One of the simple pleasures of my life is eating newly laid eggs from
our little flock of chickens. There is nothing quite like the taste. And the
enjoyment is even greater knowing our “girls” live a happy, mostly free range
life.
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| Beautiful eggs courtesy of my chickens |
We didn’t set out to keep chickens. In fact, had never had anything to do with them. When we bought our little farm in
the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, Australia the lovely woman we bought it from
had chickens in a secure, custom-built chicken coop known in our valley as “the
chicken Hilton”. We gladly inherited them.
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| The girls enjoy scraps from the kitchen and the garden |
The girls are Isa Browns a French breed of hen. They’re friendly, smart
and lay lots of eggs. At the moment we have nine. The number varies as free
range comes with risk of predators such as foxes, eagles, and (shudder) snakes.
We lost two recently to eagles which was very sad. Otherwise they live until
they “drop off the perch” from old age.
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| They're friendly and curious |
Because the girls are so prolific we enjoy eggs cooked every way—my favorite
being simple soft boiled. Quiche, egg custards and meringue are often on the
menu. My doctor says not to worry about outdated cholesterol scares and enjoy
the health benefits of eating protein rich eggs. We certainly do.
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| Determined to share Howard the horse's food |
I love all our animals but have a special fondness for our chickens for
providing us with eggs. When I collect the eggs, I always thank the girls for their
wonderful gifts.
I haven’t written a chicken-keeping heroine into a story yet, but who
knows when I might. Have you ever had anything to do with chickens? Or done
something you never expected you’d do? I’d love to read your comments!
My most recent book Conveniently Wed to the Greek is a May 2017 release from Harlequin Romance in North
America; Mills & Boon Cherish in the UK; and Mills & Boon Forever Romance in Australia and New Zealand.
Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.
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1 comment:
Have you ever had anything to do with chickens?
Nope. Not really. (Well, unless you count the bullies I knew in public school, LOL!)
Or done something you never expected you’d do?
A friend of ours keeps giving me his brown eggs (and I keep giving him whatever I bake with them, so it's a nice trade off for both of us). I never thought I'd eat brown eggs (they're no different to eat than white, but I didn't know that).
And ... for the record ... I don't know which came first, the chicken or the egg, LOL.
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