Speaking of Chickens

When Emily was in Kindergarten, she learned a cute little song about a Silly Chicken.

I Had a Little Chicken
(Tune: Turkey in the Straw)

"Oh, I had a little chicken

And she wouldn't lay an egg.

So I poured hot water

Up and down her leg.

And she giggled and she giggled,

And she giggled all the day.

Then, the silly little chicken

Laid a hard-boiled egg!"

She sang this song at the ward talent show. I can still see her, standing up on the stage in front of the microphone...shimmying up and down and flapping her elbows like a chicken! The 2nd verse was just a series of "bock, bock, bock, bock-bock...bock, bock, bock, bock"...she was such a cutie! She has always loved to sing and perform, and has never suffered from stage fright.

She is, however, afraid of chickens, as evidenced in this video:

(Both girls are, in fact, named Emily. Scaredy-cat/ "chicken" Emily is the one wearing her hair down...)
(And does she really say, "Those are hens, not chickens!")?

Chicken Phobia

On the other hand...Shane is kind of shy and does not like to perform in front of others. He doesn't even like to be in the yearly Primary program. You would never catch him performing in a ward talent show!

But, he is not afraid of chickens!

He and a few of the other boys in the neighborhood, have been going to the Smith's house to help "pick" (gather) fresh chicken eggs. (These are very patient and kind neighbors!)

Last week, he brough home a dozen fresh eggs. He is fascinated with the variety of size, shape and color.

He also enjoys the whole process of "picking" the eggs. And is quite disgusted that, in his words;

"Chickens eat their own babies!" He dropped an egg that he had gathered and the chickens flocked right to it and gobbled it down. He thinks that is pretty gross!

He asked me to scramble some of his eggs for him. He told me exactly how to wash them off before cracking them. The first batch of eggs, he took 2 bites and said they "tasted weird". Later he admitted he was just thinking about where they came from & was worried that there might be baby chicks in the eggs and he didn't want to eat a baby chick! This was partly from a family conversation the night before, wherein Rick and I recounted instances of cracking fresh eggs...and finding forming chicks inside...and from his sibling's constant, "Ewww...that's gross, I'd never eat a fresh egg" comments.

He is now over the squeamishness and has eaten (and enjoyed) fresh scrambled eggs. I'm still working on my squeamishness!

When I was a kid, my grandma had chickens. I have fond memories of staying at her house and helping with the chickens. I got to help shoo the chickens in to the coop at night, and also helped gather eggs from the nests. I wasn't as brave as grandma, she would have to shoo the hens away for me to be able to snatch up the eggs. Those hens peck! (yeah, I might have a chicken phobia myself!)

Below is a picture of grandma's chicken coops. If I remember correctly, the large one was the "Hen House" and the small one was for the Roosters. They have not been used in a good, long time. (The coops, not the roosters...well, those too!)

I remember too, a few times of witnessing a Rooster meet his demise on the chopping block! It's a funny (and slightly disturbing) sight to see a Rooster running around the pasture with no head!

And, we (the grandkids) liked to chase each other with the chicken feet. After they were chopped off, you could pull the tendon and make the foot curl up. This really grosses me out now!

Chicken Coops in Grandma's Pasture

My grandma used to make the best chicken and noodles!

I tried this recipe for Lion House Chicken Noodle Soup a couple of weeks ago. I didn't use the dehydrated ingredients. And I added 2-11 oz pkgs of "Grandma's" brand frozen homemade style egg noodles. Oh, it was beyond delicious and totally reminded me of grandma's chicken and noodles. There was very little "soup" to it! But it was oh, so good!

And that is all I have to say about that.

For today.