Things to consider before keeping Hens

Security

I discovered recently, when given a taste of freedom hens can run fast, very fast….you will undoubtedly wear out before they do and indeed I did after 45 minutes of running around after one, who had decided to make a run for it. All ended well and I remain convinced the hen had been playing a practical joke, whilst her friends stood chluckling (sorry, bad pun!) in the background. After I fell to the floor exhausted, the hen simply wandered over and stood next to her run, stopping for a feed on the grass. I wondered whether our feathered friend had seen ‘Chicken Run’?!  This made me realise your garden needs to be secure if you’re allowing your hens to roam relatively free. Also, their home needs to be secured from foxes, which have been known to dig under fences. Digging your mesh down about a foot, making the joins overlap and wiring them together should keep your chickens safe and sound from any hungry, cunning, urban prowler.

Conditions

Hens love bright and airy conditions but, you will have to make sure the hen house is sheltered from strong winds, driving rain and provides some shade for hotter summer days. A waterproof roof is an absolute must to provide adequate protection from bad weather.

Equipment needed for keeping hens

The biggest decision will undoubtedly be the style of house you will use.

The latest in design is a plastic hen house, which tends to come with a framed outside run and can easily be moved around your garden. Plastic is extremely hard wearing and there are no nooks where parasites will live.

The fold method is a wooden house with a run built in that can be moved around by two people, this allows the hens to graze on fresh grass.

Rustic style are usually made from wood, They are dry and well ventilated but are more expensive to buy compared to other types of housing and can’t be moved around.

Economy range are generally made from rain proofed chipboard that is easy to clean, on the downside there is not always a lot of room for the hens to move around but, will suffice if planning just to put the hens in at night.

Traditional Ark tend to be a popular choice for hen housing  made from ready treated wood, night house, perches, nesting boxes, external run and although heavy can be moved around.

After taking all the options into consideration we decided to make our own with the help of my father in law who is a bit of a genius when it comes to design and build projects. To construct the house, we used bits of material which had been stored in the garage, with even an old piece of laminate kitchen work surface being used as the floor, aiding the easy cleaning of hen poop. The only disadvantage we have found is we cannot move the house around, so we selected a quiet spot at the bottom of the garden. As the hens have picked away the grass, we have put down lawn clippings as fresh grass for the birds. This decision has proven very economical, economically sound as we have recycled otherwise redundant materials and the hens have been very happy indeed!

Finally, in order to feed and water your lucky little hens, there are a number of cleverly designed dispensers available to automate this process – many plastic hen feeders and water dispensers allow you to pre-fill the centre with food/water and as the hens feed/drink, the stocks replenish, ensuring there is plenty available throughout the day whilst you may be out.

I hope you enjoy keeping these fantastic little additions to the family as we have!

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I was really interested, and contacted the Hen Welfare Trust, to find out more (my next article will cover considerations before keeping hens, and an equipment needed list.). I found out after an initial outlay for a hen house, chickens are an extremely cheap animal to keep. They love kitchen leftovers and they earn their keep by laying eggs.  Ex-battery hens which tend to be the large brown hens, are by nature very good egg layers. The idea of giving the birds the opportunity to stretch their legs and see sunlight in their old age really appealed to me.

After sorting out the accommodation for the birds, buying some feed and equipment, my Wife, daughter and I arranged to visit the next battery hen pick up. We had been warned the hens would be in a poor physical state because of the conditions that they had been kept in and there would be no guarantee all the hens would make it through the shock of becoming free range, let alone lay eggs. I don’t think anybody could have prepared us for seeing the hens in such a sorry state. Nearly all hens had vast amounts of feathers missing and their comb (the red sideways crown on top of their head) was a light pink colour and dropping to the side, which is a sure sign of an unhealthy hen.

