Do you eat eggs? When you reach into the refrigerator at the local grocery store, have you ever stopped to think about where chickens originally came from?
Chickens were brought from South England on the ships that
brought people to the new world. During the 1700s in Britain’s North American colonies,
chickens thrived everywhere. They even appeared on plantations and middle-class
farms, and in the streets of cities and towns to mention only a few places.
“Poultry
was common in the eighteenth century. If you were poor and you had any
livestock, you had chickens too. They were easy to raise. They reproduced in
large numbers and reached sexual maturity early,” said Elaine Shirley, manager
of Colonial Williamsburg’s rare breeds program. Four of the five breeds raised
and exhibited at Colonial Williamsburg: Nankin, Frizzle, Polish, and Silkie. You can go to Colonial Williamsburg and take a look.The Colonial Williamsburg History museum in Williamsburg, Virginia.
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| Silkie | |
North Americans might think the eighteenth-century chickens were
available year-round. But because of the animal’s reproductive cycle in the
eighteenth century, chicken was a seasonal treat. However, hens lay eggs year-round.
They are most productive during the spring and summer, when increased daylight
signals the best time for making chicks. Hatching during warm weather lets
chicks grow strong and prepare for winter weather.
“Because of genetic work done with chickens, today, they
grow fast. It takes about six weeks from hatching to arriving at your table. In
the 1700s, that trip took more like six months,” Shirley said.
There is, as well, a difference in diet. Today, carefully
controlled feedings boost growth. In the 1700s, chickens ate table scraps or
had to scavenge. Still, the free-range, grass-fed chicken is still popular and
can bring a higher price for the meat and the eggs. Egg can come in different colors. It depends on the type / breed of chicken laying them.
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| Cream legbar chicken eggs of many colors, blue too. |
My son raises cream legbar chickens on his farm. Hubby and I are lucky to have the eggs when they are needed.
I like to cook cheese and mushroom omelets. Do you make omelets? What kind? Please leave a comment below.
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| Cream legbar chicken |
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"If you love
small towns, second chances, and real-to-life characters, the Sierra Creek
Series is for you! It's the perfect feel-good read." NL reviews
Sierra
Creek Series Book 4 My
Country Heart by Reggi Allder ONCE BURNED ARE YOU TWICE SHY?
Two new residents are in the small town of
Sierra Creek. They are at a crossroads. Each searches for answers to direct them toward their separate futures.
Lauren Walsh doesn’t like small villages but is in town to work with a renowned silversmith then leave ASAP and return
to the city where she belongs.
Chance
Williams is the new fire chief. Recovering from an
injury sustained in a disastrous fire, should he remain on the job in the small
town or quit and go back to his Bay Area home?
A jewelry
designer and a firefighter have little in common. Still, forced to live in
close quarters, will sparks fly?
The engaging
characters in the other Sierra Creek books return. See how Amy, Vanna, Sophie,
and their partners are doing. Also, a mystery is an added ingredient in book 4.
https://www.amazon.com/Country-Heart-Sierra-Creek-Book-ebook/dp/B0BJ5L1K2V
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Country-Heart-Sierra-Creek-Book-ebook/dp/B0BJ5L1K2V
https://www.amazon.com.au/Country-Heart-Sierra-Creek-Book-ebook/dp/B0BJ5L1K2V
https://www.amazon.ca/Country-Heart-Sierra-Creek-Book-ebook/dp/B0BJ5L1K2V/
Excerpt of My Country Heart Sierra Creek Series book 4 by Reggi Allder
A gust of wind hit her convertible. Lauren’s
hair flew in her face. Unable to see, she pushed it out of the way and looked
up to see the air filled with squawking chickens and a huge man in the middle
of the road waving at her.
“Stop!”
Lauren slammed on the brakes
so hard the seat belt jerked tight, preventing her from hitting her head on the
steering wheel. The car came to an abrupt halt, inches from a handsome guy,
tall, tan, and furious.
“What the hell are you doing
driving so fast on this road?”
