Eight eggs...........orange madeira cake

I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while, I thought I had read the ingredients list wrong at first, eight eggs!  Really?!

Over the winter months our chickens did not lay and for a while we were buying eggs.  So now they are in full production mode again we have plenty of eggs and a chance to bake this cake without feeling guilty about the amount of eggs I was using.

Our chickens are actually bantams so their eggs are a little smaller which was still fine for this cake.  Our girls eat a lot of kibbled maize too so the very yellow yolks made for a very yellow cake.

This makes a huge cake and is delicious - so enjoy!


Orange Madeira Cake

You will need:

12 oz (340g) Butter
12 oz (340g) Sugar
Rind of 1 Orange (I used 2)
8 Eggs, beaten
1/2 cup Milk
Pinch Salt
2 large cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder

Icing
1 1/2 cups Icing Sugar
2 tablespoons Butter
Juice and rind of 1 Orange
Boiling Water

Method:

Beat butter and sugar to a cream.  Add orange rind, beaten eggs and then milk.

Sift all dry ingredients in separate bowl and fold through wet ingredients.

Bake in moderate oven at 350F (180C) for 1 1/4 hours.

For the icing - beat together icing sugar, butter and orange juice.  Add boiling water as required to reach a smooth consistency.  Spread over cooled cake.

Yum!

Hiding

Once it turned cold our champion egg layer Roseanna stopped laying.  She went through a broody stage, then she started to shed feathers.  After a bit of online research I learnt that egg production can cease with declining day lengths.  This bit of info here also made perfect sense -

"Molting and egg production are not mutually compatible, so when molting occurs, egg production ceases. A rest from egg laying allows the hen to restore its plumage condition by shedding old feathers and growing new ones. At the same time, the hen’s reproductive tract is rejuvenated, allowing it to increase its rate of egg production and produce higher quality eggs when it returns to lay. Under natural day lengths, molting tends to coincide with the change in season so that hens molt in the fall after they cease egg production due to declining day lengths".

Then in the weekend there was talk of Sunday Roasts if the chickens were not going to be productive............they must of heard because Monday while I was feeding them and changing their water I noticed a kind of grass hut under one of the peach trees and inside hiding sat two eggs.  I noticed later that day that Roseanna was sitting in there.

She has laid previously under the Asparagus plant but it is looking a little bare so she has found a cosier spot I think for the cooler months.

Betty our older one does not lay and the two younger ones are almost near the age where they will start to give us eggs.

So if there is talk again about turning my girls into Sunday Roasts I may have to start "planting" eggs to keep the troops happy! Wink!

The ladies

We have had our 4 bantams for about 2 months now.  I love these quirky ladies and their very different personalities. 

They are free range in a large enclosure (if that makes sense) with a shed that holds the nesting boxes (that they don't use) and the roosts.  The two bigger bantams Betty and Roseanna sleep in there at night, but for some reason the two younger ones Clementine (white) and Sunday (grey) choose to roost in one of the peach trees, same branch every single night.  Even with all the rain we have had they won't go in the coop.

Betty and Roseanna are bossy and there is most definitely a pecking order so I wonder if this has something to do with it.  I'm worried though once the cold weather comes if they will be ok on their branch.   With Autumn here now and the leaves falling their lovely peach tree is now looking a little bare.

They are fussier eaters than I thought they would be when it comes to kitchen scraps, but after a bit of online reading I see that this is often the case with free range chickens who have access to lots of grass, weeds and bugs.  They get a good mix of grains, pellets and corn and love bread and apples, but not the skins.

I have also weeded a large patch that they spend their days dust bathing in and they get quite territorial about their spots.  Or if Betty wants a certain spot she goes and gives whoever is laying there a good peck until they move, bossy cow.

Roseanna is the champion egg layer.  And hides in the asparagus patch to lay her eggs.  They have never used the nesting boxes.  I was thinking about using the golf ball trick, have you tried it and does it work?

They always lay their eggs in the afternoon, I always thought they did this in the morning.........maybe I've seen this too many times in movies!

Chicken/bantam lovers and owners - I have some questions that I would love answered.

Are my two girls ok sleeping outside on their branch at night?

 

Any ideas on how to get them into the coop?

 

What type of coop (roosting) do you have?

 

How often do you feed your chooks, Mr H thinks I overfeed them?

 

Do you recommend any tried and well liked foods?

 

Any hints/tips you would like to share?

Loving

Birthday treats from my sister.  She didn't know that I love Orla Kiely- but thought the patterns were very Retro and that I would love them.  So very right.  I'm going to pop these on my sewing table for storing buttons and threads.  Too good to store leftovers in I think?!

Flowers that last - Mr H delivered these to me last Friday and they are still going strong........

Favourite breakfast at the moment.  Avocado and tomato on Vogel's toast with sea salt and cracked pepper.  Washed down with an almighty mug of sugary sweet tea.

