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Oatmeal Cookies for your Chickens

Oatmeal Cookies for your Chickens

With a few minor adjustments, your favorite oatmeal cookie recipe becomes a nutritious treat for your chickens. As I was getting out the ingredients to make my favorite oatmeal cookies the other day in preparation for my father-in-law's weekend visit, I thought, wow, the chickens really would like these. Oats, walnuts, raisins...some of their favorite treats.  And cinnamon is great for respiratory health. But of course some of the other ingredients aren't so good for them, so after baking up a batch of my signature Blueberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies  (I also use oats in my Chocolate Walnut Oatmeal Cookies too) , I set about creating a  healthy version for the chickens.


Blueberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Plain oatmeal cookies are made even more delicious with the addition of white chocolate chips, walnuts and blueberries. This cookie recipe is my variation on the Quaker Oats Vanishing Oatmeal Cookie recipe that you can find on the underside of the cover on any Quaker oats canister.  


Olive Egger Chickens

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Olive Egger chickens, a cross between a Marans and an Ameraucana, lay gorgeous olive green eggs, as their name implies. If you have been following the blog you know that I back in 2012 I  hatched my very first chicks. It was such an amazing experience. To think that an egg hatches into a living, breathing chick in just 21 days and then that golf-ball sized chick grows to be a robin-sized pullet over the next 21 days or so is just amazing. 


Classic Chicken Piccata

You can't beat a good classic chicken piccata recipe for the perfect pop of zesty citrus flavor. I'll just preface this recipe by saying we don't eat much chicken in our home. Ever since raising our own hens for the eggs, chicken just doesn't appeal to me as a food anymore. But my husband is still a big fan.


Painted Mason Jar Flower Vases

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Painted Mason jars make pretty flower vases. If you're already dreaming of spring, and had enough of cold, snow and ice, you don't have to wait until Mother Nature decides it's time...instead bring a bit of spring indoors with these easy repurposed mason jar vases.


Fresh Strawberry Scones

Add some fresh strawberries to a classic scone recipe! Fresh Strawberry Scones are the perfect spring time brunch addition. Quick and easy, these one-bowl scones highlight fresh, sweet, sun-ripened berries.... Fresh Strawberry Scones What you Need 2-1/2 cups flour 2 tablespoons sugar plus more for sprinkling 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream, divided Whole fresh strawberries, for garnish What you Do Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a pastry cutter to incorporate butter. Gently fold in strawberries. Mix the 1/2 cup heavy cream into batter until just moistened. Transfer dough to a parchment-covered baking sheet. Pat in a 3/4-inch thick circle.  Score into 8 wedges.  Brush top with the 2 Tablespoons heavy cream and sprinkle withsugar. Bake for 18 minutes or until light go


Frequently Asked Chicken Keeping Questions

Here are some of the most frequently asked chicken keeping questions I've gotten over the years from my fans and followers. I've been answering questions about chicken keeping for more than a decade now. Many right on my social media platforms, many via email or direct messages, and some through my column in Chickens Magazine. I've put together some of the most common here in once place for you.


4 Steps for Introducing New Chickens to your Backyard Flock

Proper planning and following these four steps will help with introducing new chickens to your backyard flock. Once you have been raising chickens for awhile, you're eventually going to want to add new chickens to your flock. Whether you've lost a few to illness or predators, or you are finally ready to expand your flock, that day will come. And you might have heard horror stories about adding new chickens.  And I hate to say it, but they're (mostly) true.


How and Why to Landscape your Chicken Run

Just because you raise chickens and ducks doesn't mean their run has to be a dusty, mud wasteland. You can easily add some attractive landscaping without too much effort. Although it may seem like an exercise in futility, it actually IS possible to landscape your run.  A nicely landscaped run serves many purposes both for you, your flock and your neighbors. 


Blackberry White Chocolate Tiered Cheesecake

This tiered cheesecake is easier to make than it appears, but even more delicious than it looks. I was asked to bring a cheesecake to a friend's house this year for Easter.  My friend even texted me a raspberry cheese cake recipe she found on epicurious.com for 'inspiration'. But I couldn't find any fresh raspberries, so I needed to make some substitutions. The recipe I am sharing here is the result of a bit of tweaking of that original recipe. My inspiration for the cheesecake I ended up making was this patch of violets growing in among some chocolate mint in my herb garden, as well as the fresh blackberries from our berry patch. I used the violets, blackberries and mint for garnish.  It turned out fairly light  (as cheesecakes go) and the flavor was spot on. I hope you'll be inspired to try making one soon. (scroll down for printable recipe) Blackberry White Chocolate Tiered Cheesecake Ingredients | 1 (12.8 oz) package shortbread cookies 6 Tab


Natural Chicken Wormers | Pumpkin, Garlic + Nasturtium

Pumpkins and other members of the cucurbitaceae family, garlic and other foods are thought to be natural way to worm chickens and other animals. I have  never  wormed (dewormed?) my chickens with any kind of commercial wormer. Worming chickens twice a year with a chemical dewormer (that likely requires a period of egg 'withdrawal' during which time period you shouldn't eat the eggs) is NOT necessary.  I also have never had any trouble with worms or internal parasites in my flock. I have had our vet take fecal samples and no sign of worms have been found.


Natural Pest Control | Safe for Chickens, Pets and People

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Chemical pesticides pose a danger to your family, pets and the environment. Ditch the chemicals and go natural when it comes to keeping your chicken coop pest-free. As soon as the weather warms up, bugs and other pests start to literally come out of the woodwork. Walking, crawling and flying. Laying eggs and having babies.  Then when the weather cools down, those same pests try to move inside your coop or home looking for a warm place to spend the winter. And while chickens will eat many of the insects that they come in contact with, they won't eat them all.   Bad bugs and parasites as well as pests like rodents and snakes are not only irritating, but they also can carry disease to your flock through contaminating or eating their feed , and some also transmit harmful diseases through direct contact.  


Martha's Marbled Easter Eggs

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Marbled eggs are fun and easy to make for Easter. Being crafty and loving to bake and cook, I of course have been a huge  Martha Stewart  fan over the years. I love her clever ideas. So I am not surprised that she came up with this utterly amazing way to dye eggs more than ten years ago. 


Homemade Mayonnaise

Homemade mayonnaise is easy to make at home when you raise your own chickens. I think one of the best things about raising our own chickens is being able to safely enjoy homemade recipes such as eggnog , tiramisu , Hollandaise sauce and mayonnaise which use uncooked or partially cooked eggs.   The risk of salmonella in eggs from a backyard flock is far lower than in those from a commercial egg farm, so I have been indulging and making some of my favorite recipes again that call for raw or partially cooked eggs.


Spraddle Leg and Curled Toes in Baby Chicks | Prevention and Treatment

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Brooding baby chicks on a slippery surface like newspaper can result in curled toes or spraddle leg, as can an incomplete or insufficient diet early on. Hopefully you will never have to worry about a chick with spraddle leg or curled toes, but as is the case with everything else chicken-related, it's always best to be prepared ... just in case.