{"id":3607,"date":"2019-06-24T21:52:23","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T21:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/macrinabakery.com\/blog\/?p=3607"},"modified":"2019-06-25T00:23:07","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T00:23:07","slug":"raising-chickens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.macrinabakery.com\/blog\/raising-chickens\/","title":{"rendered":"Raising Chickens with Leslie Mackie"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many of the best things in life are unplanned. My chickens, for instance, came along like that, and they have been a most pleasant surprise.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/a>It all started with a donation. The Lake Union Crew Outreach Foundation does fabulous work, so when they asked me to donate food for their fundraiser,<\/span>\u00a0I\u00a0<\/span>couldn<\/span>\u2019<\/span>t say no. Dropping\u00a0<\/span>off<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the meal<\/span>, I saw a beautiful chicken coop for auction. Turns out the Lake Union Crew<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s founder,\u00a0<\/span>Rome Ventura, had built the chicken coop. Seeing my interest, she offered to make one for me<\/span>. She\u00a0<\/span>even hand-delivered it to my Seattle\u00a0<\/span>home.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By the spring of 2012, I ha<\/span>d moved to my farmhouse on Vashon Island\u00a0<\/span>where<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>my daughter, Olivia,\u00a0<\/span>got<\/span>\u00a0excited about raising chickens. Together we chose eight assorted chicks. We kept them inside for two months, nurturing those fuzzy yellow cuties. We named them and\u00a0<\/span>watched over them,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>somewhat obsessively<\/span>. As they grew, so did our interest in getting them outside\u2014who knew they’d become so pungent! Finally, we were ready to break in Rome Ventura<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s handmade coop.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I placed the coop between four hazelnut trees to provide shelter from extreme sun. I also hoped it would provide some cover from eagles, a fearsome predator on Vashon.<\/span>\u00a0I built an 8-by-12-foot covered run for them\u00a0so they\u00a0didn\u2019t have to stay\u00a0\u201ccooped\u201d\u00a0up all the time. This seemed like lots of space\u2014until they got even bigger.\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/a>My two dogs\u00a0<\/span>weren<\/span>\u2019<\/span>t quite sure what to make of the chickens at first. There was a bit of a stand-off, but after eight months everyone seemed to respect each other. I started letting\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>the girls<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span>roam the property. That was a happy day in the life of a proud chicken mom. They roamed the farm finding bugs, grass and weeds to eat.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then tragedy struck\u2014raccoons scaled one of the hazelnut trees and carried seven of my chickens away to feed their young. I was heartbroken.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fighting off thoughts of being unworthy, I moved the coop to a better location. My two small dogs, all bark<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0no bite, took on guardian roles. With loud barks and a quick sprint, they now chase away any raccoon or cat that wanders onto the farm. The hawks and eagles have also seemed to take note.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the last six years, I have gone from the original eight chickens, down to one, added three, back to two, added four, and now I am very happy with the six that I<\/span>\u2019<\/span>ve<\/span>\u00a0had for the past two years. I have two Rhode Island Reds (brown eggs) and four variously colored\u00a0<\/span>Araucana<\/span>\u00a0(olive green to baby-blue eggs) all sporting that famous feathery beard. The oldest is Dulce, the queen, who was from the first batch. Introducing new chickens is quite a process, and it has taken a year for this team to blend.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/a>The chickens leave the coop around 7:30 a.m. to see what the night rain or morning dew has brought to the surface for their dining pleasure. They roam the whole farm, traveling in a tribe. They don<\/span>\u2019<\/span>t eat my flowers, but they love my veggie starts so I had to fence the vegetable garden. Sometimes they fly over six feet up to the fence post and drop in!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My chickens are well fed, no surprise there\u2014organic grain, leftover Macrina bread and vegetable scraps are their main diet. In exchange, they produce 3 to 6 eggs a day as a group. The eggs are richer in taste than a typical supermarket egg, with creamy, bright orange yolks. You notice the difference right away when eating them cooked plainly or baking with them. Aioli<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s get a brilliant color from the bright yolks, lemon butter cakes and vanilla custards take on a golden hue, everything is more delicious with fresh eggs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/a>My girls join any outdoor dinner gathering. You can<\/span>\u2019<\/span>t pick them up, but two will let you pet them. They cluck, coo, trill<\/span>\u00a0and peep as though carrying on a lively conversation. As the light diminishes, they make their way back to the coop, and I close them in to keep them safe.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I love my girls!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leslie<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many of the best things in life are unplanned. My chickens, for instance, came along like that, and they have been a most pleasant surprise.\u00a0\u00a0It all started with a donation. The Lake Union Crew Outreach Foundation does fabulous work, so … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nRaising Chickens with Leslie Mackie: Macrina Bakery & Cafe - Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many of the best things in life are unplanned. 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