>> Funding for this series has been provided in part 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.

>> Manna Pro -- nurturing life.

>> And 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.

♪ >> Raising a small flock of backyard chickens has never been more important or popular.

In addition to knowing where your food comes from, knowing what your food is eating, knowing you're feeding your family the freshest, most nutritious eggs possible, chickens and ducks and geese make really wonderful pets.

People from all walks of life in all parts of the country are discovering the immense sense of satisfaction and enjoyment that comes from raising backyard birds.

Whether you live in the country or on a quarter acre in town, it's possible to add a few chickens to your backyard.

They're entertaining to watch, friendly and curious, and in addition to fresh eggs, they also provide free bug control and more manure for your garden than you'll ever need.

I'm Lisa Steele -- author, blogger, and fifth-generation chicken keeper.

I live in rural Maine with my husband, flock of chickens, ducks, and geese, Winston the Corgi, and Linus the indoor-outdoor barn cat.

We moved to Maine for the peace and serenity.

We wanted a simpler life and to step back in time where there are still corner stores and your neighbors still know your name.

Welcome to my farm.

♪ ♪ Welcome to my farm.

It's finally spring in Maine, the grass is green, the sun is shining.

I always love this time of year because I can get back out in the garden.

And the chickens and ducks, they love it too.

They can look for earthworms and chase butterflies.

The ducks can splash in their pool, and coming up, I'm going to introduce you to some of my favorite feathered friends.

Violet, the diva, a Lavender Orpington, Gregory the gentleman, a Pekin duck, Miranda the lap chicken, a Splash Marans, and you can't visit Maine in the summer without a trip to the coast.

>> That should be your dinner right there, huh?

>> So I'm headed to Belfast to check out the lobster scene and to bring home some treats that are literally for the birds.

So I hope on today's show, you learn a little bit about Maine, a lot about poultry, and pick up some tips you can use along the way.

Out of all of my chickens that I shared with you over the years on social media, the one that I get the most comments and compliments about is Violet, our Lavender Orpington.

So I thought today it would be fun to formally introduce you all.

This is Violet.

She's the diva of my flock.

Violet's gorgeous and she knows it.

If I need a volunteer to take a head shot with me, it's normally Violet who signs up for the job.

Violet loves wearing tutus and naturally spends a lot of time looking at herself in the mirror, but she's also got a very maternal side and is a great mom.

Over the years, Violet has hatched a few batches of baby chicks, and in fact, we have two baby Violets who I'm grooming as understudies for her.

Being a bit of a diva, Violet does have her moments when she's just not interested in stepping up to the plate and would rather just strut around the yard being her gorgeous self.

Violet's a Lavender Orpington.

She's a variation of the popular Buff Orpington, which is a breed that originated in England.

The Orpingtons in general are larger breeds, they're heavier.

The Lavender color is not recognized by the American Poultry Association, so technically, she's not a recognized breed, but it's just a variation of the Buff or the Australorp, which is a black Orpington.

The members of the Orpington family tend to be super friendly, really great with kids, really gentle and docile.

They're good layers.

Violet lays nice, light tan eggs.

Sometimes they look almost pink, and she lays about 200 a year, although I don't technically count them all.

The Orpington family are a large breed of chicken, so they have more meat on their bones.

Technically, they're a dual purpose bird, so good for meat or eggs.

Although we just use Violet here for her eggs.

She's got beautiful slate-colored feet, which kind of match her violet, lavender blue feathers, and she's got a fairly small comb, which makes her cold hardy.

Like her cousins the Buff Orpingtons, Violet, a Lavender Orpington, makes a really nice addition to a backyard flock, especially if you have small kids because, as you can see, they have no problem being held, carried around.

They're just a really good all-around chicken.

♪ It was such a beautiful day today that after I finished feeding the chickens, I decided to jump in the car and head to the coast.