My daughter picked out four hens and we placed them carefully into a straw lined box, and with great excitement we drove them home. We put the hens into their new enclosure and probably for the first hour, they stood rooted to the spot like statues, occasionally clucking. We had the feeling the outside world was just too much for them. We named the hens after old soul singers, Dusty, Lulu, Cilla and Aretha and then decided to give them some time to settle in without us staring! My Wife and I returned an hour later to find all four hens scratching around and Lulu with a worm hanging from her beak….we knew from that moment that we had made the right choice to rescue these hens! I found it amazing to think that although these hens had been enclosed in a battery farm for the first year of their lives, within and incredibly short period of time some deeply rooted, natural instinctive behaviour must have taken over, proving just where these hens should be.

Over the months the hens became stronger, their feathers started to grow back, their comb standing upright bright red and proud and they laid countless eggs! The hens have proven to be great pets, all developing different characters, sociable following you around in a pack and rewarding not only by laying eggs every day but by watching them flourish and enjoying their well deserved retirement.

Our hens lay amazing eggs which can be eaten in so many ways. I was given a tip from my late father – a few slithers of beetroot helps to turn the yolks a wonderful rich orange. And he was right, lovely to dip your soldiers in!

My next article will focus on some considerations and recommended equipment for keeping hens. In the mean time, I am off to create some egg-celent food…..groan!

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Sauces Batter Kitchen Utensil Tool Egg Beater Whisk $5.33

Oneida Chandelier Ice Cream Spoon Egg Bowl Shape Community Stainless Flatware $6.95

Microwave Plastic Heart Shaped Egg Poacher Boiler New $7.49

5 EGG POACHER / STAINLESS STEEL/ VINTAGE $22.50

vintage COPPER EGG COOKER SKILLET Pan $4.00

Boiled Egg Timer Kitchen Cooking Timer Reminder 1-60 minutes long Egg-shape $6.99

Egg-Shape Timer Kitchen Reminder for Boiling Eggs Pasta or when using the Oven $6.98

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Joie MSC Small Fry Mini Egg Frying Pan Small Nonstick Surface $8.98

Meeting up with friends and family for lunch and choosing one of the many world food options washed down with a local beer, cider, perry or wine whilst listening to a local band. Does life get much better than this?

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Unlike other guacamole I have tasted before, this was not pureed (in to a consistency resembling baby food!) or an odd-shade of green, but chunky and fresh and has already received good reviews from friends during a picnic last week!

One ingredient used was a Mexican cheese, however, I have been unable to source this back home and so have removed it from the ingredients list below. I shall update this post when I locate a supplier!

Ingredients (makes a tub enough to serve 4 for a side salad, or 2 for a dip to much watching a film!):

• 2 Avocados (ripe)
• 4 or 5 small shallots, chopped finely
• 2 to 4 cloves of garlic (dependent on your taste preference) – crushed or chopped finely
• 2 tomatoes – chopped, but not too finely
• 1 Green chilli, chopped finely
• A good handful of chopped coriander
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Juice of a lime

Method:

If you had a large enough pestle and mortar, I would recommend mixing and smashing up the ingredients in this, as you will extract more flavour, however, the method below assumes you do not.

• Slice the avocado in half, remove the stone and scoop out the flesh
• Slice the flesh relatively finely, but leaving chunky rather than down to a smooth paste
• Place the avocado in to a bowl and add the garlic, tomatoes and chilli
• Mix together the ingredients and season with salt/pepper to taste
• Add the lime juice and mix once more
• Taste – adjust seasoning and add further ingredients if you feel the balance is not right

This can be placed in to a sealed container in the fridge and kept for a couple of days, however eat straight away for the ultimate fresh taste!

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• When boiling water,  cover the pan and it should bring it to the boil in approximately half the time it would take uncovered.

• Flat-bottomed pans will ensure full contact with electric cooking rings – if the pan is not in full contact, then heating the pan will be far less efficient.

• Certain pan types will conduct and retain heat far more efficiently, for example, copper-bottomed pans will heat up quicker than stainless steel. In addition to this, cast-iron pans retain heat far more efficiently, result in more evenly-cooked food and do not require gas/electric rings to be turned up as high, helping to reduce energy usage and therefore cost.

