Duchess of Devonshire's Chickens

Today is the sale at Sotheby's for Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire: The Last of the Mitford Sisters. As one would expect, prices are soaring. As you know, the Duchess had a fondness for chickens. The sale did not dissappoint.  Here are some of the chicken related items.

 Model of a hen, by Nicholas Johnson, made from reclaimed pine.

 Two bespoke pine and plywood travelling poultry boxes with the specially engraved monogram DD.

A matched pair of large continental earthenware hen tureens and covers, 19th Century.

Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, Coq et Poules (Creuzet 181)

A Japanese bronze group, Meiji Period, late 19th century

A French bronze and marble presse-papier in the form of a cockerel, second half 19th century

Jonathan Sainsbury, Gossip - Hens

 English School, Farmyard Fowl

 T. Benson, Hens and Cockerels in a Farmyard

Harry Epworth Allen, Study of Poultry

A Collection of Books on Poultry, 1853-2001

 Anne Gascoigne, Buff Orpington Hen

 An Edwardian electroplated novelty egg cruet, Mappin & Webb, circa 1910

 Poultry related ceramics, late 19th/20th century

 

 

Everyday is an Easter Egg Hunt

Eggs collected this weekend (and Monday).  Sadly we lost our oldest chicken.  Some people don't want to continue to feed chickens that are no longer laying and they are dispatched to a cooking pot.  Here, we believe that after laying such lovely eggs for us, they can mooch grain till the cows come home, or until they meet some other fate. 

Please Welcome our New Chickens

As you might recall, Doe Run Farm's chicken population was decimated by a rabid raccoon earlier in the year.  The few chickens that were left did a yeoman's job of trying to keep up production by laying most every day.  Still, they needed reinforcements. 

Here are some of the new flock getting used to their environment.

New Chicken -- First Egg

As you know, we got a flock of new little chickens. The first of the flock laid her first egg. As you can see, young chickens lay small eggs to start out before they get the hang of laying nice large eggs for our cooking pleasure. The small eggs are usually yolk-less.


Trick decided to be the official egg sorter.

New Chickens

Spring has arrived and so have our new chickens. While they are supposed to be true free range birds, the new chickens, for the most part, are staying in a rather confined space. It will take them a week or two to get comfortable, but soon they will be out and about.


A small group did venture out but soon tried vigilantly to get into the greenhouse.


Teddy explained if he couldn't get in, neither could they and they dispersed quickly.



In addition to chickens, we have added a new item to our collection of chicken books. This is actually a two volume set produced for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair entitled Eggs. Book I features all that was new and innovative in chicken rearing. It featured many of the new technologies including a slew of young women in lab smocks and zippy chapeaux who sorted, candled and cracked eggs.




It would seem that one of the newest innovations in egg production was actually transportation. Eggs were cracked into large vats and frozen for later use at bakeries. It was all the rage.


For a less frozen idea, check out Book II: The Best of Food Eggs and Poultry at Cookbook Of The Day.

More Famous People with Chickens

Jane Fonda

Sam Neill

Self-Portrait with Chickens, William Huggins, 1858.

Miley Cyrus

Self-Portrait, Robert Rauschenberg, 1954

Let's Talk About Chicks, Man

My friend Ann decided to give me chicks for Christmas. They are, indeed, the gift that keeps on giving.
Sandi is raising them up till they are a bit bigger because I keep my house really cold and I have cats. While they live quite peacefully with the chickens, I must admit these little one look like tiny morsels of goodness that no self respecting feline could resist.

The yellow chick to the left is an interloper and not a member of the Doe Run Farm collective, but that's OK. These 20 chicks will start laying in the spring and Ann and about a dozen other friends will reap their yolky goodness for years to come.

In this season of giving, I would like to put in a word for one of my favorite charities, Heifer International. For a donation of $20, you can give a family a flock of chicks. To give you a bit of perspective, in Tanzania, families survive on 50 cents a day. One $20 flock of chicks can raise that family's income to $2 a day. Think about that when you pass a Starbucks.

If you are looking for a gift-giving opportunity for that person that has EVERYTHING, think about giving a flock of chicks in their name.

If you want good eggs...

...you need good chickens.

The news has been filled with the recent recall of a half a billion eggs. That's BILLION. In large factory farmed plants, chicken are crammed in tiny cells, they never see the light of day, they never move, they eat inferior food and that's just the beginning.

At Doe Run Farm, our chickens roam the farm on sunny and not so so sunny days. They have their choice of lovely grubs and worms they scavenge as well as a balanced diet filled with fruits, vegetables and whole grain.

They family and feline friends who love them. In return...

...we get their lovely eggs.

In England, cookbook author and writer Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall started Chicken Out, a campaign to encourage free range farming of chickens. In the U.S. the USDA requires that in order to be "free range" outdoor access must be made available for "an undetermined period each day." In other words, the farmer can open a little door for a few minutes a day and call his eggs "free range." Seriously, felons in super-max prisons get more time outside than "Free range" chickens.



Please, ask questions about your food. Nearly 8 eggs in 10 are produced by 4 companies. While that egg carton in the grocery store may have a different name, chances are all those eggs came from the same basket.

Please, buy your eggs from a farmer, not a factory farm.

Teddy and the Girls and the Slider Rolls

Teddy, having been raised by the chickens, still considers himself "one of the girls." Whenever the chickens get an afternoon snack, Teddy comes running, as he feels he should be an active participant in any event that involves food. The day's snack was most of the bag of dinner rolls. I buy these lovely bags of rolls from my grocery bakery and use them for slider buns. The chickens love slider week as I only use a few of the buns and they get the rest. I called for the chickens and immediately heard Teddy's bell as he did not want to miss out on the slider rolls. After the initial eating frenzy, there were just a few bites left to scavenge. Teddy and one Iowa Blue had their sites set on a final bite ( hard to see in the above picture, but Teddy is a bit closer.).



Teddy decided to make his move, but reinforcements gathered.



Outnumbered and overfed, Teddy let the girls have the last bite. A gentlecat to the end!

Famous People With Chickens

Lady Diana Cooper

This past week, I have been suffering from dental difficulties and running a fever. On top of that, it has been cold and pouring rain. The other day I pulled in and before I could stop the car, my chickens exploded out of their house to greet me. They stood there in the driving rain getting soaked to the wishbones, but they wanted to see me. (Perhaps it was the fever talking...) still, they came out to greet me in the rain. I loved them for that gesture on such a miserable day.

Townes Van Zandt

Jamie Oliver

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Eleanor Mondale

Prince Charles

The Duchess of Devonshire

Martha Stewart

Dolly Parton (OK, maybe not but...)

Lucian Freud (OK, it's not a chicken...but still)