So I'm here in Belfast, Maine, at Young's Lobster Pound, and the fish are just coming in so I'm hoping to pick up some lobsters that we can have have for dinner tonight and also get some oysters, because they're my husband's favorite.

♪ Okay, I know there's a trick to opening an oyster.

>> Yeah, there's a little bit of a trick.

>> Or a skill.

There's some skill involved.

>> Yeah, some people get frustrated and need a hammer to them.

The shells were [indistinct].

But I'll give you a rundown.

>> Okay.

>> Alright, you usually take the brown side of the oyster, and you put that down on the table.

>> Okay.

>> And I brought my glove because -- >> I see that.

>> But I'll show you how to use it at home in case you don't have one of these gloves.

And what we do is, see this hinge right here?

>> Mm-hmm.

>> You stick that knife right inside that hinge, and what we do, we kind of push in... >> Okay.

>> ...and then we kind of twist it, just a little bit of a twist.

>> Okay.

>> And once that, it moves that top shell just a little.

Now a lot of people just will cut all the way through, and it breaks the oyster in half.

So take your knife and tip it on an angle so it cuts the top of the shell of the muscle off.

And once you cut the top of that off... >> Oh, wow.

>> ...there shouldn't be anything but just that oyster right there, so it's all nice and whole.

And then we take the knife again, cut this muscle one more time right there.

And that cuts it away from the shell so it's all loose and ready to slide down.

If you're not a regular oyster eater, sometimes if you've never tried one... >> I've never had an oyster, not raw.

>> Not raw.

>> No.

>> There's some cocktail sauce and some lemon.

You take and put that in -- a little dab of that in there, or pour it right onto it, whatever you want to do, with a squish of lemon.

>> Who's idea was this that this was something that should be eaten?

>> [ Chuckles ] Take one for the team here.

>> Right?

Oh, alright.

♪ Oh, that is one weird texture.

[ Laughter ] >> Alright.

And if you're home and you haven't got one of these fancy stainless gloves... >> Right.

>> ...take a towel at home... >> Okay.

>> ...put the oyster inside here and kind of fold the towel over about halfway.

>> Okay.

>> Stick, push it right in and then twist.

Push in a little harder.

Did you get it twisted?

>> Ooh.

Yeah.

>> Alright, and you're going to take the knife, going to slide it up, tip it up a little bit more.

>> Okay.

>> And take the knife and cut right across, all the way to the other end to your fingers are.

>> Oh, okay.

Oh, look at that.

>> There you go.

Now cut the muscle down in there.

>> Okay.

>> You're now a professional shucking oyster person.

Want a job?

[ Laughter ] >> I'll boil lobsters.

Well, that was a great lesson, and if you don't mind, I'm going to take these shells home to my chickens because they love them for the calcium.

>> Yeah, well, you'll have some nice firm eggs when they get done chewing on them.

>> Exactly.

Thank you so much.

>> You're very welcome.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Last year we decided to add some geese to our ever-growing flock.

I chose the French Toulouse for their calm demeanor and also because they're one of the larger breeds of geese, so not as susceptible to predators like hawks or foxes.

We enjoyed them so much that we decided to add three new goslings to our flock this spring.

[ Chicks peeping, goose honks ] Claudette is our French Toulouse goose.

She's just a year old and loves to chase the ducks and eat our hosta, but other than that, she's a delightful addition to our little family.

We gave the geese their own house so they wouldn't have to share with the chickens and ducks.

And about a month ago, Claudette built a nest in one corner and decided that she wanted to sit on eggs and become a mom.

Since we had a gander, the eggs should have been fertile, but sadly they weren't.

I had realized pretty early on that they weren't going to hatch, so I got some day-old goslings shipped to the farm and they arrived last week.

You would never know that Claudette hadn't hatched them herself.

She's thrilled with her new babies.

She's a natural.

♪ [ Claudette honks ] Claudette is a French Toulouse goose.

They come from the Toulouse region of France, and they are one of the larger breed of geese, so she weighs about 20 pounds and the ganders can weigh up to 25 pounds.

