Weekly Chicken Gazette Issue 5🐓

Welcome to the 5th issue of the "Weekly Chicken Gazette." It's been a slow week here at the "Fuss & Feathers" homestead. It's still the dog days of summer!

Nope, I am not going to talk about the "eclipse" on the 21st!

All the girls are doing well and this week I decided to pick a hen to profile. "Blue" is a young Cochin hen. Cochins have feathers on their legs in addition to the usual protective scales. She is actually gray in color, however in the chicken lingo she is a blue. She may be part something else because her eggs are a light green. She is quite pretty actually. She is one of the most talkative of my flock, she is also my number one gardener.

She can scratch around like nobody's business, she makes a very good raker and diligently works the soil around my camellias and other bushes with great vigor. She gets lost in it...

In this issue a wanted to talk a little bit about a hens reproductive anatomy. I posted "Anatomy of the Female Chicken" this past week. It's lengthy, so I pulled the reproductive part out and added a new diagram. I think it's interesting to know how the hen creates her egg on a physiological level.

Hens have only one functioning ovary, usually the left ovary. Don't know why. The oviducts produce albumen or egg white, shell membrane, and the shell around the yolk. Oviposition is the process of laying the egg and is regulated by hormones. Think about broodiness and hormones for a moment.

A structure called the Infundibulum receives the follicle (egg) then the male and female DNA come together causing conception. Magnum produces the albumen. Isthmus produces the inner and outer shell membranes. It's sounds technical, but that's physiology.

The Uterus then plumps the egg, forms the shell and cuticle as in sealing the pores of the egg shell and determines the egg shell color. Then vagina produces more cuticle, expels the egg and regulates timing of egg laying.

If you also have a rooster mixed in with your hens, then you get this...

Photo courtesy of https://pixabay.com/en/

Eggs have been variable this week, 4-5 has been the daily average.

Purchases this week were Grit, calcium, Electrolytes and dried mealworms

This weeks recipe is Deviled Eggs

First, boil the eggs, adding salt to the water helps when removing the shell.
Remove pot from heat when eggs are hard boiled, place ice cubes in the pot to cool the eggs, drain the water off the eggs.
Peel when they are cool to the touch and cut them into halves.
Carefully remove the yolks and place them in a bowl
Add the mayonnaise, about one tablespoon per three medium eggs, mash them together with a fork, folding the yolks and mayonnaise together until evenly mixed. Use more mayonnaise for a richer, smoother texture.
Add about half a tablespoon of mustard or more or less to taste. Use bold or spicy mustard if you like.
Scoop the mixture into the empty egg whites until each is equally filled.
Sprinkle a little dried paprika on the yolk of each refilled egg.
Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to consume. Enjoy!

Stay tuned for next weeks "Weekly Chicken Gazette Issue 6"

All text and photographs are owned by @mother2chicks unless otherwise specified