Thursday, June 21, 2007

EGG citing




Today my husband drove down the dirt road to our house grinning ear to ear beaming with excitement. If you knew my husband, you would know that he is a simple man and it doesn't take much to get him going.

He was giddy because he a truck full of chickens! And not just any chickens- laying hens.

One month prior to getting these hens, he worked non-stop in the barn building a chicken coop- with his bare hands......out of wood.........from scratch. I was expecting for the finished product to be a cutsy country little shed with shutters on the side of the windows and hangy baskets for plants below the windows with a precious little weathervane smack dab in the middle of the roof and painted sage green with white trim.

Jason likes to say that I often live in 'Lynsey Land' and in 'Lynsey Land' everything is precious and cute and easy. I have these images sketched in my head of what everything must and should look like. Who needs funtionality when you have hangy baskets and shutters? This is when Jason steps in the picture to paint over my far-fetched sketch and bring me back to reality.

The Coop in all its glory

Instead I got the one and only first ever 'Kramer Koop' (patent pending;). People will be lining up at his door waiting to get their very own coop. Jason went to great lengths to design this masterpiece to be the best chicken coop that ever existed. He thought about everything one could possibly imagine when thinking about the lives of chickens living out their days.

The Chicken Pen

'What is the reason for the beach house type elevation,' you ask?.........Keeps predators out. (Very smart but, it still resembles a Chicken beach house doesn't it????)

'Why is that thing on skis', you ask?.........To be moved around by the tractor so that the poop can fertilize the grass.

'How is the poop even going to touch the grass', you ask?..........Because it has a chicken wire bottom, not wood. This is also a nice touch to keep things sanitary and from touching our eggs before they get to our cast iron skillets.

'What in the world are those blue bunkers', you ask?...........They are big blue barrels cute in half so that these cute little hens will have shade and also a place to duck and cover should they be under attack by hawks or a nuclear missle or a man on a hang glider. (He is a considerate animal caretaker.)



The Suites
And the list goes on and on. You see, these are the very same questions I had while my husband was creating this egg factory. But, every time I had a question Jason had the BEST answer! His brain blows me away sometimes. Seriously folks, you should see the blueprints for this thing. I'm dead serious about the blueprints......we really have some.

There is a rhyme and a reason for everything. And the best part about this whole new adventure is that we get to enjoy fresh eggs daily. We have eggs of all sizes and colors. They are delicious and good for you.

Our Rooster 'Mac Daddy'

Here are some reasons why eating free-range chickens over commercial-based laying hens are more beneficial and healthy for you.

- Free of hormones, antibiotics, and other drugs

- Natural diet that consists of new grasses, insects, grass seed, worms & grubs with lots of excercise VS. genetically modified grain and soy (and scary by-product feed stuff) with chickens that have never seen grass or consumed their natural diet

- High in nutritional value, Omega 3 in particular, because of a natural grass diet and stress-free environment

-Eggs that are farm raised are fresh and within days old when consumed. Commercial eggs are approximately 6-8 months old when purchased in a store because the vendors have to stock pile for holidays such as Easter, Christmas, & Thanksgiving.

We have our first three eggs sitting in the fridge waiting on us to be our breakfast in the morning. I'm going to be the good wife and graciously give them all to Jason to sit and indulge since there is only three of them. The birds have been here for 3 hours and already making themselves useful. Jason is now beaming from ear to ear every time he walks by the refrigerator because the fruits of his labor are waiting for him to enjoy. He is a precious man......a simple and precious man.

19 comments:

Hendrick Family said...

Yum!

Can't wait to eat that butt fruit!

Heather

Charlie said...

Lyns! Can we buy eggs from you? I just bought a dozen all natural free-range/cage free eggs from HEB yesterday for $1.84. How much would you charge for a dozen? We need like 6 dozen a month b/c we go through eggs like crazy! So excited about your farm! And...I love Jason's chicken coop.

Hendrick Family said...

Oh...and by the way, I loved Melodi's idea about recipes.

I think there should be a weekly post from Jason about eating healthy with the practical how to's for all us city dwellers.

If I read something like that every week, I would be more encouraged not to throw in some of the stuff I throw into my grocery cart.

Keep us motivated and educated.

Do we get to eat those chickens, or just what comes out of their south end?