Geese can live for 20 to 25 years.

She's only a year old.

She lays white eggs, but they only lay for about a month or two each spring, unlike ducks and chickens that lay almost year round.

They're a calm, docile breed.

She is a great mom.

She's been really great with her goslings.

Part of the reason of us wanting to get geese was to keep the chickens and ducks a little bit safer from predators.

A hawk is not going to take a goose, and a fox would probably think twice against a couple of geese.

But as you can see, she's super friendly, not aggressive at all as long as her babies aren't threatened.

So the geese have been a really great addition to our backyard flock.

[ Claudette honking ] ♪ Summer arrives a lot later in Maine than it does to most of the country, but once it gets here, things grow really fast.

We are far from the equator, so we have really, really long summer days and I've managed to grow things that I didn't think you could grow in Maine, things that we grow in Virginia, like sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon.

It's just a question of starting seeds indoors early or planting things in containers or bags that I can move into the sun and then bring in at night.

But I've really been happy about how well my garden does grow in Maine.

We had the tractor our earlier and we got the garden tilled, but I'm just going to go through and see if there's any more weeds or rocks or anything, kind of smooth the soil out and bring the chickens out.

They love to go through the newly tilled soil looking for bugs and weeds and stuff.

So we'll just kind of enjoy a nice day out in the sun and then I'm going to get some seeds planted.

This garden is on the other side of the house and the barn, away from the coop, so the chickens generally don't wander down here on their own.

So I have to bring them down when I want them to work the garden, but that means that this garden is pretty safe from them.

I've got corn.

Corn takes almost a 100 days, which is about as long as our growing season is.

So that's one of the first things that I like to get in as soon as the ground gets warm enough.

We probably won't have any corn by 4th of July this year, but at least I can get it started.

I'm also going to plant some melons and squash, cucumbers, things like that.

Melons and squash, pumpkins, take almost our entire growing season, so those we won't be harvesting until probably right before our first frost in the fall.

But I'm also going to plant radishes and spinach and some lettuce, and those are ready in just a couple of weeks.

I do have a separate garden that is completely enclosed from the chickens, but also from the deer and raccoons and wild turkeys -- some of the things that they tend to eat more, like peas or tomatoes, peppers.

The lettuces I do plant inside the covered garden, but I find that the potatoes and beets and radishes and things that grow underground generally don't have to worry about deer or the bunnies eating.

They might nibble on the greens, but for the most part, I don't worry about fencing that stuff in.

♪ ♪ We have several breeds of ducks here on the farm.

One of my absolute favorite is the Indian Runner duck.

They're an active, friendly breed, and I have a little girl I want you to meet.

♪ Fern is 2 years old and very active.

Indian Runners tend to be a little bit more skittish than other breeds of ducks.

In fact, I think this is the longest I've ever held her and I can feel she's shaking a little bit.

But she's always curious about newcomers to the farm.

Fern's my adventurer.

She loves to lead the other ducks on one expedition or another and is always getting into trouble.

She likes to wander, but she always comes back for dinner.

♪ Fern is an Indian Runner duck.

She is fawn and white, but Runners come in all different colors -- white and blue, chocolate, black.

They were originally bred in Asia to work in the rice paddies and fields, and they were bred to stand more upright than the other ducks and to be smaller so they could travel the long distances from the farm to the field to eat all kinds of grubs and slugs and bug larvae in the field, so they're really used for insect control.

They're great foragers.

They are small ducks.

They only weigh about 4 or 5 pounds, and they lay either blue or white eggs.

Fern happens to lay a light blue colored egg, and they're pretty good layers as well as being good foragers.

Oh, she's showing you how she stands up straight.

They have orange feet, like most ducks, and orange bills, and she's got pretty blue eyes.

Look at her.

She's like, "Look at how tall I stand."

You're a good girl, Fern.

Look at you!

Oh, you're such a good duck.

