WEEKLY UPDATES
Keep tabs on news, events and market changes from the Lake Regions in Maine.
click here to subscribe


RECREATIONAL GUIDELINES BOOKLET
Enjoy your favorite activities the safe way.
Click here to request your free copy.


Buffer Handbook
A guide to creating a vegetative buffer for lakefront properties.
Click here to receive this free handbook.

Maine Lakefront Real Estate

Lake Living magazine has been described as "the Downeast Magazine of the Sebago Region" Click here for a free copy of this award-winning magazine!



Our Maine lakefront experts are standing by to help you. Views and news about Maine lakes and lakefront homes See why the Mr. Lakefront team provides superior information and unsurpassed service Read the latest news about lakes and ponds across the state Educate yourself about buying lakefront property Find information about hundreds of Maine lakes and ponds Browse available Maine lakefront properties

Maine Shoreland
Zoning -
A Handbook For Shoreland Owners
A "Must Have" for every Maine lakefront homeowner.
Send us your info and receive this free 42 page handbook:
Name:

*Email:

Phone:

Comment:

*required


Maine lakefront property, Lakefront property in Maine, Lakefront property Maine, Maine lakefront real estate

The latest news about Maine lakes and ponds.

GOOD EGGS: Family Part of Growing Trend

May 13, 2009 - WEST GARDINER -- Joking about why a chicken would cross the road isn't so funny in this household.

If one did that, Laura and Keith Peckham, of West Gardiner, would have to launch a search.

The Peckhams, along with their children, Karlton, 15, and Victoria, 12, began raising chickens three years ago. Today they have 17 chickens, 10 ducks, three geese and are rarely without fresh eggs.

"I just like chickens," Laura Peckham said. "I liked the idea of having a few chickens running around. It was that, and wanting our own eggs. The taste was different, and knowing what (factory farm) animals were eating and what we in turn would be ingesting (was motivation)."

According to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association in Unity, families like the Peckhams are part of a growing trend. Strings of nation-wide food contaminations and a desire for naturally grown, fresh foods has spurred an increasing number of Mainers to skip supermarket aisles and to invest in rearing their own livestock or vegetables.

"I think the most important part for anybody is to really think about the impact they have when they make their food," said MOFGA executive director Russell Libby. "They could support local farmers who are doing a responsible job, or they can spend their money on anonymous food -- the kind of food that you don't really know anything about how it's raised or how the animals lived.

"I think that's where a demand for organic is coming from: People want to avoid some of the issues that come with the industrial food system."

What the Peckhams have learned about chickens' lifestyles in the last three years has been intriguing.

Right before hatching, baby chickens absorb what remains of the yolk. That gives the chick enough nutrition to go for about three days without eating or drinking. It's during this time young chicks are shipped to their new owners. When the chickens do begin eating, it's important they eat a variety of food, as too much of any one thing affects the taste of the eggs.

Unlike many animals, chickens see colors. They peck at just about anything, eating grass, bugs, worms, butterflies, frogs, mice -- even baby turtles. They also consume vegetable scraps, layer pellets and crack corn -- something the Peckham's chickens eat more of in the winter months when the four acres of grazing space is covered in snow.

Chickens molt every year, losing their feathers either in large patches or gradually when the hours of daily sunlight begin to dwindle. Depending upon the age and breed, a molting chicken might look haggard.

A chicken owner's daily routine includes letting the chickens out in the morning, making sure they have enough water, collecting eggs, putting the chickens in their coop at dusk and giving them food for the night. It's important to be diligent about picking up eggs -- especially in the heat of summer -- as the Peckhams collect anywhere from eight or nine chicken eggs a day and five duck eggs.

The Peckham's chickens, though, are past their prime egg-laying years. Younger chickens would produce more, Laura Peckham said.

At this point, though, egg production isn't the family's main concern.

It wasn't long after the first batch of chickens arrived that the family grew attached the birds. Karlton grew so fond of the first batch of chickens, he requested books about chickens for Christmas, Laura Peckham said.

"We like animals in general, but for me, it's a bird you can sit with and be close to and interact with," Laura Peckham said. "Yet they're roaming around outside in your yard and they're pretty. They don't have to be kept inside. I enjoy seeing them walking around."

"Plus," Keith Peckham added. "They're fun to have."

BY SADA REED
Staff Writer
Kennebec Journal 5/10/09


Lakes:
Regions: Belgrade


Print this story

Email this story

return to Lake News



37 Roosevelt Trail . PO Box 970 . South Casco . ME 04077
Phone: 207-655-8787 . E-mail: info@mrlakefront.net




HOME | MAINE LAKEFRONT LOCATOR | LAKESMART | LAKEFRONT 101
MAINE LAKE NEWS | ABOUT US | CONTACT US | OUR LISTINGS | SITE MAP
Privacy Policy: Your information will be held in the strictest confidence and will never be shared or sold.
© 2010 Mr. Lakefront, Inc.