Chickens, Pot Pie, Eggs and School

 I've been a very bad blogger lately and I've really missed it.  And I'm sure you all have been dying to find out about the Chicken Pot Pie.   LOL!!

 Well, suffice it to say that it was good.  So good, in fact, that we have already had it twice.  (See picture left)  It's helped me to realize that making homemade biscuits isn't that  hard, and we even had those with sausage last weekend for breakfast.

So what's kept me so busy for the past couple of weeks that I couldn't blog?  One word - school.  No we haven't been doing it, rather I've been preparing for it.  We're enrolled in Mother of Divine Grace School for the 09-10 school year and there has been alot to read up on and to buy.  Books alone cost more than the tuition, but fortunately my father has generously paid for them. 

It's turning out to be alot of work now, but hopefully it will be much easier on me once the school year starts.  I feel better knowing that Jacob will be working on a real college preparatory curriculum and that we'll be filling up the kids' educational gaps.  MODG has such an excellent reputation, and I know so many people who use them.  I've enjoyed my 2+ hour conversation with our consultant, and I really feel enthused about getting our school year started.

I've also ordered and received 50 day old baby chicks and subsequently sold 17 of them.  I've figured that ordering more than I need and selling some is a good way to finance the purchase of new chickens.     

Speaking of financing and chickens, during the month of June our chickens layed 237 eggs.  We haven't sold any yet, but ate and/or gave away them all.  During the same month I spent $25 on chicken feed and still have plenty left over.  Calculating that out it means each egg cost $.10  That is quite a deal on fresh delicious free-range hormone and antibiotic free eggs.  If I bought eggs for $3 a dozen at the store, the cost would be $.25 per egg.  

So we're saving $.15 per egg or $1.80 per dozen!  Plus that we're getting to enjoy our pet chickens, having an animal componant to our homeschool, all the while keeping the bugs down.  Last summer we had ants in the house continually, despite spraying, hiring a pest company and trying different natural organic pest control methods.  This year we  had ants inside the laundry room once, and that was before we decided to let the chickens range free all over the property.  We haven't had fire ants since then either, and that is a first for us here in Georgia.

I'd say that would make chicken keeping a real value for our family, and I would recommend it to everyone.  It's really very little trouble once you get your system down and the benefits WAY outweigh the cost. 

You know people in this country used to keep their own chickens all over until pretty recently, and the trend is going back that way again.  I encourage people all over to fight the zoning prohibitions and get chickens wherever they live.  

See how beautiful this girl is! 

  

Recently we found her sitting under a tree. When she got up we found a nice little present to fill up our egg basket.

Comments

[Megan]

I have one more year till high school. You'll have to keep me posted on how MODG is going w/Jacob.

And yes, I have been dying to know how the chic. pot pie was! I'll have to give it a whirl!

[Therese]

We love having chickens too.

I love the look of the chicken pot pie. I am going to have to try it and the broccoli chicken as well.