♪ ♪ The White Pekin is the breed of duck that you probably think of when you think backyard breed.

They're the first breed we started raising when we started our flock over a decade ago.

This is Gregory.

He's our flock patriarch.

Gregory waddles around the farm, keeping an eye on everyone and has proven time and time again that chivalry is not dead.

Gregory always stands back to let the girls have the first crack at treats, although he does love earthworms, spaghetti, and tomatoes, so game on when I share those.

Gregory makes sure all the ducks get back to the coop safely at night, and waits until last to take a bath when I fill their kiddie pool.

Poor guy, always having to take a bath in dirty water.

But despite that, he's always nice and clean.

Gregory turned 11 last February, and it's hard to think of our little flock without him.

♪ The White Pekin is the most popular breed of duck.

When you think of the Aflac duck or Donald Duck, they're both White Pekins.

The males are large.

They can get up to 13 pounds.

The females a little smaller at 7 or 8 pounds.

Since they are a large, heavy breed, they are technically meat birds, but with enough exercise and the right diet, they really make wonderful pets.

The females lay large, white eggs pretty much year round.

They're actually pretty good layers.

Pekins can live 10 to 12 years with protection from predators and proper care.

They are very observant and always looking up to the sky to see what's going on.

Our ducks live with our chickens.

They sleep on the floor of the coop in the straw, and they usually make nests in the corner to lay their eggs.

They don't need a pond to swim in.

They'll be perfectly happy with a kiddie pool to splash around in.

Ducks do need a little bit deeper water source so they can submerge their nostrils and eyes to keep them clean.

Pekins are solid white, and they have bright blue eyes, orange beaks, and nice orange feet.

Ducks can each chicken feed just like the chickens do, but you do need to add some brewer's yeast to it because ducks need more niacin than chickens do for strong legs and bones.

But they're a really great addition to a backyard flock and get along just fine with the chickens.

♪ When you raise chickens, you eat a lot of eggs.

And I know I get tired of the same old scrambled, fried, over easy, so I've got a super fun breakfast alternative for you that's really easy to make.

You're go got love it.

We're making cloud eggs.

I love making these in the winter too because it looks like a little sun nestled in a bed of clouds.

So cool.

So, I have separated my eggs and I have the whites in my stand mixer, and I'm just going to whisk them until they form stiff peaks.

And I've broken my yolks each into an individual little cup.

♪ Alright, that looks good.

My whites are all beaten.

♪ So now I have a cookie sheet that I've got a piece of parchment on, and I'm just going to drizzles some oil onto it to make sure that they don't stick.

Brush that on.

Then I'm just going to take a spoon and make little nests out of my egg whites that look like little clouds.

♪ However many eggs you're using is how many clouds you want to make.

And then I'm just going to make a little indent in the middle, which is where my yolk is going to sit.

Okay, those look nice and cloud-like, so now I'm going to put them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 4 minutes.

♪ Those look good, they're just a little bit set, and now I'm going to add the yolks.

So we're just going to carefully slide an egg yolk into each little well that I made.

♪ Aren't these cute?

They look like little suns nestled in clouds.

So I'm going to put them back in the oven for about 4 to 5 minutes, until the yolks are set.

If you like your yolks more well-done, then you can cook them as long as you want if you don't want a runny yolk.

But I'm just going to kind of watch them and then when the whites start to brown a little bit and the yolks are set, I'm going to pull them back out.

♪ ♪ Oh!

These look perfect!

♪ So fun to make.

♪ [ Chickens clucking ] This is the chickens' herb garden.

It's not quite as pristine as my kitchen garden.

I kind of let them do their thing in it.

They love to take dust baths in it.

But what I mostly grow in here is the herbs that I like to use in their nesting boxes, so I grow a lot of aromatic herbs in here -- the lavender, bee balm.

I've got some oregano, some purple Thai basil, a little bit of sage.

But the chickens can come in here, take their dust baths, nibble on herbs.

