This was taken from the Eastern view of their yard. Please note the aliminum feeder and the clever predator-proof door on the rear. It seems that Indian is present here as well. She's a good natured, extremely tame young hen. She's at 5 clock. Above her there's Roo, the cleverest of all. He IS clever. As you probably know, healthy hens of adult age MUST lay eggs from time to time. A new egg is made within their bodies in every 26 hours. Hens prefer a somewhat darker, quiet and safe place to lay an egg, which can take up to 30 minutes. We used to have one laying-place. As the number of hens increased, we introduced a new one. But, as the saying goes, chicken have the brains of a chicken. They still insisted on using the old one, and queued up for that, taking no notice of the new one.
And here comes our brilliant Roo! He sat into the new one and mimicked the laying of an egg. He called the hens to show them the new place. Isn't he smart? 
Other animals in the picture are Bug, Inky (hens) and Fudge (rooster). All these 3 are descendants of Roo and Hajas.
And finally, let me show you what eggs do we have. At the moment we have more than 50 eggs in our refridgerator. Anyone fancying one? We try to watch the hens as to find out who's laying what. This will come handy when selecting eggs for hatching in the spring. 
Please note that the darker egg in my hand is a NORMAL-sized egg, the one on the right is out of measure. These eggs contain double yolks, but are unsuitable for hatching.
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They are sooo cute! I like the way you named them.
I just hope you only eat their eggs... :-)
Vesper,
If you check back the archives for labels/címkék 'animals', you'll see the answer and some explanation as well.
(But you might get disappointed.)
Holy smokes that is a big egg! I can't believe you keep chickens. How very cool.
My classmate's family also has chickens.
Ahhh!! Is this the chicken post you've been promising!?
I love their names. I'm glad you didn't talk about gross stuff like unformed chicks in the eggs. :-)
Ello,
I actually feel sorry for that hen that had to push that ginormous egg out! And if you check for earlier posts labelled (címkék) with animals, you can find more photos of our hens and roosters.
Emperor Ropi,
In Hungary still a lot of people keep chicken. It really does not matter whether you have 2 or 20. And they are fun to watch.
Church Lady,
Perhaps, yes, it is. I don't remember. Note my reply to Ello as well.
Are unformed chicken gross?
I don't think so.
They are rather sad.
Very cool post. I think the chickens are cute as well.
Anyhow, this was all so interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Okay -- gross question... when it comes time to... ummm... "end" your relationship with the chickens, what is the most humane way to do it?
(Maybe you shouldn't answer this. But I am honestly rather curious about the whole thing. I'd have trouble eating anything I had named, but that's because I don't come from a farming background.)
Angelique
Strugglingwriter,
I'm glad my little entry on chicken was of informative value. I think chickens are fun to keep and perhaps more people should be considering keeping their own. But I am well aware that not everyone can do that.
Angelique,
we decided to NOT keep them as pets.
It means that we have to eat them, which involves killing. It is the toll/burden of keeping useful animals.
Everytime a hen seems to get older and out of her usual healthy way, she has to go. This is the way we stop any potential disease from spreading. Also, if one takes on a bad habit, like picking feathers from her fellow chicken. That is one nasty habit. It could leave most of the flock half-naked and bleeding.
That is definitely not wanted.
Last time we slaughtered a hen was b/c she started picking off feathers.
She was a most beloved extremely tame young hen. My heart was bleeding.
My husband picked her up the chicken yard and carried her out.
She had absolutely no fear in her eyes or movements. She was all quiet and peaceful. The kids have been carrying her around so she thought it was just another journey.
I cut her throat and she suffered less than a minute. All heer life was spent in an animal friendly environment with loving masters. The last minute must have been a shock, I agree. But all the rest was like chicken heaven on earth to her. Now her soul entered the real chicken heave, if there's any.
So, how do we do it?
A knife and a little prayer comes handy.
Szelsofa:
Wow. I have often wondered if I'd be able to do that. I suppose if I needed to, I could (and would.) But not having grown up around livestock, it's hard to imagine.
Still, that gives me a much better appreciation for your lifestyle. And I do agree that, except for that last minute of her existence, the hen had it made! (And who knows? Maybe she's in Hen Heaven being courted by all sorts of handsome roosters as we type!)
Angelique
Yeah-- picking feathers sounds like a very nasty habit. Didn't her mommy teach her better manners? ;)
Seriously, I've always thought keeping chickens would be fun. And the killing part wouldn't be a problem for Jason and I as we're both very practical when it comes to survival and the basics of life. But, our problem would be what to do with all the eggs. No one in our family likes to eat eggs (yes, we're weird that way.) I'd have to make lots of cakes and breads and french toast. Hmmm, on second thought, that doesn't sound too awful....
Angelique,
we only have been keeping chicken since one and a half year. Before that I had a dog, and kept lots of mice. Sometimes a mouse would get old and sick so I had to learn how to help him out of his miseries.
And yes, Ball might be having fun time in Hen Heaven :))
Aine,
Sometime a chicken just starts doing it. Unfortunately, it is not a really surprising habit.
Sometimes it lasts for a couple of picks and it ends as it came.
Sometimes it lasts for as long as the master realizes what makes the flock half-naked.
