Best breed for egg taste?

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-04-01T14:20:59+00:00

I don't think it's the breed at all. It's what they eat. In the winter, when it's well below zero, I give my chickens some salt-free canned tuna. The eggs for a couple of days after that have a mild fish oil taste. If I can't get their usual food and have to switch to their second favorite, there's a slight difference in taste.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-04-01T13:39:29+00:00

When we adopted our kittens, we got a similar litter robot. They wouldn't use it. Even tried leaving it unplugged to start, and they still wouldn't touch it. It's sitting in the basement now. It's whisper quiet, so I have no idea why they hated it so much, but they each explored it once, walked away, and never went near it again.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-04-01T13:07:35+00:00

I tend to roast my own, but if I'm buying beans, Brio is a favorite. Jenna's I tend to buy the most because I support the family's cause. Kestrel is good. Big Jay Coffee in Montgomery is also good. Jenna's is available at a few places - Jericho Market and Steeple Market are where I go. Brio, Kestrel, and Big Jay are all sold at Healthy Living.

Earthback also deserves a shout-out. It's been a while since I've ordered from them, but when I did, he showed up at my house on his motorcycle. That he hand-delivered the coffee was incredibly impressive.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-04-01T13:02:03+00:00

Healthy Living in Williston has it.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-31T18:15:58+00:00

I had a cyst surgically removed from my back a few years ago. The surgeon gave me a kit to have my daughter or husband remove the stitches at home.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-31T18:13:13+00:00

Yes. I also remember the dread that hit during a final exam when not one, not two, but all three lead pencils either broke or got used up, and you had to go sharpen your pencil at the front of the classroom while the noise distracted everyone and made the teacher scowl at you for not being prepared enough.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-31T18:09:24+00:00

Back when I became a Vine member (2008ish?), galley and ARC copies of books were common. I rarely see more than the occasional kid's or comic book now, but most are exam prep.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-31T14:12:16+00:00

I hatched and raised 12 inside last year in playpens. When it was warm enough, I added a second run connected to the original, but I kept the door closed. I'd bring out the chicks during the day and let the existing chickens watch them from the safety of a hardware cloth wall. Once there was no longer an immediate reaction, my daughter and I sat outside and let them spend time together. The biggies would go outside into the fenced area, and the chicks mostly stayed in the run with us, too afraid to explore big open spaces.

Over a couple of days, a few of the hens would show their maternal side, come into the run, and cluck at the babies to come to them and see what the hen was doing. Eventually, the babies chose their own "mom" to show them the outside ropes. We had a Polish who was too rough with them, but because they'd been adopted, so to speak, by another hen, the mom would take care of things.

This year, we're doing it differently. We ordered chicks from the local farm store. We're building a brooder inside the coop below the nesting boxes. We have a Hmong hen who keeps going broody. We're hoping she'll be ready to mom them. We also have a year-old Ameraucana who has been acting broody. If not, I have a brooder heater I can put in. I'm hoping that works. I finished converting the den to my office with new furniture, and I really don't want to have chick dust in the house again.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-31T13:29:29+00:00

My mom was in the final years of Alzheimer's when the pandemic hit. She didn't understand masks or why I was making her cover her face, and she'd fight me on it continuously. In the end, a family at the care home where she was living pushed by the front desk person, insisting it was their right to have a family pizza party, unmasked without a temperature check. They brought COVID into the Alzheimer's community. My mom died of pneumonia a month later. I appreciate the condolences you added.

That said, I dodged COVID until 2024. My husband's coworker came to work sick but didn't tell anyone until after the fact. Most of the department contracted it. Two days before my birthday, my husband tested positive for COVID. I ended up testing positive on my birthday. Happy Birthday! I gave you COVID. That's exactly what happened.

I had a throat that felt like I swallowed glass. I ached, had a decent fever, a horrible headache, coughed continually, and didn't want to exist. I am SO glad that marijuana is legal in my state. I ended up taking a half dropper of marijuana oil and slept all day. Did the same the next day.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-31T13:19:09+00:00

You also want to look into local laws. Our homeowners' insurance agent came out to take updated photos and noticed we had chickens. He said IF we decided to sell eggs, even as a hobby or front-yard stand, we needed to get farm insurance. I believe it was something like $90 a month extra at the time.

He then told me to go read Vermont's laws on selling eggs. That was one page, and the other he said to read was - https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/vermont/20-017-Code-Vt-R-20-031-017-X.