Tom sat these two together on the chair in my room and covered them with a scarf.  Love seeing this gentle side to boys, instead of throwing them around the room.  "They can be friends, mum".

 

 

  

You may have seen the portrait of my three for week nine of the Portrait Project here.  This is where we had our tea Saturday night.  On the first day of Autumn.  There was a very cool sea breeze blowing but the light was glorious.

 

This week was the first time I have not had to pop a carton of eggs in with the groceries.  At the moment we are getting an egg or two a day from our bantams.  We currently have four ladies, and am hoping to add another two.  I love being able to hear them clucking about as they fossick around in the grass.  They are funny things, and there is most definitely a bossy one in the mix and that would be Betty.  I think her name suits her.

Hiding under the asparagus bed..........

Chicken run!

One of our new girls.

Movie night - I bought Pride and Prejudice over a week ago and finally got to watch it last night.  After much eye rolling and commentary from Mr H he sat at his laptop and popped his ear plugs in.  Amy I thought of you when Basildon House was featured - lucky you for being able to work there.

Tonight Bell and I are going to watch Beaches (insert rolling of eyes here), eat chocolate and hopefully enjoy the movie in peace and quiet!  Love a girls movie night.

Happy weekending!

"I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something you can be thankful for..no matter how simple it is."

Joining in here with Meg and here with Em.



 

Freedom!

 

We finished the enclosure this morning, and were able to release our Bantams into their run.  They have plenty of space to forage and snoop about, and the shade of two peach trees to enjoy as well.

There is a shed attached for them to roost in, along with the nesting boxes.

Katy Pecky is still running about in the vineyard, not sure if we will get her back anytime soon.

Meanwhile Betty and Roseanna seem pretty happy.........will keep a close eye on them for now though.  Just incase they are plotting their escape!

Thanks so much for all your helpful advice on yesterdays post, really, really appreciated. xo

Hello ladies!

 

We have some new residents.  Thursday morning our neighbour Jill delivered three beautiful Bantams from her property, where she has them free ranging on her land.  She has plenty to spare and will be delivering another three this weekend.

After clipping the wings (thank you Em and Jason) we let them wander around their spacious new surroundings............and they escaped.  Have you ever had to chase bantams/chickens?  They are fast.  After much commando rolling among the vines (me), Mr H managed to catch two of them, the last one is still missing in action somewhere in the vineyard.

Mr H will finish the enclosure tomorrow morning (higher fencing is needed) and then we can let them out of their holding cage.

So for now I would like to introduce you to Betty (with the dark brown neck feathers) and Roseanna - fingers crossed we get Katy Pecky back.

And we have already had 2 eggs, one of them was laid while on the run!  How clever is that?!

Do you have Bantams?

 

Care to impart your Bantam wisdom on me?

 

Any helpful tips, hints and links?

 

Happy weekending to you!

The chicken coop - progress!

Lots of hard work has been going on in our garden over the past week.  The chicken coop has finally been cleared (thankyou Mr H) in preparation for our chickens which we are hoping to get after Christmas.

If I were a chicken I think I would be quite happy pecking around in here under the shade of a couple of peach trees.  There is a large dirt area for dust baths and general pecking.  And a section of grass for lazying around in (do chickens laze?) plus a shed with nesting boxes for them to sleep in and hopefully lay lots of lovely eggs in.

There is still a bit of work to do - I would like to paint the sheds and make sure it is completely secure to keep our pup Charlie out.

This is how it used to look - it went wild over winter with all the rain we had and we have been emptying wheelbarrows of soil in there from some of the raised beds we have been clearing.

The boys love this dirt pile and play in here daily.  The can still dig around in here - but will have to share it with the chickens.

So lovely readers - who keeps chickens?  How many do you recommend keeping?  I was thinking about 3?

Do you recommend any good books or websites to read up on all things chicken?

Any chicken hints or tips you want to share?

To chicken or Not to chicken

This is the VERY over grown chicken coop.



It needs alot of clearing and beautifying!

Yes really this was once (we hear) a chicken coop.

It is huge and has two lovely fruit trees to provide shade.  We have started clearing it.  But for what I am not too sure.

I love the idea of going out in the morning  and collecting fresh eggs for breakfast.  It is an idea that I am sure alot of people dream about.

BUT!  And it's a big one there is a reality about keeping chickens that I am not too sure about.

I'm a wee bit scared of them, the flapping wings, the sharp claws.  Nightmare stories of "egg bound" chickens.  Plus we have a Jack Russell that we would need to keep away.  And the big one for me is they attract rats which I am terrified of.  Living in the country, by a creek and vineyard we have already had our fair share of  vermin visitors.

I'm going to do my research but would love to hear from those of you who already keep chickens.

So - who out there keeps chickens?  How many do you have? Which breed is best?  Pros vs Cons?

I would love to hear your thoughts as at the moment I am still firmly on the (chicken) fence about them.