Welcome to My Farm

>> Funding for "Welcome to My Farm" has been provided by Manna Pro... >> As much as we count on them... >> They count on us all the more... >> To nurture their lives... >> With the same commitment... >> Together: Manna Pro -- Nurturing life.

>> ...Meyer Hatchery... >> Meyer Hatchery offers more than 160 breeds of poultry and carries a full line of feed, supplies, gifts, and decor.

With nearly four decades of experience, the Meyer family is committed to supporting our customers through their entire poultry journey.

Learn more at MeyerHatchery.com.

>> ...and Grubbly Farms.

>> Grubbly Farms -- sustainable feed and treats made with grubs.

Find out more at GrubblyFarms.com.

>> And Horizon Structures -- Delivered fully assembled and ready for same-day use.

[ Rooster crows ] >> I'm Lisa Steele, author and fifth-generation chicken keeper.

I live in rural Maine with my husband, flock of chickens, ducks, geese, and Winston the Corgi.

We moved to Maine for the peace, serenity, and a simpler life.

Join me as I explore this beautiful state and experience all it has to offer.

Welcome to my farm.

[ Chickens clucking ] Come on, chickies.

Come on, ducks.

Come on, guys.

Come on, chickies.

Come on, ducks.

This is Bad Boy.

He is our Ancona drake.

Anconas are referred to as spotted ducks and they're one of my favorite breeds.

I think they're so beautiful.

They're not recognized by the American Poultry Association.

They're a combination of a couple of different types of ducks thought to have originated in either the UK or the United States.

It's kind of up in the air, but it's thought that they're an American breed.

They're small, they're pretty active, especially during mating season.

Bad Boy enjoys chasing the ladies, which is why he got the name Bad Boy.

Anconas have blue eyes, they have spotted feet, and they come in black and white.

They can be blue and white, chocolate and white, but generally they have kind of a spotted look to them, which I think is so beautiful.

And each duck looks completely different.

The female Anconas lay white or blue eggs.

They'll lay about 250 a year.

So they're pretty good at egg laying.

And Anconas are great foragers.

They're a smallish duck, so they're super active.

And the nice thing about drakes is they don't actually quack like female ducks.

So it's not like having a rooster that's going to make a ton of noise.

That's about as loud as Bad Boy gets.

Can you do it again?

Drakes also have a curly tail feather.

See that little feather there?

So that's how you can tell that he is a boy.

But, usually, when I have ducklings, when I hear that little raspy sound, I know I've got a boy, and if I hear a full on quacking, then I know I've got a female duck.

Anconas are -- They're fairly rare and they're a breed that I really enjoy.

So I definitely recommend adding a couple of Anconas to your flock.

This is Kiwi.

Kiwi is a Cayuga duck.

The Cayuga breed is named after the indigenous Cayuga Tribe from Upstate New York, so they are another American breed.

Cayuga start out solid black, but Kiwi is nine years old and has started to turn white.

But when she was solid black -- and you can even see it a little bit now -- she's got beautiful green and purple and blue in her feathers.

When they're solid, when they're younger, they're just such a beautiful breed of duck.

They're also an interesting breed of duck because they lay charcoal gray or black eggs.

Kiwi is still laying even at her advanced age.

She lays a couple of eggs each spring.

The first couple are dark black, and then they slowly get lighter charcoal gray until they're a light gray by the end of the laying season.

So they're good layers.

Maybe 210 or so eggs a year.

They're good foragers.

They are a medium-weight duck.

So they're 7 or 8 pounds.

They're fairly quiet, fairly calm.

And like all other duck breeds, they are very cold hardy and they handle the heat pretty well.

Like other domestic duck breeds, Cayugas cannot fly, but sometimes they can get over low fences or up the stairs to the deck or something if they get startled.

I really am partial to the black breeds of chickens as well as the Cayuga duck.

I mean, look how beautiful the black feathers are in the sun with the green and the purple and the blue.

I just think it's so beautiful when the sun reflects off of it.

And as she's gotten older and she's kind of mottled with the white in the black, I think she's gotten just more and more interesting as she ages.