• Ensure the size of the pan matches the electric ring, otherwise a percentage of the heat produced will be lost as waste.

• Reducing cooking times sounds obvious, but when using the oven, try not to open the door part-way through cooking; the heat lost has to be replaced, which means the oven has to work harder and use more energy.

• Try alternative methods for cooking, for example, for certain food types, it may be far more efficient to use a microwave, rather than an electric hob ring, or use an electric toaster rather than the electric grill in an oven.

• Keep the electric hob rings clean – any dirt or burnt foodstuffs left on the rings will absorb heat and therefore, energy.

• Keep the reflective areas below gas rings clean – again, the more reflective the surface, the far more heat will be radiated and the more efficient they will be

If you decide to adopt any of these, drop me a line and let me know how it has affected your energy bills – I suspect it will not make a huge difference, but cooking efficiently should make some impact and afterall, anything is better than nothing.

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The Island of Korcula has a thriving fishing industry serving local restaurants, guaranteeing the finest and freshest ingredients the surrounding seas have to offer every time you dine, including squid, cod, shrimp, sardines, mussels and cuttlefish (if you have a chance, try Cuttlefish Risotto, which is coloured black with its ink!). The local dishes have Italian and Greek influences using similar ingredients such as garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, basil, pasta and risotto rice.

We found a fantastic, family-run restaurant just off the centre square in Vela Luka, which served amazing home-cooked dishes, packed with flavour and generations of refinement as recipes have been passed down. A truly wonderful family – Mum is the Head Chef, Dad cooks on the grill and Son is the waiter. We ate here several times during our two-week stay, as the food was inspiring and the service was very friendly – we learnt much about local Dalmatian culture, general life and history during conversations with the waiter. On our final night in Vela Luka, I sat down with Mum and Son and they passed on a couple of recipes to me – Buzara with Langoustine (or shrimp as they called them!) and Seafood Risotto, both of which I have cooked back home. Buzara is a messy way to eat, however the flavours are just wonderful.

Ingredients:

• Langoustine – 4 or 5 per person (this could be substituted with large prawns, just adjust the quantity accordingly)
• 2 Cloves of garlic minced or chopped finely
• Skinned, deseeded and chopped tomatoes (you could use a tin of chopped tomatoes)
• 1 Onion, chopped finely
• Good handful of chopped parsley
• 1 Glass of white wine
• 50g of breadcrumbs (used to thicken the sauce, so you may alter to suit your preference)
• Olive oil
• 1 Teaspoon of Vegeta (powdered seasoning, like vegetable stock – I purchased some from a local Polish Deli)
• Ground black pepper to taste

And the fun bit:

• Heat the olive oil (not too hot, or you will burn the ingredients) and then tip in the breadcrumbs.
• Cook the breadcrumbs until they start to change colour and toast.
• Add the garlic and fry briefly until it starts to change colour, then add the tomatoes, wine and Vegeta and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add pepper to taste and place in the langoustine – cover and leave to simmer for 15 minutes (or until the langoustine has cooked)
• Remove the lid, add the parsley and stir in

Serve up with napkins, because you will need them! If you can find some, I recommend a bottle of Croatian Posip, a wonderfully crisp, dry white wine from Korcula.

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Ingredients:

• Minced chicken – approximately 250 grams
• 1/2 Onion, chopped in to medium-sized pieces
• Green beans – sliced in to bite-sized pieces
• Baby corn – sliced in to bite-sized pieces
• Holy basil leaves – a good hand full
• 1 Tablespoon of crushed garlic

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon of fish sauce
• 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1/2 Tablespoon of dark soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon of sugar (palm or brown, preferably)
• Between 1 and 15 fresh, finely chopped red of green hot chillies (for example, Thai Finger Chillies) – obviously this is dependent on how hot you would like the dish to be

Add all of the sauce ingredients in to a bowl and mix.

