Mary Hanks » Chickens http://maryhanks.com Sat, 03 Jul 2010 13:27:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 I love Lucy! http://maryhanks.com/i-love-lucy-2 http://maryhanks.com/i-love-lucy-2#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:52:35 +0000 Mary Hanks http://maryhanks.com/?p=841

…Gretchen and Buttercup!  (That’s me with Buttercup.)

It’s strangely quiet and dark  in the coop.

The rooster who free ranged down the street I found, captured and return to his owner.  We’ll miss their chattery clucking, the scratching about their yard.  Their new home in Alpharetta is amazing and I know that they will be loved, spoiled and cared for just like they were here!  We’ll miss our girls!!!

Chicken Fettucine!

Buttercup, Gretchen and Lucy
]]> http://maryhanks.com/i-love-lucy-2/feed 4 Pickled Green Tomatoes & Peach Preserves http://maryhanks.com/pickled-green-tomatoes-peach-preserves http://maryhanks.com/pickled-green-tomatoes-peach-preserves#comments Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:43:00 +0000 Mary Hanks http://maryhanks.com/?p=324
My favorite helper & favorite hen; Jonathan & Lucy!

A new batch of peach preserves.

Trying new recipes is always fun but today’s new kitchen adventure was special, pickling for the first time since I was a kid with 10 year old son. The tomatoes came from my garden, the recipe from the latest issue of my Food Network magazine, Aug/Sept 2009. Iron Chef Michael Symon used regular tomatoes but most of mine are roma & heirloom yellow pear so we’ll see if these also work. Jonathan was my sous chef, helping with almost every phase; the picking, washing, slicing and all the measuring. He was exempt for the sterilizing and handling of hot jars. Now is the hard part….waiting until they are at their prime in about 3 months!
]]> http://maryhanks.com/pickled-green-tomatoes-peach-preserves/feed 0 Gretchen…aka Bubbles http://maryhanks.com/gretchen-aka-bubbles http://maryhanks.com/gretchen-aka-bubbles#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:07:00 +0000 Mary Hanks http://maryhanks.com/?p=321 Bubbles has a new name and shall now be known as Gretchen! She’s a Lakenvelder, a German breed and I really wanted a name to suit her heritage. Crazy, I know.
They are enjoying a spell of free range time in the flower garden and where the compost pile used to be. Finding fat, juicy worms is delightful. Crazy, I know!
Me and Lucy, my big girl.
Jonathan and Buttercup. (See her cup shaped comb?) We celebrated his birthday last week with a trip to Orlando. He knew we were going on the trip but didn’t know that we were flying, his 1st trip on a plane! We surprised him the morning we left and got the biggest kick out of his reaction to it all. Fun for him AND for us! Hollywood Studios was the fav and we could’ve done both days there. Disney was good too and glad we did it but going back to a park again, Hollywood Studios will be the place, for sure.
Can’t believe Jonathan is 10! Crazy, I know!
]]> http://maryhanks.com/gretchen-aka-bubbles/feed 0 Mi Casa de Pollo http://maryhanks.com/mi-casa-de-pollo http://maryhanks.com/mi-casa-de-pollo#comments Sat, 23 May 2009 16:59:00 +0000 Mary Hanks http://maryhanks.com/?p=320
The chicken house is in place & the girls seem very happy in their new home. It’s tucked into the corner of my garden, fits right in & I can see the girls moving about in the run while I’m standing at my kitchen sink. Love that!

We shortened up this side of the run, taking out part of the A-frame because of the plantings already in place. The path & pavers still need to be situated a bit better but for now, it all works.
The little girls, Bubbles and Buttercup are a bit camera shy. Bubbles has turned out to be a pretty good layer. I still feel a bit like a kid on Easter morning ever time I find an egg. Love’n being the chicken lady!
My oak leaf hydrangea was a Mother’s Day gift a couple of years back from my son & daughter-in-law. Peter & Gloria’s choice was most excellent, a gift that keeps on giving! Love it!
]]> http://maryhanks.com/mi-casa-de-pollo/feed 1 Chicks in the City http://maryhanks.com/chicks-in-the-city http://maryhanks.com/chicks-in-the-city#comments Thu, 14 May 2009 17:19:00 +0000 Mary Hanks http://maryhanks.com/?p=319 This was taken on Saturday and is our first egg!
 
Here are my new girls. They’ve been here almost a week now and I’m having so much fun watching there goings on and listening to their sounds. So far we’ve gotten 3 eggs, all from Lucy, the biggest hen. She’s an Athen’s Rare Breed. I actually witnessed one of the eggs as it was being laid and that was pretty cool! The coop is in place but still needs a bit more work and I’ll be posting pictures as soon as it’s complete. The other two ladies are Bubbles, a Lakenvelder and Buttercup, her name and breed. (Newsflash!!! Soon after I wrote this one of the smaller girls laid their 1st egg, didn’t want to be outdone, I guess.)
Lucy has been my layer. She’s a sweet girl who is easy to hold, fun to watch and can really kick up the dirt. They’ve had a hay day scratching around where my compost bin used to be!

Bubbles is a Lakenvelder and boy does she make a racket when you pick her up. Missing some feathers but hoping she’ll start filling in soon.

Buttercup. See her comb? It’s a cupshaped crown with a complete circle of medium sized regular points. Not too crazy about being picked up (yet) but a very pretty bird!
]]> http://maryhanks.com/chicks-in-the-city/feed 3