And then I like to harvest them and put them in their nesting boxes.

Bugs don't really like the strong aromatics, so it helps to keep rodents and flies and things out of your coop.

But I think the chickens also like it.

It keeps them calm.

Lavender is a really nice calming herb.

But I really like them in the nesting boxes.

They smell so great, they look really pretty.

If the chickens want to nibble on them while they're sitting on the nest, that's okay too.

I pretty much use whatever herbs I've got extra.

There's no real set amount or type of herb that I use.

I pretty much use whatever I've got too much of and I need to prune a little bit.

But I especially like to use the mint.

It's really good at keeping mice out of your coop.

The basil helps keep flies out.

The lavender and catmint are calming herbs, so they help the chickens stay a little bit more relaxed when they're sitting.

That's especially great if you have a hen sitting on eggs that you want her to hatch, because you want her to feel safe and comfortable in her nest.

And then I like to add things that are just pretty.

Purple basil and the catmint are really pretty, but I'll add rose petals or marigolds or whatever else I have.

So it doesn't matter, just whatever I've got, and then I just kind of put some in the nests, and I just replace it.

The chickens usually eat some of it, but I'll replace it when I need to prune the herbs again.

I've even got some dried herbs left over from last winter that I didn't use.

So in here there's a lot of marigolds and lavender and rose petals, some chamomile.

I just air-dry it and keep it in a bucket to sprinkle in the nests during the winter months, when I don't have the fresh herbs.

I'm not really sure the chickens appreciate the herbs as much as I do, but they are really pretty, I think they help with pest control, and they make this coop smell really nice too.

So if you have extra herbs, toss them in your chickens' nesting boxes.

[ Chickens clucking ] ♪ Some chickens lay brown eggs, others lay white eggs, but there's a very special breed that lays super dark brown eggs.

This is Miranda.

Miranda is our friendliest chicken.

In fact, it's hard to get a good photo of her because she always wants to be in my lap or right beside me.

Miranda's a great garden helper.

She's a great forager.

She loves pulling earthworms out of the ground or scratching in the dirt when I'm planting vegetables.

Miranda's just 2 years old, so she's at the peak of her egg production and lays the most beautiful dark chocolate brown egg almost every day.

The Marans breed comes from the Marans region of France.

They come in various colors -- blue, black, and this gorgeous splash pattern.

They lay super dark, chocolate brown-colored eggs which some French chefs are said to only use in their baking because they think that they're superior in taste and quality.

Actually, the taste and quality of an egg depends on the chicken's diet, not the breed.

But the Marans breed has the distinction of being mentioned in literature.

Interestingly enough, James Bond, in the Ian Fleming series, would only eat a Marans egg, boiled for 3 1/3 minutes exactly.

So that's kind of an interesting little tidbit about the Marans breed of chickens.

She's white with gray splotches on her.

They have a fairly standard size comb and yellowish eyes, and interestingly, they're one of the few breeds that have feathers on their feet.

That's a trait of the French Marans breed.

So if you want to add some gorgeous egg color to your basket, consider adding a Marans.

Whether you go for the splash or the blue or the black, they're a really great chicken breed.

♪ [ Bee buzzing ] I hope you've enjoyed meeting some of my feathered friends here on the farm.

I know they enjoyed sharing the spotlight with me for today's show.

Over the years, I've raised so many different breeds of chickens and ducks, and I like different breeds for different reasons.

There really is no one best breed.

What matters is that it's the best breed for you.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Log on to FreshEggsDaily.com to learn more about poultry, backyard farming techniques, recipes, or anything you may have seen in today's show.

♪ Closed captioning for "Welcome to My Farm" is made possible by Grubbly Farms -- food for healthy pets and planet.

Funding for this series has been provided in part by Manna Pro.

>> To protecting them... >> Helping them grow... >> And thrive.

[ Geese honking ] >> Treating them... >> As well as they treat us.

♪ >> Manna Pro -- nurturing life.

>> And 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.