My only livestock responsibility were the chickens. There are ten hens and one rooster living here. Everyday, they need water and feed, and the eggs have to be collected.

On one wall there are nests for the chickens. This is where they lay the eggs. Hopefully. The goal is to get to the nests, remove any hen that may be in the way, avoid the rooster, and collect the eggs. It's good to be wearing gloves during this operation. I had to do this in the winter so the rest of me was well covered with winter layered clothing. This avoids the pecking wounds if conflict occurs.

There was also a hallway between the outside and the inner chicken coup. A good place to cache water and feed and a good barrier so if there are any escapees they can be contained easily. Remember... I'm a total freshman here. I need every edge I can get.

The chicken house is at the back of the property here. The nearest water source is an old, broken, water pipe behind the shed. It doesn't look to bad because the running water staves off the cold. But believe me. It's cold. I trudged through two feet of snow to get here. And I still have to bring the water back to the chickens.

So... Here's about five days worth of eggs. They are dirty, poop stained, and have a bit of bedding stuck to them. They're going to need a good cleaning now.

First thing is to rinse them in cool water. I'll define cool water. Cool water is slightly heated. If it weren't for the heating the spring water in the winter would give one frostbite before they could finish washing their hands. So... Cool water. My rinse also makes sure that the outside shell is waste free. The eggs are then soaked in a luke-warm (room temperature) bath with detergent. This ensures that the eggs are dead and helps final-clean the outside shell.

After soaking for a short while the eggs are rinsed off, to remove any remaining detergent and then left to air dry. It always bothered Cheryl however I could not help but to sort the eggs. Large... Small... Brown... White... I like order (not chaos).

I also made sure that the collection buckets were properly cleaned. After all... Clean eggs are happy eggs. Again... Just my nature.

There are also casualties in the egg business. If you look to the top of the picture. At the sink corner. There are two eggs that had cracked shells. Sorted out in final inspection these became treats for the dogs.

Friends and family are the recipients of these eggs,not to mention us, and every one needs to be perfect.

Shauna Fed And Watered The Rest Of The Livestock -->

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