I see that you are quite practical, it is a healthy approach in my book.
You might sell the eggs to colleagues...? I don't know if it is forbidden or not?
Also making goffers, sponge cakes, icecream, soft breads takes up quite a lot of eggs.
Keeping hens is only a bit demanding and lots of fun. If you need any advice, just drop me an email.
Your description of the 'execution' reminds me of that old argument of Bertrand Russell against knowledge gained by induction when he pointed out that to a young chicken born on a farm in which every morning at 8.00 the farmer's wife comes out and feeds them, it must seem that that is the way the world works, and the chicken carries on believing this up until the morning she comes out and cuts it throat!
Luckily I live near a free-range farm with something like 18,000 hens, so all my eggs are double-yolkers. They don't taste any better but they make me think I got something for nothing, and that always gives me a warm feeling!
Can you settle a "discussion" I've had with the kids? They don't think that the chicken eggs sold to be eaten are fertile. I, on the other hand, believe all eggs are fertile, and the ones sold to be eaten have died because of the cold/lack of incubation. Can you settle this one?
David,
I think chicken have the brain capacity that allows that sort of thinking. And why not? It makes chicken happier, I'm sure.
I don't think double yolks are associated directly with free-range keeping. It depends on the type of hen, rather.
Jason,
it depends on the definition of 'fertile'.
If fertile means that it is alive - all eggs are fertile.
If fertile means that there's a pre-embryo within the egg and it is able to produce a live animal - the answer is, in my suspicion, a no.
As you probably know, hens produce eggs regardless of the presence of a rooster. Those eggs are considered 'infertile' b/c you can not incubate them to have baby chicken.
If there is a rooster beside the hens, eggs are fertile. There are certain hens that reject the idea of mating, but that is a minority.
Mass production of eggs means caged hens, where they are kept in abnormal conditions, including the lack of a rooster.
Free range/organic eggs however are most likely to be fertile. Simply b/c organic standards prescribe natural housing and flock management, which involves having roosters as well.
Bottom line: it depends on the source of the egg.
I might be wrong, but I tend to think that there's a subtle movement against eating fertile eggs in the USA. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I think most Americans would find it either disgusting or cruel.
(I think some Hungarians would also find it the same way, but here, keeping of chicken, especially in the country is still 'up'. They are easy to keep.
The recent hoax about birdflu however seems to be a first step against keeping edible/useful animals at a home-level. What a shame.)
Isn't it marvellous that so many people need to comment? I'm sorry that I have been out for so long, but no I'm back. Love your site!
Do you also have a pig? I ask because my son's partner is Czech from a tiny village in Moravia and almost everyone, including her parents, keeps a pig which is killed on a suitable day and the entire family gather to help deal with the carcass, including fetching buckets of boiling water to remove the hair from the skin. The beast is butchered in the back garden - a practice that would have British Health & Safety officials fainting with shock - and I understand that just about every piece of the pig is used either in sausages, pies or bottled.
I must say the more I learn about Eastern Europe, the more I want to visit the area.
Lasse,
I'm glad you're back. I hope everything's all right. I think it was the topic itself that made people comment :)
David,
no, we don't have pigs. Pigs are large and need more area. Plus, they DO smell.
Pig-killing however is a kind of feast that is still considered part of our national custom.
Healt and Safety officials can kiss their @ss, seriously.
People have been doing the very same thing for thousands of years. How come some big headed officials have the courage to instruct country people on how to do something that is as part of their life as a pile of data on a desk to the lives of officials?
I hate stupid regulations.
And yes, basically ALL part of the pig is used. The main product is the meat of course, but even the blood is used to make onion stew. The tail, ears are used to make jelly. Intestines are used to stuff sausage into. I love how practical these country folks are.
Or used to be - Unfortunately more and more people rely on mass produced food.
If you come to Europe, don't forget to visit us!
I like hens.
My parents used to keep Bantam hens as well as barred Plymouth Rocks.
Bantam rooster plumage made the greaest Indian head dresses.
It must have felt like a real Indian costume, Bernita!
How lovely to hear about your hens! When I lived in Malawi we kept hens so your post was a little nostalgic for me!
Crafty Green Poet,
I'm glad my post made you remember and perhaps, smile...I bet those Malawi chicken were different from ours, though...
Thanks for the information! I see that I'm wrong. I didn't think that hens produce fully formed eggs without a rooster.
That's a kind of tricky, isn't it? Roosters are only needed to make the eggs fertile (as: suitable for hatching) and well, for guiding the hens, for hens are less intelligent.
Szelsofa,
My dad and stepmom used to have chickens when they lived in Corrales, New Mexico. They had a rooster named Saddam Hussein, for his personality. They were Arucanas (I think that's the spelling), a Spanish breed, and laid blue-green eggs.
I've heard of aruacanas and have seen one, and have ALMOST bought one. Those have no tails and look really special!
Too bad that the special color of the eggs only comes if it is purebred. that's why we did not buy one.
Saddam Hussein, hee hee.
I think there are many many animals named after stupid politicians.
I bet there are a hundred roosters around with names like 'Bush', 'Stalin' or even 'Hitler'.
I really don't know if that is awfully hilarious or hilariously awful.
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