[ Goose honks ] A couple of years ago, we added Claudette, a French Toulouse goose, to our backyard, and we enjoyed her so much that we decided to get a friend for her.

So, a couple of years ago, we got Harper.

Harper is a Buff goose.

The Buff is an American breed that was developed from the graylag breed, which originated in Europe.

They have been recognized by the American Poultry Association since the 1940s.

So the Buffs are a pretty light color, as you can see.

They have brown eyes, orange bills, and the nail or the bean on the tip of her bill is a light pinkish color.

Buff geese weigh about 16 pounds for the females, 18 pounds for the males, and the females lay eggs for just a couple of weeks in the spring.

So she might lay 15 to 25 eggs a season.

They are relatively calm.

They're good foragers.

They're curious, active.

Harper tends to get into trouble a lot, and Claudette has to reprimand her, which is why she's missing some feathers on the top of her head.

A dominant goose will do that, pull on the feathers just to show who's in charge.

And Harper is not in charge, even though she likes to think so.

So she's been a great addition to our backyard.

She's really smart.

Geese can live for 20 to 25 years.

They just add some comic relief, and we hope that they help keep the chickens and ducks a little bit safer because, with their size, you know, they could run off a small fox or, you know, hawks and smaller predators like that.

So Harper hasn't gotten much of a pouch yet, but when winter comes, you'll see two kind of like bags of fat hanging down here.

And that's where the geese store their fat for the winter.

Buffs are considered meat birds.

We are not going to eat Harper, but anyone who does eat goose meat knows that there is a lot of fat in these girls, so they're super cold hardy.

They do great in our Maine winters.

They don't mind the snow or sleet or anything.

So we're really enjoying Harper.

And I recommend Buff geese for your backyard.

It's always a good idea to collect eggs a couple times a day in the winter.

If you have hens laying, the eggs can freeze and, in the summer, the heat can make them not last as long.

Also, the longer you leave them in the boxes, the more chance they're going to get broken.

Someone might eat one by accident.

So I like to collect eggs in the morning and then again in late afternoon.

And then, when I lock up, I check one more time.

Sometimes there's an obstacle.

I've got a broody hen here sitting on eggs that she thinks she wants to hatch.

That is not happening, but she's not going to be happy about it.

Usually, in the spring is when hens go broody.

Their hormones tell them they want to be a mom and they become hoarders.

And they'll sit on anybody's eggs, not just their own.

So she was being a bad girl.

So that's a good haul for today.

Fresh eggs don't need to be refrigerated as long as they haven't been washed.

They can stay out on the counter for at least two or three weeks.

We've been raising ducks as long as we've been raising chickens, and we added geese to our flock several years ago.

I get a lot of questions about the ducks and geese.

People ask if they lay eggs, if we can eat their eggs.

And they all do lay eggs, they all look pretty much the same inside.

It's just a matter of how large they are.

One goose egg is equivalent to two duck eggs, three chicken eggs or nine quail eggs.

We don't raise quail, but I have friends who raise quail and the eggs are just so tiny and adorable.

But inside they've all got a yolk and a white.

Duck and goose eggs are slightly higher in fat.

So they're better for baking, they're better for anything that you want to rise, but you can cook them the same way.

If you overcook duck or goose eggs, they can tend to get rubbery.

So you really don't want to do that, but you can scramble them, you can fry them.

You can make frittatas or omelets.

Duck and goose eggs do taste a little bit eggier, I'd say.

They just have kind of a more pronounced taste, which is great because they can stand up to strong cheeses or strong herbs.

But some people say it takes a little bit of getting used to the taste, whereas chicken eggs are a little bit more mild, as are quail eggs.

Goose eggs are all white.

All the breeds of geese do lay white eggs.

We have a Toulouse goose and a Buff goose.

Ducks lay white or bluish-green eggs.

Unlike chickens, which the breed dictates, the color egg the chicken lays.

So all the chickens of one particular breed are going to lay the same color egg, either brown or white or blue.

In ducks, it doesn't work like that.

And two ducks of the same breed can lay a different color egg.