“I’m….” She screamed as
clucking birds flew at her. Her heart thundered. She forced down the memory of
her childhood fear of birds.
When fowl surrounded the
car, she honked the BMW’s horn. The chickens flew closer and she continued to
scream.
“Stop! The dammed chickens are
already upset. Be quiet and stay out of the way until things are under
control!” the stranger demanded.
A hen flew into the passenger
seat. She shrieked and jumped out of the car and ran into the guy.
In tooled leather cowboy
boots, blue jeans and a navy T-shirt he glanced at her. “You damn near ran me
down.” He grabbed one of the birds off the hood of her convertible and let it
go. Another flew at her and she shrieked.
“Quiet!” He snatched the bird
away, holding it with one hand. “You’re alarming the poultry. They’re
terrified. After all this yelling, it might take days before they lay again.” He glared and his blue eyes flashed as he brushed his dark
brown hair from his forehead. “Be calm around them. They’re delicate—gentle
if you’ll stop scaring them. After all, they’ve been in an accident.”
“Me, scare them!” She scoffed.
“Are you crazy?”
A car honked and more birds
flew into the air, clucking.
He handed her the one he held
and ran after a hen about to run across the road.
“Don’t leave!” Breathless, she
trembled. The chicken wiggled and tried to fly, while she gingerly held it away
from her face, fearing it might peck her.
The farmer directed a car past
the disabled truck, and then came back to her. “I’ll take that bird.” With the
fowl held securely in his strong arms, he jogged to the truck and put it in a
wooden crate. The sign on the door of the flatbed vehicle read, “Edgar’s Egg
Farm.”
Frightened, she watched the
stranger collect the rest of the poultry.
She opened the door to her
convertible and found a hen comfortably sitting in the jump seat. Another stood
in the driver’s spot. It pecked at her when she tried to shoo it away. She
waved her arms, shouting, “Get out of my car!”
“Hey, enough! They’re more
afraid of you than you are of them.”
“You want to bet?” she yelled
in a voice she didn’t recognize. “Take these out of my car!”
He turned from her.
OMG, she was making a fool of
herself, but as a kid, a huge black bird had dive-bombed her and pecked at her.
Though she’d only been six years old, the event remained fresh in her mind. The
bird chased her until her father rescued her.
The guy crawled into the back
seat and grabbed the resting bird then stood up from the car.
“Lady, next time drive more
slowly around these roads. You might have hit someone!”
“Look cowboy—whatever your
name is.” She poked her index finger at his solid chest and glared up at him.
“Chance Williams.” He grinned.
His mocking smile irritated
her. “Mr. Chance, I don’t need your comments about what I should do or how to
drive.”
“Williams.”
“What?” She removed her
sunglasses and stared.
“Williams. My name is Mr.
Williams.”
“Yeah, whatever!” She waved
him out of her way as a chicken flew at her. “Keeps those birds away from me. I
thought you had all of them.”
“All but this Rhode Island
Red.”
He grabbed the frightened Red, took it back to the flatbed truck and found a crate to put it in.
“Get out!” She opened the
driver’s side door, pushed a final chicken out and sat down.
“You
can leave, but go slowly.” Chance Williams scowled at her. “Then drive off to
the end of the world for all I care. Just don’t speed on this road again!” Buy My Country Heart Sierra Creek Series
Do
you love suspense? Dangerous Web by Reggi Allder One of for Dangerous
books, Dangerous Denial, Dangerous Money, Dangerous Moves, and coming
next Dangerous Sisters. Amazon buy link
When the past returns to
threaten Emma’s present, is the key to her safety the man offering protection?
Will his secrets put her in greater danger? “5.0 out of 5 stars will hold you on the edge of
your seat as you follow Reggi’s real-to-life characters.” “Romantic Suspense
from beginning to the thrilling end!” “The characters take you away!”
Like/ visit Reggi Allder's Links:
Amazon
BookBub
Facebook
Reggi Allder Blog
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