2/3 of the sugar, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil over a medium heat.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and remaining sugar together in a bowl to a light ribbon consistency.
Pour the boiling milk on to the egg yolks, whisking continuously, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
Cook over a low heat, stirring with a wooden spatula or spoon, until the custard lightly coats the back of the spatula. When you run your finger through it, it should leave a clear trace. Immediately take the pan off the heat.
Unless you are serving the crème anglaise warm, pour it into a bowl and leave to cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin forming. When cold, pass through a chinois.
The custard will keep in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days."

Enjoy! It wouldn't still be in the fridge the next day, never mind 3 days later, here

What?! I'm lost now! I really thought custard was what we call flan- the wobbly thing baked in the Bain Marie and drenched in caramel.
I do crème anglaise all the time to go with brownie or "île flottante" (floating island ? Whipped egg whites baked with creme anglaise) and I never ever thought it was custard! Except I use only four yolks so it's more runny than the recipe by Michel Roux (and sometimes I use three whole eggs instead so as not to waste the whites ).

I thought pudding needed to have some kind of flour to be called pudding ?

 

[Perris]

I thought pudding needed to have some kind of flour to be called pudding ?

don't get me started on puddings! As a German friend said, British cuisine's gift to the world was puddings, and I tend to agree. They do cake, the Americans do BBQ, the French do everything, and we do pudding

 

[Ribh]

What?! I'm lost now! I really thought custard was what we call flan- the wobbly thing baked in the Bain Marie and drenched in caramel.
I do crème anglaise all the time to go with brownie or "île flottante" (floating island ? Whipped egg whites baked with creme anglaise) and I never ever thought it was custard! Except I use only four yolks so it's more runny than the recipe by Michel Roux (and sometimes I use three whole eggs instead so as not to waste the whites ).

I thought pudding needed to have some kind of flour to be called pudding ?

You are right. We would call it a baked custard. And what the Americans call pudding is not what Aussies or the Brits call pudding. We are supposed to speak the same language but often don't understand each other.

 

[Perris]

What?! I'm lost now! I really thought custard was what we call flan- the wobbly thing baked in the Bain Marie and drenched in caramel.

there are lots of variations on the basic idea. This looks like a decent overview
https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-a-custard-995639

 

[MaryJanet]

don't get me started on puddings! As a German friend said, British cuisine's gift to the world was puddings, and I tend to agree. They do cake, the Americans do BBQ, the French do everything, and we do pudding

Has Australia made a culinary contribution?

 

[Perris]

You are right. We would call it a baked custard. And what the Americans call pudding is not what Aussies or the Brits call pudding. We are supposed to speak the same language but often don't understand each other.

Good point. It's not just any old dessert. Clearly some pictures are needed: this is summer pudding,

this is Christmas pudding

what they have in common is very little bar the pudding bowl used to form them!

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

I've had a fun day, went out to the gun range for the first time and shot some guns for the first time. Very cool.

I can't predict my hatch rates, I'm sure it's down to climate variables. I'm happy with 50% - and when I plan for that I can be happy with any extras (or swimming in chicks like last autumn season ).
How many eggs I set depends on the size and experience of the broody. And how many chicks I want/need at the time. Generally I do no more than 5 under a first time hen, and tend to set around 8 for an experienced hen. I often set eggs under an experienced hen and move some of them to a first timer closer to hatching day.

I've got 9 eggs under my current broody, she's a big fluffy orpington so she has the room, and it's her second go. I had 12 under a very experienced broody last season, that wasn't the plan but it's what ended up happening. 10 out of 12 hatched - 1 being empty and 1 an early quitter. Can't get much better than that under any circumstances I don't think!

Tax - my hen who sleeps on the roof. She went into the coop for a week during the rain storm, but has decided the roof is better apparently. I've put a woolen blanket up there for her to roost on.

And more tax for fun - the same hen as a youngster with her brother.

 

[Perris]

Has Australia made a culinary contribution?

I don't know - have you?