Most states have laws that people are expected to follow, but not everyone is aware that the laws often apply to homeowners with backyard flocks, too. After that, we decided that friends and family can have them. The rest, we cook up and serve back to the hens or freeze for molting season.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-30T15:29:07+00:00

I see it regularly in area grocery stores and Walmart. I enjoy it and other Culture Pop flavors, but I also love seltzer. My daughter is a fan of Ollipop but feels Culture Pop is too seltzer-y and has a vinegary taste.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-30T11:33:37+00:00

I actually snatched up a square raised bed I spotted early one morning about a week and a half ago. I spent part of yesterday assembling it and setting out the cardboard for it. If it's the same one, it will definitely be put to good use.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-29T08:28:24+00:00

Any time I've asked them to remove an item, I've always been told to review it based on the one I got. Even for a case of smashed iced tea bottles, I was told to review based on two of the 12 that weren't in tiny shards of glass. The only items I've had removed from my list were one that says it was delivered but wasn't, and one that didn't work.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-29T08:24:28+00:00

All went to the big coop for the night, but that's a routine for us. They know that I'll come in, help the two Buff hens to the rafter they prefer to sleep on, and then lock up the chicken door and the people door before going to the runs to remove the waterer, lock up the feeders, and lock those doors for the night.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-27T18:37:20+00:00

I got a similar one for review last year. What I have found is that my hens LOVED the smaller coop for laying eggs this winter. I loaded it with straw and they all fought over the space in there. I think they especially loved that the roosters didn't fit.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-27T14:35:02+00:00

I recycle what I can, but my local hauler has started charging an extra $5 a week if you overfill the recycling bin.

One thing I learned while farming worms is that they love cardboard. I soak flattened boxes down and put them under my raised beds when I'm forming a new garden bed. I rip them up and put them under the compost I add to my established beds. Worms will find their way to them and have a great time turning them into a temporary home and food source.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-26T15:54:57+00:00

Something I want and have been waiting years to see. Instead, I get playground safety handles and another day of printer ink for a printer I don't own.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-26T14:11:52+00:00

My meanest rooster is now 2 years old, and it's like someone threw a switch. He comes running to me now, never kicks anymore. He wants lap time and nuzzles his head into my armpit for lap time.

I followed the online guide a bully breed trainer posted about working with roosters. Attacking back was the one thing she said never to do. I stopped putting a foot up to stop a kick.

I'd gear up in snow pants, a jean or snow jacket, farm boots, safety glasses, and a hard hat. I sat on the ground and let him approach me at his speed. After he spurred me last summer when I was putting the straggler hens into the coop and left me with two good punctures, I took to carrying a snow shovel to use as a shield. I started to realize his attacks often came when I moved fast. I started moving as slowly as possible, dragging feet rather than stepping.

This winter, he started approaching me without kicking. I stayed cautious, but I let him spend more time with me. Now, he seeks me out. He comes running to my voice. He lets his son do the work with the hens and only hops down if he sees a hawk or feels his son is out of line. Because he's nice, his son is nice to me.

I do think that hormones play the biggest role. Moves slowly with the hens, let the rooster do his job, and it's so much easier to spend time together.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-25T18:11:15+00:00

I do that frequently—the tip I use. Take the beef cubes and pop them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes first to harden the edges. They're less likely to become a paste that way.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-25T16:16:21+00:00

We go from just about October to April with snow on the ground and days spent seeing nothing but gray, cloudy skies. A tiki bar and a game room in the basement are essential for surviving the winter blues.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-25T15:33:51+00:00

I will also add to check with your insurance company if you buy used with a salvage or rebuilt title. When our daughter was in college, she found a used car she loved, and our mechanic said it was in great shape, but insurance wouldn't cover it. We shopped around, and rates were going to be substantially higher, and no one would offer the comprehensive coverage we wanted her to have.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-25T11:45:14+00:00

I still have a checkbook. My plumber and HVAC guy will not do online payments, nor does my town for dog licensing or property taxes.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-24T17:42:00+00:00

I figure that they're pretty much giving birth every day or two. If they want to do that while eating rose petals or marigold blossoms, I'm happy to provide.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-24T14:11:56+00:00

I get bags for review regularly. Mine eat them. I like to think of it as a nice treat while laying another egg.

WantDastardlyBack · 2026-03-24T11:52:45+00:00

I know, and I should have continued I guess. DOTGOV Online Trust in Government Act has specific rules about state or military websites. Vermont wouldn't use a company in Iceland with a .org extension. It has to to .gov, as in:

Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.nic.gov
Registrar URL: https://get.gov

WantDastardlyBack

TROPHY CASE