So one could lay white, one could lay this blue-green color.

And a duck can hatch out of a white egg and then go on to lay a blue-green egg.

So duck genetics are completely different.

There are also Cayuga ducks that lay charcoal brown, even black eggs.

They originate in the Cayuga region of New York and they're a solid black duck that lay charcoal black eggs at the beginning of the season.

And then as the season goes, the eggs get lighter and lighter in color.

So that's kind of cool.

But ducks definitely don't lay the same wide variety of color eggs that chickens do.

Chicken eggs can be white, brown, blue, green, olive green, all kinds of different shades.

Just like chicken eggs, with duck and goose eggs, the color of the shell is dictated by the breed, but the interior color of the yolk is determined by what that animal is eating.

So our geese free range all day, eating grass and weeds and all kinds of foods that are high in xanthophyll, which is in the carotene family.

It makes nice orange egg yolks.

And same with the ducks.

If they're out eating a lot of grass and weeds and things like that, herbs, they're going to lay eggs with nice bright orange egg yolks.

So no matter the breed of waterfowl or poultry, the egg yolk is determined by the diet of that bird.

And the egg shell color is determined by the breed.

Like chickens, ducks lay an egg about every 24, 26 hours, usually from spring through late fall.

They need about 14 hours of daylight in order to lay an egg.

They do tend to lay better through the winter than chickens do.

Chickens pretty much give up and stop as soon as the days get short.

But some of the younger ducks, especially, will lay through the winter, which is really great.

They also lay early in the morning and then they cover their eggs up with straw.

So I very rarely find a frozen duck egg.

Geese, on the other hand, only lay in the spring, so they'll lay maybe late February through late May.

So they have a very short laying season.

And they also lay about one egg a day during that laying season.

Some geese will also start up in the fall and lay for a couple of weeks in the fall.

It's also interesting to note that duck eggs contain a different protein than chicken eggs, and it's kind of common for people to be allergic to chicken eggs and be able to eat duck eggs or vice versa.

So if you are allergic to one, maybe try the other because it is a completely different protein.

If you're thinking about hatching eggs, quail eggs hatch in about 17 days, chicken eggs take 21 days, duck eggs take 28 days, and goose eggs take 35 days to hatch.

Duck eggs are great for baking.

They have a higher fat content than chicken eggs, which means that your baked goods rise higher and they're going to taste richer.

So I really love to use our duck eggs anytime I'm baking.

The ratio is two duck eggs equals three chicken eggs.

So you can really use them in any recipe and just substitute them in as needed.

So I'm going to make a souffle.

I like making souffles because you don't really see them a lot on restaurant menus.

They fall pretty easily and they're kind of finicky, but it doesn't really matter because if you're making them at home, even if they don't rise, they're still going to taste delicious.

Souffles can be sweet or savory.

Today, I'm going to make a savory version with some Parmesan cheese and I'm going to add some nutmeg, thyme, and sherry just to give it a little bit more flavor.

So to get started, I'm going to brush some ramekins with butter.

You want to do that so they don't stick.

But then I'm going to dust them with cornmeal to give the egg something to hold on to as it rises up the side of the ramekins.

I want to make mini souffles.

You can make them really any size as long as you've got ovenproof dishes to make them in and you want something with a straight up side because then your souffle will rise better.

So I've got them all brushed and I'm just going to put a little cornmeal in.

If you're making a sweet souffle, you can use sugar instead of cornmeal.

But you just want to make it gritty on the sides because, otherwise, your souffle is going to fall back onto itself.

You just want to give it a nice, nice dusting of cornmeal.

There we go.

Now I need to separate some eggs.

So I'm going to crack four eggs and separate the whites and the yolks into separate bowls.

For this recipe, I need two egg yolks and four egg whites, so I'm going to have two extra yolks that I can scramble up later or feed to the chickens, feed to our dog.

Definitely don't want to waste them.

Get as much white out of it as I can.

Now my eggs are separated.

I'm going to put my whites aside because I'll be beating them up later for some nice volume for my souffles.

Next, I need to infuse some of this milk and cream with the fresh thyme.

