Healthy Weight Loss

[Sachita]

Nothing is more healthy then a fresh egg. I'm talking right from the coop and has not been refrigerated yet. It is packed with aminos and vitamins. The best is raw but if you can't do raw soft cooked.

Is it realistic to have your own hens? If you can then you should because the health benefits of farm fresh just laid eggs are amazing and really yummy.

[Medusa]

That's our goal is to have at least 2-3 hens! We have been talking about it for over a year now and being super envious of friends who have coops.

We have the land to do it (almost 3 acres) but will need to build a super-secure coop because our land is COVERED in raccoons, opossum, squirrel, deer, and the neighbors beagles are known chicken-killers and have a bad habit of busting out of their pen. We caught one on our back deck last year with someone's dead hen.

I'd love to have fresh eggs! The omelets I would make!

[Dominique]

Originally Posted by Medusa

That's our goal is to have at least 2-3 hens! We have been talking about it for over a year now and being super envious of friends who have coops.

We have the land to do it (almost 3 acres) but will need to build a super-secure coop because our land is COVERED in raccoons, opossum, squirrel, deer, and the neighbors beagles are known chicken-killers and have a bad habit of busting out of their pen. We caught one on our back deck last year with someone's dead hen.

I'd love to have fresh eggs! The omelets I would make!

They actually sell some nice hen *huts* on the internet (of course) I've borrowed several ideas that I intend to incorporate into my hen house.
Mine also has to be super secure. Not so much from other animals, although thats always a concern, but from ASS HOLES. Living in the city
come with it's share of issues. I had a hell of a time keeping the passerby drunks from raiding my garden, imagine what they'll do to my chickens. I installed motion detector flood lights and bought three imitation security camera's one moves constantly, one is in a dome and has a red light that is always on and one is a boxed camera mounted to the side of my house,,,,, as if I have some kind of compound here (its a 6 x 12 sq ft garden sheeze)

And its a proven fact that fresh eggs are healthy. I am imagining those omlets!

[Sachita]

I have raised hens for over 10 years. I'm happy to help. You don't need a fancy pen but if you have predators you need to protect them. Obviously the best and most healthy will be a chicken tractor. This is a pen that can move across your land/yard providing fertilizer for your lawn and fresh bugs, grass and grit for your hens.

Recently I saw where someone modified a 4 foot chainlink dog kennel, putting a top on, a set of wheels on one end, a few nesting boxes. It was very simple and they put a top on it for weather and shade. The nesting boxes we're hanging on each side by the gate. The water supply was a hanging bucket with open top they could fill. When moving they just lifted the non-wheeled end and pulled it.

This would work just fine for maybe 4 hens. In the winter cover 3 sides and add a heat lamp.

[Sachita]

Originally Posted by Medusa

That's our goal is to have at least 2-3 hens! We have been talking about it for over a year now and being super envious of friends who have coops.

We have the land to do it (almost 3 acres) but will need to build a super-secure coop because our land is COVERED in raccoons, opossum, squirrel, deer, and the neighbors beagles are known chicken-killers and have a bad habit of busting out of their pen. We caught one on our back deck last year with someone's dead hen.

I'd love to have fresh eggs! The omelets I would make!

get 4 hens for two people. Some days they lay a little, some none at all, some a lot. I eat eggs sometimes everyday. They are a complete food source and I make omelets for dinner all the time, especially when I'm growing fresh tomatoes and veggies.

Raccoons can grab a hen through the fence and will work hard at trying to do this. There is an expensive fencing system that is easy to put up, some poles and a netting that is electrified by a plug in or solar panel. Its great for keeping coons, dogs, etc out of your yard. If you start gardening you probably want this. Or motion activated sprinklers. Coons and beagles hate water,

[Medusa]

WOOT!

I love pesto and have been kinda sad about not having any lately. Most of the pestos I have seen in the store are BAAADDDDD calorie-wise so I found this one on the WW site:

Artichoke pesto!

