The Feathered Ones

“Wouldn’t fresh eggs taste wonderful?”

From that simple question asked at the breakfast table in Woody Creek, Robbie and I decided to raise chickens. We had a chicken coop built with six inside boxes for laying and a fenced yard for the chickens to explore. We got lucky because someone suggested we contact Tom Whiting for layers. Tom supplied the perfect chicken – a French breed called ASA Brown. Whereas normal chickens would scatter and do almost anything to keep from being picked up, the Browns would come right up to you and try to untie your shoes. They laid large, beautiful brown eggs that we collected in small baskets that held four or five eggs. We gave them to friends who remarked how different a fresh egg tastes compared to a store-bought egg that could easily be three weeks old. We probably spoiled eggs for many of our friends.

We also managed to get six Mallard ducks to populate the small pond on our property. Their wings were clipped initially, but once situated and getting fed daily they were never going to leave. We built a small island on the pond that kept them safe from predators. Remarkably one of the females laid and hatched eggs, which we did not realize until we saw her swimming around the pond followed by six ducklings.

When we left for winter sailing, we boarded our ducks with our friend, Dave Marlow, the famous photographer, whoever since is known as Ducky Dave.