So I'm going to add milk and a little bit of heavy cream into my pan with a couple of fresh thyme sprigs and then heat it just until I get some bubbles around the edges and it starts to simmer.

Then I'm just going to add some sprigs of fresh thyme.

They're going to give it kind of like a nice savory, herby flavor.

I'll just mix it up.

And I just want bubbles around the edges.

I don't want to heat it to a boil, and I definitely don't want it to burn.

So, now I'm going to make what amounts to a roux, which is butter and flour in a pan, and the flour is going to help thicken everything up.

Get the butter melting and then I'm going to whisk in the flour.

Once the butter is melted.

It looks good.

I want to kind of do it quickly so the flour doesn't burn.

But this is going to help give the souffle some really nice body.

I'm just going to toast the flour a little bit.

Now I'm going to add my milk mixture back in and whisk it until it's smooth.

I can smell the thyme.

It smells really good.

Now I'm just going to smooth it out as it heats up.

I want to cook it for a couple of minutes.

I want this to really start bubbling and thickening up.

Get all the lumps out.

Okay.

This is nice and thick, and I have strained out the thyme, so now I'm going to put it in a bowl and mix in the rest of my ingredients.

Okay.

So into this, I'm going to add some sherry.

I really like sherry with eggs.

It gives it a really neat flavor.

Then I'm going to add some salt and I'm going to add some nutmeg.

I like using the whole nutmeg and grating it.

It gives it a much nicer flavor than the pre-grated.

That looks good.

And then, I'm going to add in my egg yolks.

Then give it a good whisk.

And last, I'm going to add in some grated Parmesan cheese.

You could use any type.

I've made souffles with Fontina or Gruyre -- pretty much any kind of cheese will work.

Okay, that looks great.

Now we're going to give our souffles their poof.

You want to make sure that your bowl and your whisk are grease-free, super clean.

So I like to take a lemon and just kind of rub it over my whisk to make sure that no grease is on it, because that's going to make your egg whites not whisk up really well.

Okay, that looks good.

Now I'm going to add my egg whites to the bowl.

And I want to whisk them until I get kind of soft peaks.

I don't really want a stiff peak situation, just soft peaks till they're really well combined and fluffy.

And I'm going to add a half teaspoon of cream of tartar, which is going to make them a little bit more stable, as well.

Okay, That looks really good.

We've got some soft peaks, they're nice and glossy.

They're fluffy, so I think we're good to go.

Now, I want to be really gentle when I fold these in because I don't want to lose any of their height and volume, so I'm just going to fold in maybe 1/3.

Let's see how that goes.

Just gently come behind.

I don't want any white streaks in my souffles, but I definitely don't want to stir it.

We're being very, very careful here.

Okay, that looks good.

It's all mixed together, and now we're ready to get it into the ramekins.

So now I'm just going to ladle a little bit of the mixture into each of my ramekins, bringing it almost all the way to the top.

Okay, now I'm going to get these into a 375-degree oven for about 16 or 17 minutes.

I definitely don't want to peak until that time has elapsed because they will collapse.

So I'm going to put them in the oven and cross my fingers.

Well, I would have liked a little bit more lift in the souffles, but they're still going to be delicious.

They smell super cheesy, and it's just an excuse to make them again sometime.

>> Funding for "Welcome to My Farm" has been provided by Manna Pro... >> As much as we count on them... >> They count on us all the more... >> To nurture their lives... >> With the same commitment... >> Together: Manna Pro -- Nurturing life.

>> ...Meyer Hatchery... >> Meyer Hatchery offers more than 160 breeds of poultry and carries a full line of feed, supplies, gifts, and decor.

With nearly four decades of experience, the Meyer family is committed to supporting our customers through their entire poultry journey.

Learn more at MeyerHatchery.com.

>> ...and Grubbly Farms.

>> Grubbly Farms -- sustainable feed and treats made with grubs.

Find out more at GrubblyFarms.com.

>> And Horizon Structures -- Delivered fully assembled and ready for same-day use.

Closed captioning provided by Eaton Pet & Pasture.