tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post1955304073515215074..comments2024-03-29T08:10:45.752-04:00Comments on Writers Who Kill: The Egg and IJim Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-40288800357790818672014-08-17T20:42:30.505-04:002014-08-17T20:42:30.505-04:00My kids brought home chicks from the egg-hatching ...My kids brought home chicks from the egg-hatching project at school (how did we get to be the lucky ones?) and of course most of them turned out to be roosters.When they started to chase the mail carrier, the garbage collectors and the school bus, they had to go.<br /><br />We found homes for them--a couple of our neighbors had free-range flocksKM Rockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03973749764907859829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-44110792173895365432014-08-16T14:27:11.379-04:002014-08-16T14:27:11.379-04:00Norma, thanks for your stories. In my opinion, Eas...Norma, thanks for your stories. In my opinion, Easter peeps were probably more male because they wouldn't last as long being handled by kids so no big loss. However, they do sex the chicks for sale to farmers who want hens, but there are always those male chicks who get through. Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-41894752528720982832014-08-16T12:54:37.786-04:002014-08-16T12:54:37.786-04:00I'm late to the party, but I have a couple of ...I'm late to the party, but I have a couple of chicken stories. I grew up on a farm, we had chickens, so did many of the other kids at high school. <br /><br />Our Home Economics teacher obviously was a city girl. If the book said something, it was true. The hint was how to choose a fresh egg at the grocery store. If the shell was rough, it was fresh, if it was smooth, it was old. (Maybe she never bought eggs either.)<br /><br />Being the independent thinker I was, I informed her that was wrong. I had gathered eggs so fresh from the chicken they were moist from her insides. Most shells were smooth as they came out of the chicken. All the kids knew that. However, I was the only one who was marked wrong on the test because the others just shrugged and decided to go with a falsehood rather than get a "wrong" answer.<br /><br />My other story might not be for the faint of heart. Not surprising that most of your peeps were roosters. At a hatchery there is and employee who sits and grabs each peep as it exits the egg, turns its little bottom inside out so it can tell which sex it is (don't know how, they see the inner workings, I guess), then tosses them into the box for hens or roosters. Hens are more desirable as they produce eggs.<br /><br />Now, aren't you glad you know that? (tee hee) Norma Husshttp://www.normahuss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-86728162922460611602014-08-15T13:33:53.345-04:002014-08-15T13:33:53.345-04:00E.B. I don't remember that cartoon so it was p...E.B. I don't remember that cartoon so it was probably after the time when I watched cartoons. I do love reading the cartoons in the newspaper.<br /><br />I used to have Rhode Island Reds, too. In fact the nastiest rooster I had was a Rhode Island Red.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-1415112774093776422014-08-15T05:23:45.720-04:002014-08-15T05:23:45.720-04:00One of my favorite cartoons was Foghorn Leghorn--s...One of my favorite cartoons was Foghorn Leghorn--stories that didn't have much to do with chickens except that the baby chicken hawk trusted Foghorn. Unfortunately, we have a friend who reminds me of Foghorn. <br /><br />I love eggs for the qualities they lend to bake goods. No custard without eggs. But eating them alone isn't my favorite food. I admire the beauty of some chickens like Rhode Island Reds.E. B. Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16746747050278597888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-68718795020632658802014-08-14T18:32:01.481-04:002014-08-14T18:32:01.481-04:00Welcome, Judy, from one chicken farmer to another,...Welcome, Judy, from one chicken farmer to another, although my six hens are nothing like your large flock. I don't let mine out often because of the damage they do to my gardens, however my old guinea fowl wanders around loose and often follows me around making little chirping sounds at me. He also hangs out be my sun room because he sees himself in the sliding glass doors and apparently thinks it's another guinea fowl - hopefully a female that will escape and join him.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-63453996535399105452014-08-14T17:29:08.866-04:002014-08-14T17:29:08.866-04:00I also keep hens, have been now for 11 years. I d...I also keep hens, have been now for 11 years. I didn't want to kill them, but the first year I had 16 roosters, so I got my neighbors to help me. It was shocking, but after a week, I did eat the meat. Back in 2012, I even killed three of my hens because they were eating eggs, and I didn't want that to spread. I love having them, they putter around me when I'm in the orchard, and talk to me a lot. The eggs are amazing, so different. Judy HoganJudy Hoganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17555366164892868898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-69767769250718834912014-08-14T16:21:27.439-04:002014-08-14T16:21:27.439-04:00Sarah, I don't eat a lot of eggs, but my siste...Sarah, I don't eat a lot of eggs, but my sister-in-law, my son-in-law, and one of my good friends love it when I give them eggs. Mine are a mixture of brown and a blue/green. Do you buy the eggs for him to eat, or don't you eat eggs, either? The good thing about mine is they're so fresh they last for a long time and those who eat them like how the yolks stand up large and proud.