1 1/4 cup(s) canned artichoke hearts, without oil, drained and rinsed (about 5)
1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), quartered
1 1/4 cup(s) basil, packed
1/4 cup(s) pine nuts, toasted*
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, fresh, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano
3 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp table salt
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a food processor fitted with the chopping blade; pulse a few times, then process until well-chopped but coarsely-grained. To refrigerate up to 2 days, spoon into a small bowl and press plastic wrap right against the dip's surface to minimize the dip turning brown. Yields about 2 tablespoons per serving.
Notes
*Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until lightly browned, stirring occasionally, to release their aromatic oils.

[Leigh]

Sounds like everyone is talking about getting hens ........ My family lives in the city so I know we'd have nowhere to put them, plus we don't eat eggs much anyways so that wouldn't work but for those of you who are working on setting things up I say good for you ~ anything to get healthier sounds good to Me! I went out to a chinese buffest-style restaurant with My friend Lisa last night and its the first time we've been there together since sometime last year. Usually I'd get more meat than anything else, but last night I tried to change that and I was quite proud of Myself ~ I only had maybe 5 or 6 small pieces of sweet and sour pork, a small portion of cantonese noodles, a small portion of fried rice but a HUGE pile on top of veggies! Mushrooms, celery, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots ........ My friend was very impressed with Me and I was quiite proud of Myself too :-)

It was a small step, but every small step helps!

[Medusa]

Just got off the treadmill.

I walked a MILE without stopping! Made my goal!

[lillith]

My brother is awesome! He brought over this super high-tech treadmill for me to use cause his wife is not using it! I am super excited! Gonna take some Ibuprofen for my knee and get on the sucker and walk for a mile and half, and try to run the last half mile.

[msW8ing]

Originally Posted by Matthew

It was a small step, but every small step helps!

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” ~Lao Tzu

[JustJo]

Last night, instead of munching on chips or ice cream or other such things during TV watching, Scoote and I had fresh strawberries.....and then, when that wasn't enough ....I made us a big salad with 2 kinds of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber (hers got the tiniest sprinkle of cheese)...and, yes, I made some homemade croutons just because...and went easy on the ranch dressing.

[girl_dee]

Originally Posted by Medusa

That's our goal is to have at least 2-3 hens! We have been talking about it for over a year now and being super envious of friends who have coops.

We have the land to do it (almost 3 acres) but will need to build a super-secure coop because our land is COVERED in raccoons, opossum, squirrel, deer, and the neighbors beagles are known chicken-killers and have a bad habit of busting out of their pen. We caught one on our back deck last year with someone's dead hen.

I'd love to have fresh eggs! The omelets I would make!

Yes it's so worth it and organic! I throw in two fresh eggs for an omelet and they fluff up so big there is always way too much.

Do. it. !

Our hens are retired old girls that were going to be slaughtered, so they are lazy arses. 14 hens give us a few eggs a day, and they lay them whenever they wake up LOL. But the eggs are wonderful and I enjoy knowing they are happy in retirement. I also like to make egg salad and LOTS of angelfood cake, which is a really good treat.

[Dominique]

Originally Posted by Sachita

Nothing is more healthy then a fresh egg. I'm talking right from the coop and has not been refrigerated yet. It is packed with aminos and vitamins. The best is raw but if you can't do raw soft cooked.

Is it realistic to have your own hens? If you can then you should because the health benefits of farm fresh just laid eggs are amazing and really yummy.

I just (within the last month) found out that the city of Pittsburgh allows you to have three hens per every 2000
sq feet of property you own. So I have been researching
everything hens. (the chicken manure is super excellent for soil). No roosters allowed in the city, I can understand that.

I'm sure you've seen my postings all over the place, that I don't like meat and my father did a very good job of teaching me ways to get protein into my diet. He used to
put very cold orange juice into the blender and a raw (but fresh) egg and blend them. You can not taste anything but the cold juice. We didn't have chickens on our farm, he grew grain (mostly). We did the barter thing.

Eggs that go to the store go through a series of washings, and each *wash* if you will, washes away vital nurishment and vitamins. Fresh is best.