Introducing Mount Royal Farms
Dear Readers,
I have been unfaithful. I won’t even try to make an excuse for my infidelity because I’m hoping when you see what I’ve been doing, you’ll understand and be willing to share your affections. If you follow me on Twitter you might have seen the tell-tale signs of my latest passion; the murmurs of new love, the late night tweets, the giddiness of schoolgirl infatuation. I have been straying from Former Chef with a younger, and some might say, sexier blog; MountRoyalFarms.
A few months ago we were having dinner with some close friends, who also happen to be neighbors of my mother. Chris said he wanted to raise some chickens. I immediately thought, fresh eggs! and said “I’m in!” But like many discussions which happen over Sunday night dinner and a couple of bottles of wine, I was unsure if it was really going to happen.
Much to my delight, Chris and my mother took the idea and ran with it. Sooner than I expected they were researching breeds of laying hens, sourcing a local breeder and designing the mother of all chicken coops.
Chris and Morton have the perfect back yard for this project with a large flat area surrounded by nice shade trees. I’ve long considered raising chickens, as part of my committment to sustainable living, but we don’t have enough space. Plus, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts about my garden, we have backyard monsters (aka raccoons) who not only like to dig, but would be more than happy to have a midnight chicken dinner.
- Everyone pitched in to help build the coop.
While I wasn’t available to do much in terms of construction (besides a weekend spent covered in green paint), I decided I could contribute by building our blog which will chronicle the experience raising chickens, building the Parthenon of Peeps, and other things related to backyard farming. Once our “girls” start laying, you might even see a guest post or two over there with an egg-centric recipe by Former Chef.
So dear readers, I hope you forgive my dalliance with another blog and join us every now and again over at Mount Royal Farms.
Do you have a chicken coop, backyard farm or urban homestead? Leave a comment and let me know. Feel free to offer advice.
If you blog about your chickens, please leave a comment with a link to your blog on MountRoyalFarms so we can check it out. We’d love to see what others are doing.
For more updates on Mount Royal Farms, you can also follow us on Twitter and “Like” our Facebook Fan Page.
7 Comments
Sharon Miro
I can’t wait to get home and see my new babies….
Suzanne
Chickens are all the rage these days, it seems. Everybody in Northeast LA seems to have them. I like to think they’re the shiny new dalliance whose bloom will wear off after a few months of waking up in bed and seeing the unvarnished reality. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the occasional gift of a lovely, fresh-laid egg and be glad I’m not having to wake up with the, uh, chickens. 🙂
formerchef
I agree they do seem to be a trend right now. And it’s certainly not for everyone. I guess only time will tell if it’s fleeting or self-sustaining. I like to think that when people see the benefits of raising their own food, it will continue.
jennifer Gauthier
I have discussed this many times with hubby. He grew up raising chickens, rabbits, quail etc. His parents up until a few months ago still did but father is ill and can’t do quite as much anymore. Hubby refuses to get on board with chickens : ( I will just have to continue buying eggs from the local farmers market.
Jenn @LeftoverQueen
Glad to hear things are still going well with the raising of chickens! Going to pop over and see what’s new!
Tiffany
How many chicks are there in total? Something I didn’t know about chickens… they stop laying eggs as winter sets in and roosters apparently taste delicious! My friend had a baby a few months ago and the roosters decided that cawing outside her window was the right thing to do. So, onto the block and into the pot they went!
Here’s what she made —-> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coq_au_vin
formerchef
There are 7 almost full grown, now in the coop and 11 new chicks.