Ha! I actually took the time to look up where the phrase "winner winner chicken dinner" originated. Supposedly, it had its start in Las Vegas years ago. Back in the day when you could get a complete chicken dinner for under two bucks in that glittery gambling mecca. I guess if you were a lucky $2.00 winner you could go treat yourself to a tasty chicken dinner with all the fixin's!
For some reason those words are just stuck in my head right now...whenever I'm putting together some goodies for our hens it starts playing in my brain. :/
The days are still short here in the Northern Hemisphere and the temps are downright chilly. There is about 8 inches of icy frozen snow on the ground. We have a flock of 11 laying ladies. We are only getting 1 or 2 eggs a day. Mother Nature has slowed everything down and the chickens are conserving energy to stay warm and they keep taking turns molting! Some days there is hazy sunshine and they squawk to get out of the coop and roam freely like usual. When we let them out they are sorely disappointed that their tender juicy grass shoots are covered with an icy layer. They can't find their wriggly worms and hidden bugs.
One sunny day after a large snowstorm they were begging for their freedom. I gave in and let them out for a bit. Sadly...they would walk into the snow, be taken by surprise and completely stop! It was like a game of "statue"! They didn't know what to do, so they just came to a complete standstill! I ended up lifting them from their snowy prison cells and carted them all back to the coop!
We don't feed our chickens laying pellets or crumbles. We supply them a never ending supply of organic hen scratch. For three seasons they supplement with all the bugs, worms, snails and growing greens they can stuff their bellies with. This time of year I feel we need to help them out!
In the almost four years we've had our feathered friends it never gets old being able to give them all our produce scraps. I absolutely LOVE not filling up the garbage can or disposal with fruit and veggie trimmings. We keep a nice sized stainless steel bowl close by the chopping and dicing board and make sure none of these yummy scraps go to waste.
They really love cabbage and they were getting bored being all "cooped" up in the snowy weather conditions. Hubs decided to rig up something to entertain them as well as supplement their usual grub.
How 'bout a hanging head of cabbage?!
Then we remembered that birds like "suet". Back in the day I remember making suet bird feeders with my own Sprouts. We started saving our bacon grease and layering it in a freezer safe container with random goodies. Nuts, dried fruits and grains.
A little here, a little there...and soon you have saved a container full...I layered a bit of uncooked quinoa and some dried cranberries this time.
The frozen and solid grease and goodies! Oh...may I point out my amazing vintage pastel yellow Pyrex dishes? May I mention I am in love with them and that I found six of them at a yard sale for $1.00 each?! I was giddy when I found them and they haven't disappointed. They are the perfect teeny size for all kinds of fun!
I'm still trying to come up with ideas to supplement their diet through the cold and dark weeks ahead. I'm happy to report they all seem healthy and happy this winter despite the freezing temperatures and the occasional boredom from being confined to the coop on the super cold and snowy days...
Our friends and family are anxiously awaiting the increase in egg production that will come in the next month or so...once you've had farm fresh eggs you just can't go back!
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