How to cook:

1. Add a little olive oil (or vegetable oil) in to your wok and fry the garlic until it starts to change colour and look yellow
2. Add the chicken and cook
3. Once the chicken is cooked, add the onion, green bean and baby corn and stir for 30 seconds to 1 minute
4. Add the sauce
5. Check the taste and adjust if required
6. Add the holy basil leaves and cook for 10 – 20 seconds
7. Serve and enjoy!

This can also be made using Thai Sweet basil, which gives a completely different perspective of flavour and is fantastic, especially if you like aniseed flavour!

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Every year, our trusted BBQ becomes my kitchen for the spring and summer. From straight forward, simple fish; mackerel, scallops, sea bass, river cobbler, tuna, bream or good old-fashioned meat; pork chops, steak, sausages, ribs, home-made burgers or chicken, whatever the ingredient, nothing in the culinary world gives me greater pleasure than chilling in the garden with a beer or glass of wine in my hand, cooking over the heat and aroma of charcoal. Whether cooking for just my wife and I, family or friends, I truly think this is one of the most sociable and enjoyable rituals of the summer months. What always makes me laugh is that every time we spark up the barbie, it’s always the males of the party that congregate around the embers….I suppose it’s a simple equation really; meat+flames+beer/wine+laughs=happy blokes!

Anyway, I’m rambling now so I’ll move on to the main course; this simple and straightforward recipe is a great compliment to any BBQ feast and is really straightforward to prepare and cook. Our greenhouse is now laden with fresh, home-grown fruit and vegetables and it’s time to take this fantastic array of produce and put it to good use. In and around the greenhouse, we’ve managed to grow (goodness knows how though, I can only put this down to beginners luck!) courgettes, spring onions, strawberries, pak choi, lettuce, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil and amongst others, tomatoes….and an abundance of them!

So, simple, quick ‘n’ easy bruschetta; I take a couple of hand-fulls of cherry tomatoes (you can use any type, but these happened to be ripe and crying out to be eaten) and chop them in half. Place these in to a baking tray with some chopped garlic, pine nuts, drizzle with olive oil and tip in a good splash of balsamic vinegar. Place these in the oven at approximately 180 degrees and cook for about 10 minutes. Once cooked, garnish with some ripped basil leaves and spoon over the top of  some sliced, toasted/grilled fresh french stick (baguette)…..oh yes!

Enjoy!

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One of the most satisfying things to do is to purchase locally produced food and this way you get the freshest ingredients for your kitchen and also get to support local businesses.

In addition to this, these same businesses will employ local staff so you are also assisting the local economy, so everybody wins!

We also visit a bi-monthly farmer’s market held in the local town, which not only has a fantastic array of locally sourced/grown produce, but is also introducing our daughter to the provenance of what she eats. The prices are generally very good for vegetables and you will pay a little more for meat, however the quality and taste is fantastic. They are all local suppliers and with several of them in one place, you generally get to benefit from healthy competition and get to sample a lot of food!

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Equipment needed; Shallow Baking tray, Large Sauce Pan, Sharpe Knife, Tin opener and whisk.

Ingredients

• 600g Potato
• 300ml Olive Oil
• 1  Onion
• 1 Fresh Chilli
• 400g Tin chopped tomatoes
• ½ tsp Sugar
• 1 pinch Pimenton
• 2 tbsp Sherry vinegar
• 1 Egg
• 1 Clove garlic

Method

1. Heat oven to 200c, Put 100mls of oil in a baking tray and place into hot oven  Peel potatoes, cut into 2cm square pieces. Put potato into oil and shake around, leave for about 40 minutes whilst making the tomato sauce.
2. Put 50mls of oil into pan and heat, peel and finely chop onions, finely chop chilli place carefully in oil and  cook until onions are translucent and soft, add tomatoes, sugar and pimenton, simmer for 20 minutes at the end add the sherry vinegar
3. To make garlic mayonnaise you can either make your own by combing the garlic and egg with 1tbsp of oil by whisking together then a further 150mls of oil drizzled in whilst whisking, or cheating and buying a good quality shop bought maynoaise and adding crushed garlic.
4. Plate up tomato sauce place potatoes on top with a dollop of mayonnaise.
5. Enjoy!

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