CHICKEN PHOTOS TO SHARE TODAY FROM THE URBAN FARM

HELLO & Welcome to GARDEN DADDY here at the urban farm! I thought you might like to see some new photos of Spring 2011 chicks, now almost all grown up. But the first photo to share with you is of my favorite little hen and the most calm of all, "DOROTHY", the Mother-To-BE Buff Orpington hen that is now on day 4 of "hatch watch", while she sits on her 8 Cuckoo Marans eggs and 2-golf balls. I made her a nice nest myself of some wheat straw I keep on hand for the chicken house nest boxes and she has barely moved since putting her on the nest of eggs.

The photo below is of the white Standard Cochin pullet that was in the spring bunch of chicks I ordered in March this year. The Cochin breed is very slow to mature so she is lagging behind the Dutch Welsummers' a bit. I thought you might like to see though she is larger than the other pullets and also get a kick out of the large feathers on her feet. I call her and her buff sister, "clown chickens", as it looks like a clown in large shoes trying to walk

The photo below is of the Standard Buff Cochin, also born in March of this year. She is the same age as the white one above. She is a darker gold color than the Buff Orpington breed. Behind her, is the back end of one of the three Cuckoo Marans...they are called Cuckoo because of that mottled black and white color..as in all mixed up and not like a Barred Rock hen, where there is a more definite pattern. Thus the term, "cuckoo"....meaning "crazy or mixed up" pattern!

The bottom photo shows again the White Cochin pecking along with some of the 5-Dutch Welsummers (named for the town of Welsum in Holland) which are really getting close to laying for 2 or 3 of them. They are an attractive bird, with golds and rich brownish walnut colors on them along with some tones of mahogany in places.

Otherwise, today I cooked some turnip greens, frozen store-bought over this weekend, and a friend gave me some south Alabama water ground corn meal. I plan to make some "fried bread" in a few minutes to go with it. In other words, like a fried hoe cake. Continuing some recipes, I would like to share with you an "okra pancake" recipe I think is just wonderful and another way to use okra. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE okra...I like to add a small amount of oil in a pan, get it hot, add some chopped onion and okra, salt & pepper, add about a teaspoon full of lemon juice and a little crushed garlic and then stir fry it until it almost gets blackish on the edges and tender....yummy! Well, I tried to add the okra pancake in a download but it would not cooperate for some reason. I will try to add it later and just type it in freehand in another posting.

So, I leave you today with our ongoing urban farming affirmation in mind: "URBAN FARMING: ONE EGG AT A TIME!"