Return of the Prepper #8 : Proof of Egg

pennsif (79)in #prepping • 5 years ago (edited)

Today we got our first egg of the year.

That might not sound such a big deal, but it is still January, it is still cold, it is still winter and we only have one chicken.

So well done old girl!

As I mentioned in a recent post I am experimenting with cutting down the externally sourced feed.

I am now just giving the hen and her companion guard goose corn every other day. Instead I am giving them more food scraps and providing piles of compost for them to dig through. I am also investigating meal worm breeding again.

Their compound is over a quarter of an acre so they have a good area to roam around, scratch and graze.

Although we are vegetarian rather than vegan we don't tend to eat that many eggs these days. Half a dozen eggs per week will more than enough.

In the brighter, warmer days our one remaining hen will just about manage that. But to give us a bit more resilience and longevity on the egg front I will be looking to get another two or three hens in the spring.

I hope they will get along together.

We probably won't get a rooster at present, particularly while the goose is still about. When he goes I may reconsider that particularly if we are wanting to raise some more chicks by then.

If we do start getting a surplus of eggs with the extra birds we could always pass them on for vaccine production.

With the current coronavirus outbreak growing so rapidly, once a vaccine has been developed it is going to be all eggs on deck...

I was going to write about the dramatic growth of the coronavirus again today, but the situation is changing so rapidly I feared I might I get my facts scrambled.

It is turning into a very serious situation. Definitely not something to yolk about.

If you do fancy a little horror story before bedtime, check out the graph in the bottom left corner of this webpage...