Outlaw Chickens!

So, here's how we became a halfway house for these feathered fugitives... I was scanning through a few things on the local craigslist site when, in the 'free' column, something caught my eye. The heading was "Free Roosters". Well, normally we have no interest in acquiring additional roosters as we have too much problem getting rid of our extras (freezer camp may become an option at some point). But, I instinctively clicked on the link and to my amazement found not a group of world hardened roos but instead a plea for someone to take the trio of 3 fuzzy chicks! Well, now I was hooked! So, after calling flock supervisor Carrie on her cell at work, and after having received the 'ok' I made the phone call to get these. Well, here's where it gets a bit weird... the guy didn't want to meet me at his home and insisted that he either bring them to me or meet somewhere convenient for both. So, to summarize to this point, I have a guy wanting to give away free chicks and he's willing to deliver. Weird. Now, I'm getting a bit gunshy as I don't want to introduce any possible disease or problems to our flock, but I meet with him anyway.

We meet in the parking lot at the local Lowe's home improvement store. Parked in the outer perimeter and wary of passersby like some illicit transfer was about to transpire. As it turns out, the Buff Plymouth Rock chicks where gorgeous and healthy. It seems that the guy who was raising them lives in a part of the city (an apartment I suspect) where pets aren't allowed. He needed to keep the transfer anonymous as he had no idea whether I worked for a law enforcement agency (hah!). He is keeping what are, to his eye, obviously hens but needed to git rid of any roosters long before they started crowing! Of the 3 he gave us, 2 are very definitely roos. One, however, has much less of a comb and seems to be less apt to play thier game of chest bump, so I think we may also have a hen!

It's been a week now, and the chicks are doing great in the brooder and growing quickly. Hopefully one of the roosters will grow up to be a great flock roo to replace our Marans, Lenny, that recently died. With luck, we'll have one hen from the group to add to the flock of layers, and the fate of the remaining fellow has yet to be determined (*cue sinister music).





Yesterday, we made a great pot of beef stew. This pot was mostly store bought veggies this time but soon enough, meals like this will be coming directly from the garden! I can't think of too many meals I like better during the winter than a hearty stew. It's easy to prep, takes about 10 minutes. I like to let mine simmer for hours so that the flavors really marry. Here's the basic recipe I use, but often modify based on what's on hand:

Beef Stew


3 tbs AP flour
1-2 lb. Beef Stew meat cut into 1 in. chunks.
2 tbs Cooking oil
1 cup Onion (coarsely chopped)
1 tsp Rubbed thyme
1 tbs Dried rosemary leaves (crush right before adding)
2 Cloves garlic (finely minced)
3 cups Vegetable Juice cocktail (like V-8, or tomato juice works in a pinch)
2 cubes Beef Bouillon
3 Large potatoes, peeled and cubed (3/4 to 1 in.)
1.5 cup Celery (coarsely chopped)
2 cups Carrot (coarsely chopped)
2 cup (optional)Turnip, peeled and cubed (1/2 in. dice)


In plastic bag, combine flour and dash of salt. Pat meat cubes dry with paper towel and then add to bag being sure to coat evenly. Brown meat in hot oil using a pot large enough to accommodate all the veggies to come. When meat is browned, add in all remaining ingredients plus 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 1.5 hours or until meat is tender and starch from potatoes has started to thicken the broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add a touch of hot sauce if you like it spicy. Serve with a crusty bread! mmmm...