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-46707936372836783502014-08-14T13:54:03.418-04:002014-08-14T13:54:03.418-04:00I love the photos, Gloria! I have to say, I don...I love the photos, Gloria! I have to say, I don't really have any chicken stories, as I haven't eaten chicken in about 20 years and have only seen them on farm visits as an adult. However, I will say, one of my son's very favorite games is to go to the farmers' market and try to find the tray of a dozen eggs with the most variation in color. He loves getting ones beyond brown and white. He loves buying ones with a bluish or pink tint to the shell and if he can find a farmer with quite a variety in that dozen, he's a very happy camper!Sarah Henninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06822639126179367121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-36404121216055489322014-08-14T13:27:55.006-04:002014-08-14T13:27:55.006-04:00Kara, I wish you could have been there. It was gre...Kara, I wish you could have been there. It was great fun. The hardest part was reading the poem with a straight face as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on while the whole class was in hysterics. Jim sent me the Wikipedia link to the author of the book, and yes, they did appear in more Ma and Pa Kettle movies. Also, Margie Maine got an Oscar nomination for her role in that movie. Someday when I get time, I'm going through the boxes of books in my garage and see if I still have that book so I can add it to my TBR pile.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-90171678601490154982014-08-14T12:08:17.343-04:002014-08-14T12:08:17.343-04:00I would have enjoyed being in your poetry class du...I would have enjoyed being in your poetry class during the unveiling of the hen! You brought Robert Frost's poem to life. <br /><br />I've watched The Egg and I, but haven't read the book. I think Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride starred in nine more Ma and Pa Kettle movies.Kara Cerisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16484336785514235707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-60540713471037688702014-08-14T10:12:05.665-04:002014-08-14T10:12:05.665-04:00Jim, it is rather gruesome, isn't it. Fortunat...Jim, it is rather gruesome, isn't it. Fortunately, I never had to clean a chicken. I would have hated that. My dad won several Thanksgiving turkeys - live ones at bingo games, and after a short stint in our basement he killed and cleaned them for our Thanksgiving Day dinner.<br /><br />Warren, I didn't know that. I imagine they would be a temptation for a hungry or larcenous person.<br /><br />KB, my parents got rid of the first dog my brother and I had when we were little because it started killing our neighbor's chickens. Later we found out it hadn't been killing the hens, but digging up the hens that had been killed by some predator, but by then our dog had been given away.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-36023288728811372692014-08-14T09:43:00.356-04:002014-08-14T09:43:00.356-04:00I'd love to have chickens in my yard. I did ra...I'd love to have chickens in my yard. I did raise 26 chicks in my basement til they were big enough to move to the farm museum where I work. We ate a bunch but neighborhood dogs ate most of them. Now I have to borrow chickens when I need them.KB Ingleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06089951663907060127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-66730882518868368922014-08-14T09:13:29.097-04:002014-08-14T09:13:29.097-04:00In central America the phrase that is the equivale...In central America the phrase that is the equivalent of caught "red handed" is caught "with his hands on a chicken.Warren Bullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789270258599769915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-48912978199464723112014-08-14T07:51:50.281-04:002014-08-14T07:51:50.281-04:00Gloria, I’ve met your chickens and ponies, so I ca...Gloria, I’ve met your chickens and ponies, so I can attest they are real, not fictional. I remember being at a neighbor to my grandparents’ farm when they harvested a chicken for dinner. I didn’t have a need to see another, but it never put me off eating chickens, either.<br /><br />~ Jim<br />Jim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-36585781436577450892014-08-14T07:23:20.078-04:002014-08-14T07:23:20.078-04:00Paula, a few years ago I had a rooster that I'...Paula, a few years ago I had a rooster that I'd raised from a chick. I'd bought some small chicks that were all supposed to be pullets, but one wasn't. Gradually he turned mean and attacked every time I went into gather eggs. So I always carried a broom. Because kids who came to visit liked to gather eggs, I asked my son to take care of him the evening before Mother's Day. The next morning it was gone. I found out later that day that he'd killed it, put it in a bag with a card from him and his wife that said "Happy Mother's Day". I found the plastic bag with what remained of the rooster near the woods. Some wild critter, probably a raccoon had dragged it away.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-91179065167263073452014-08-14T03:09:42.408-04:002014-08-14T03:09:42.408-04:00Great photos, Gloria. I, too, have memories of a r...Great photos, Gloria. I, too, have memories of a rooster who pecked my legs and ended up on the dinner table. I usually avoid chicken these days, but I don't think it's because of that rooster!Paula Gail Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08843350597811462936noreply@blogger.com