Heather

BHG & Co. said...

Did you just call eggs "butt fruit"? I am not sure if I should be repulsed or fall on the floor laughing.... this is a strange feeling being torn between those two emotions.

Kramers on the blog! Glad you're here!!

-bill

Garratts said...

I am with Kirby. When does "Yonder Way Farm" become...

"YONDER WAY FAMRERS MARKET"?

Garratts said...

Oh yeah and butt fruit,

That is why I am drinking goats milk these days.

Jennifer Bacak said...

I want to buy eggs too. I've never had them farm fresh, but I hear there's quite a difference.
Plus the hormones in our food are supposedly to make our little girls develop quicker, and I don't want Emma getting big boobs just so hormone raging boys can line up outside our door to date her, even if she does still walk around on all-fours. Teenage boys don't care. We need to get on the free-range track fast!!! Oh, crud, I'm having a panic attack from this line of thinking...
jenn

BHG & Co. said...

okay... I didn't actually read the entire blog until just now, and I just need to say...

Jason Kramer is a Chicken Condo-building Maniac!!

Way to go Jason, it looks GREAT! And I love that your rooster is named "Mac Daddy"

5 Chicks and a Farmer said...

That is a great idea for Jason to post some tips on eating healthy! He has a wealth of information stored up in cute little head. Seriously, I am amazed at how much he knows about honoring our bodies.

I'm glad you guys are just as excited about the chickens as we are. They are super fun. I find them so interesting to watch.

And the picture of Jason sitting under his coop is no joke. If Jason has disappeared for a while, I know that is exactly where I will find him just sitting in the field like a kid waiting to open their Christmas presents on Christmas morning. He cracks me up!

Williams Family said...

Hey Lyns,
We want some eggs too! Fresh eggs are Justin's favorite. I am so excited you are blogging now! I hope we get to go to the farm soon. He was raised in the country. Kurten, TX!! When we where looking to buy a house he was trying to get me to move to the country and I was not having it. But now I wish we would have. The girls would of loved it. They love being outside.

Ana

Judy said...

Okay Kramers....I want eggs too! I grew up on fresh eggs from our chickens and they are the best. With all these "orders", Jason is going to have to build yet another amazing chicken coop condo. :) We will all keep you in business.
Judy

Anonymous said...

Lynsey, you're husband is a man's man. That's awesome. What a great thing that your kids get to grow up watching their Dad work hard and create things with his hands!

Eggs are indeed something to get excited about.

Hendrick Family said...

This was on Staci King's blog as the word of the day:

dietribe: (n.) An irate sermon or lecture on healthy eating.

Funny!

We need some of those! They don't have to be irate, but that's a great word.

Heather

shauna maness said...

i'm loving this! i feel like i was there watching the process of building with you! that is so funny! we will be in cs tomorrow... can we hook up?

Rachel said...

I just found your blog and I think it's great! Keep the information coming. Thomas and I dream of having a little farm someday, and we love this stuff. Jason did a great job on your chicken house! Is it mobile? Have you guys read any Joel Salatin stuff? Man, if we'd known you guys lived on a farm we would have been talking your ears off in line at the nursery last week instead of just smiling and saying hi!

Anyway, we get fresh eggs from our chickens at our friends' house, so I won't be asking you for any. If you need egg recipes, I've got a few!

Rachel said...

Yeah, never mind my question about the mobility of the chicken house, I actually read your post instead of skimming it. Way to go, Jason.

5 Chicks and a Farmer said...

Thanks Rachel! I will have to look into Joel Salatin for Jason and I.

Your family is welcome out here any time. We are getting our grass-fed cows and goats soon!

I would actually love some egg recipes if you have some. We have a ton of eggs! Not enough to sell at this point, but a touch more than we can eat. We try not to eat much dairy though and it is ruff finding egg recipes without any dairy in it. If you come across any, please share!

the amys said...

Wade says that if you ring out the chickens they will produce more "fruit". Oh and the white stuff in chicken poo is still poo. FYI. We will be look for our spot of land out there when we come visit. I thinking your backyard would make the perfect place. HAHAHA!!!!!

Ryan Price said...

I don't know why I'm just now getting around to reading through this post... but, I must say that I am impressed with the chicken machine! I am egg-cited about hangin out on the farm this afternoon!

You guys are cool...