Oysters on the farm!

Chicken-eating oysters on the farm?! Read on to find out more about them, about Fairy Eggs and about the time Farmer Mike saw a man-eating chicken.

"Ostraconophobia is the fear of shellfish. Farmer Mike loves oysters, no fear around here!"

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More Cackleberries
This time of year, egg production is reaching its maximum, this takes a lot of calcium. During the winter months, we get 3-4 eggs a day from 16 hens, right now we're getting about a dozen a day. We supplement the chickens diet with crushed oyster shells to give them the calcium they need. We just pour a small pile of it on the floor of the chicken house and they can eat as much as they need.

"Alektorophobia is the fear of chickens and/or the fear of eggs"

Soft Shell Eggs
Soft shell eggs can occur in younger chickens or if the chickens don't get enough calcium. The egg shell doesn't form as it is developed and the hen lays the egg with a soft, leather like outer casing. We found 3 of them when egg production started increasing this spring. We increased the amount of oyster shells we put out for them and since then we haven't had any more soft shells.

Fairy eggs

Fairy Eggs & Witch Eggs
Although not a symptom of calcium deficiency, Fairy eggs (also known as Witch eggs) can occur if a hen gets frightened. The eggs are tiny and yolk-less. We have found 2 this spring and wonder if the noise we made while digging the trench for irrigation with the Ditch Witch (how appropriate!) caused a bit of a fright.

"Wiccaphobia is the fear of witches. Farmer Sue has one of the best cackles you'll ever hear!"

Oyster Pastures, Cannibalism and  Captain Tom's 
Sustainable farming is all about using what you have on the farm. Currently there are no oysters grazing our pastures. We could consider starting an oyster farm but that seems a bit excessive. We have heard of folks feeding egg shells back to their chickens. That seems a bit like cannibalism, not sure we're ready to take that step! Finally, we could talk to the Captain Tom's Seafood Restaurant down the road to see if they would donate their oyster shells. Of course we would need to consider the time and effort it would take to crush the shells. We only went through 5 pounds in the first 6 months and despite the increase in consumption right now, we might be buying shells for a while, especially at $10 for a 50 pound bag!

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Gumboze

This week we're introducing a new section to the the Ekoze blog. Like the best Gumbo, the Gumboze section will have a little bit of everything, a farm-fact, a story about Sue or Mike or just something random. We promise it will always be entertaining, so check back often!

Man-eating-chicken
Years ago, Farmer Mike paid a buck to see a Man-eating chicken on the fairgrounds of the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Canada. Sure enough when Mike went in, there it was on stage, a man eating chicken out of a fried chicken bucket. Man-eating chicken, Chicken-eating oysters, the possibilities for making a buck at the fair are endless! Mike's memory isn't what it used to be (according to Sue!), but he's pretty sure this is the sign that was hanging outside the tent.

Have a great week y'all!
Sue & Mike

" Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - fear of long words. Who ever came up with this word has no fear of irony!

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