How Homemade Pasta and Backyard Chickens Just Might Save The World
It all started with a book I was reading, “Heat”, by Bill Buford. He was talking about making fresh pasta and how the best pasta requires really good eggs from nearly wild, local chickens. Eggs whose yolks are a particular brand of orange, not pale yellow, and whose whites stand up tall when you break them into a pan. My quest had begun; I became obsessed. Where to find the eggs of my dreams? Thus, my research began.
Jayne and her friends are truly Free Range foraging in the field
It seems that “industrial farming” has taken over our food supply and in order to get more eggs in less time, the “folks in charge” have developed breeds of “super chickens” that mature faster and produce more eggs than any chickens in history. And, because of the unhealthy conditions in which they are raised, the birds are susceptible to disease so they are given powerful antibiotics and growth hormones.
As a result of my research, instead of shopping at the grocery store, I bought eggs from every vendor at the farmer’s market and though they were good, they just weren’t the eggs I was looking for. I was looking for eggs with deep golden (almost red-orange) yolks, small eggs that were so fresh you could barely break the shell, eggs that would make the perfect homemade pasta I was striving for.
Different colors of eggs from a variety of chicken breeds. More of the fun in having your own hens!
Finally, I determined the only way I could make perfect pasta was to raise my own hens. Thus, I could control what they ate, their exercise routine, etc. (I did say earlier that I had become obsessed, did I not?)
The foremost local authority on raising poultry are the folks at Island Seed and Feed (29 S. Fairview, Goleta-967-5262). They told me about “Heritage Breeds” and how the safety of our country’s food sources rest in the hands of small farms and the “backyard” farmer. Why? Heritage Breeds are old breeds that are the animal equivalent of Heirloom seeds. They are bred naturally; they still have natural instincts, like foraging, and nesting and they lay a superior egg. They are beautiful and their eggs come in every size, shape, and color.
Padma posing in the garden in front of Agave and Aloe plants
I picked out a nice assortment of heritage breed hens. Meanwhile, I needed a coop. I found the perfect man for the job in Loren Luyendyk (805-452-8249), permaculture designer and chicken coop builder. Using all the construction “left-overs” at our house, he constructed a coop, nesting boxes and run for my future brood.
Coco is a French Moran Heritage breed hen who takes very good care of her babies. Cutest ever the way the chicks find shelter under their mother
Eventually, my chicks arrived and after about a month of living in a large cardboard box, they moved into their new home. I had heard about “watching the chicken channel” in fact I had read somewhere that one of the advantages to raising your own hens was “hours of entertainment”, but me, I didn’t believe it. Though, in a few short weeks, we were spending any of our spare time “hanging with the chicks”. I can’t explain it. This was entertainment! After a while certain ones were obvious favorites, Coco (of Coco and Channel, the two French Marans) would jump on my knee or my shoulder, Jayne and Marilyn (the Gold Sexlink duo), Georgia and Teddy (the pair of Speckled Sussex) Polka and Dotty (Silver laced Wyandotte) and the crazy thing is they had distinctly different personalities!
Padma and the rest of the “girls” scavenging for seeds and bugs, which is what makes eggs truly free range and also make for deep orange yolks
Was there something wrong with me? Even if I had a rough day, going to see the chickens was sure to bring a smile to my face. Had I gone mad? Apparently not, according to what happened next. I began to discover that there were others, just like me right here in Montecito. It seemed like everyone we met either had a few hens or knew someone who did. The excitement grew! People wanted to show us their hens and their coops. There are chicken lovers out there that I had never noticed before.
One of the most amazing stories was of the woman up on Coyote Road who lost her home in the Tea Fire, but somehow (and miraculously) the firefighters saved her chickens by covering the coop in fire foam. Her chickens survived the tea fire, unscathed. Thanks, Firefighters!
Scavenging for bugs and seeds, chickens are omnivores and love dairy and all kinds of food scraps
But, I have meandered off the path, or have I? In fact, what began as a quest for the best eggs and thus the best fresh pasta on earth, ended in a kooky form of entertainment, loads of fun, companionship, preservation of the gene pool for future generations, and yes, the best eggs on earth and some really great pasta.
Want to raise your own hens? Visit Island Seed and Feed, it’s nearly time to order baby chicks for the new year.
Until next time, fill your garden with fun, chickens and joy! xo Lisa