Egging you on!!! Great article; not so great memories of “chicken daze from hell” plucking and gutting; I still can’t eat chicken if I think much about that process. But memories of “picking eggs” from the “new-fangled shed” where the eggs rolled on woven wire towards us. An automatic washer (swishing one wire bucket full at a time) made casing them for sale much more pleasant. I still yearn at the sight of chickens pecking in the garden, and hearing the rooster crow early morning is music! Not a nuisance to my ears. Thanks, Cheryl!!
Thanks, Chris! Yes, I didn't want to shock delicate sensibilities by delving into the details of prepping the rooster for Sunday dinner! But it still arouses vivid memories, and it's obvious that you can identify with that! Chickens scratching and clucking, and crowing roosters do bring back comforting connections to our days of growing on up on diversified farms.
Such a terrific article. I cackled all the way through. This free-range city boy was taught early on where eggs come from: the grocery store. This gives me a whole new appreciation of egg growers everywhere. Rooster ban! Why not? They're banning everything else in Iowa.
I live amid an urban sprawl that is continuing encroaching on the countryside just down the road. Some mornings, when the wind is just right, I can hear roosters crowing to welcome the day. It's rather pleasing. But in my neighbors backyard? Oh hell no. Kidding. Well, sort of. No worse than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir of barking dogs at 5 a.m. whose owners are apparently are as deaf as they are rude.
And that photo of Katie's Butt Nugget stand? It made me squawk out loud.
Thanks, Cheryl! And to think we could have been office mates a lifetime ago. While you were toiling away at Farm Wife News, I was being wooed to be the editor of Poultry Digest. While I explained that my knowledge of the subject was limited to making omelets, they came back with, "You have an advanced degree in agricultural journalism, I'm sure you can learn all you need to know and waved a nice salary at me that had me crowing loudly on the inside but came out quietly as, "No thank you."
HA! Andy, you never cease to amaze me. You interviewed for a job as the editor of Poultry Digest? Of course, our friend Catherine never likely expected to work even a short stint at Farm Wife News, either! Rooster crowing can't be any worse than dog barking nuisances, can it? Yes, I was hoping I didn't lay an egg by including a photo of Katie's colorful and colorfully-titled egg stand! Thanks for your comments!
Delightful article - so much humor! I gathered eggs as a child and also had the opportunity to butcher a few roosters when I was 10 - 12, so I could relate to these stories.
Thanks, John! I was hoping that it would bring back memories to a few readers, and serve as an update for others on today's "fowl" attitudes toward our food sources.
Great article. Extremely informative and humorous. Interesting to be reminded that almost nobody in America wants to actually slaughter and process their own meat. Eggs yes ....but the rest of it is bloody and messy and we don’t like to think of it.
Great article. Extremely informative and humorous. Interesting to be reminded that almost none of us in America want to deal with the slaughter of the “layers” or any other birds.
Thanks, Josiah! I'm glad you liked it, and it made you chuckle. Yes, we want to be closer to our food sources, but not involved in the final steps that land it on our plates!!
Egging you on!!! Great article; not so great memories of “chicken daze from hell” plucking and gutting; I still can’t eat chicken if I think much about that process. But memories of “picking eggs” from the “new-fangled shed” where the eggs rolled on woven wire towards us. An automatic washer (swishing one wire bucket full at a time) made casing them for sale much more pleasant. I still yearn at the sight of chickens pecking in the garden, and hearing the rooster crow early morning is music! Not a nuisance to my ears. Thanks, Cheryl!!
Thanks, Chris! Yes, I didn't want to shock delicate sensibilities by delving into the details of prepping the rooster for Sunday dinner! But it still arouses vivid memories, and it's obvious that you can identify with that! Chickens scratching and clucking, and crowing roosters do bring back comforting connections to our days of growing on up on diversified farms.
I cackled throughout this piece, enjoying the many nuggets of humor, puns, and creative marketing ideas. Also learned a lot. Egg-cellent!
Thanks, Jim! Congratulations for managing to work in a couple others that I couldn't accomplish!
Such a terrific article. I cackled all the way through. This free-range city boy was taught early on where eggs come from: the grocery store. This gives me a whole new appreciation of egg growers everywhere. Rooster ban! Why not? They're banning everything else in Iowa.
I live amid an urban sprawl that is continuing encroaching on the countryside just down the road. Some mornings, when the wind is just right, I can hear roosters crowing to welcome the day. It's rather pleasing. But in my neighbors backyard? Oh hell no. Kidding. Well, sort of. No worse than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir of barking dogs at 5 a.m. whose owners are apparently are as deaf as they are rude.
And that photo of Katie's Butt Nugget stand? It made me squawk out loud.
Thanks, Cheryl! And to think we could have been office mates a lifetime ago. While you were toiling away at Farm Wife News, I was being wooed to be the editor of Poultry Digest. While I explained that my knowledge of the subject was limited to making omelets, they came back with, "You have an advanced degree in agricultural journalism, I'm sure you can learn all you need to know and waved a nice salary at me that had me crowing loudly on the inside but came out quietly as, "No thank you."
HA! Andy, you never cease to amaze me. You interviewed for a job as the editor of Poultry Digest? Of course, our friend Catherine never likely expected to work even a short stint at Farm Wife News, either! Rooster crowing can't be any worse than dog barking nuisances, can it? Yes, I was hoping I didn't lay an egg by including a photo of Katie's colorful and colorfully-titled egg stand! Thanks for your comments!
Delightful article - so much humor! I gathered eggs as a child and also had the opportunity to butcher a few roosters when I was 10 - 12, so I could relate to these stories.
Thanks, John! I was hoping that it would bring back memories to a few readers, and serve as an update for others on today's "fowl" attitudes toward our food sources.
Great article. Extremely informative and humorous. Interesting to be reminded that almost nobody in America wants to actually slaughter and process their own meat. Eggs yes ....but the rest of it is bloody and messy and we don’t like to think of it.
Great article. Extremely informative and humorous. Interesting to be reminded that almost none of us in America want to deal with the slaughter of the “layers” or any other birds.
Thanks, Josiah! I'm glad you liked it, and it made you chuckle. Yes, we want to be closer to our food sources, but not involved in the final steps that land it on our plates!!