Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Wistful Wednesday : Pullet Eggs

Recently my other baby brother called me and said “Sis you want some pullet eggs?”  Absolutely!  Nothing better than those first eggs that are laid, the practice eggs, some are different shapes more round than oval, it takes a young hen a bit of practice to get it right!

Those eggs were really good, flavorful and the yolks were golden orange.  I have not had good eggs like that in years.

It brought back lots of memories: Gathering eggs, faking out the mean hens to get their eggs, washing eggs and putting them in flats…I think 2 1/2 dozen would fit in a flat.  Some of the flats were a gray color and some were purple and you could stack them up.  From there they would be packaged into the customers egg cartons.  My Mom raised chickens and eggs were sold at our house to friends and neighbors.

My Dad would cook me up an egg or two for breakfast in the winter…over hard or a broken yoke either suits me just fine.  It beat the heck out of porridge..which at our house was Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat.

When I think of someone washing eggs I think of my Mother’s Father sitting on the porch washing eggs.  I sometimes helped him, grabbing a soft cloth to wipe the poop smears off the eggs.  Poop wasn’t so bad, bits of straw stuck to the poop and then to the egg was like removing a piece of cement.  You had to be really careful with those eggs…they would easily crack.  Grandma used up all the cracked eggs mostly in baked goodies.  Nowadays I wouldn’t use a cracked egg…but back them we didn’t think anything of it.

I looked for a photo.  I found one of my maternal grandparents chicken coop and grainery.  That is my grandfather in the photograph along with his chickens and several of his  kitty cats:)

Drewes Grainery (2)

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20 comments:

DJan said...

That picture sure sets the mood for your post. I have never had an egg right out of the hen, so to speak. I'll bet they are really good! :-)

linda m said...

I remember all the good "farm" eggs. My grandmother used to have a farmer deliver eggs to her on a regular basis and we would all share them. I also had to eat oatmeal and Cream of Wheat. Still eat the oatmeal today. My daughter-in-law raises chickens and I sure do love it when we have eggs for breakfast.

Muffy's Marks said...

I'm glad there is someone else in this world that know what pullet eggs are!! Dad used to raise chickens too, but I don't remember them selling any eggs.
We have a gal that lives next door who raises chickens and sells the eggs. They are so good, and the color of the yolks are no comparison to what is bought in the store. Once in a while she gives us a dozen pullets at no charge!!!

Primitive Stars said...

Wonderful Pullet memories, love that old black and white. Going to go fry me some eggs now, Francine.

Anonymous said...

How I love this photo and memories.

Unknown said...

I still eat oatmeal for breakfast just about every day and I mix in some plain Greek yogurt and a banana when the oatmeal is cooked.Now we can make the quick oats in the microwave. I alternate that breakfast with scrambled eggs made with baby spinach. Try it - it is great! Shirley H.

Intense Guy said...

I remember the dogs barking at the door when a Mr. Bickle would knock. He was the "egg man" and would deliver fresh eggs to the front door twice a week in the evenings. Those eggs always disappeared!

Karen said...

At our house, we eat the cracked eggs, well us and the dogs. Ours are cooked of course, but the dogs get them raw. As the hens get older the shells get weaker and you get more cracked eggs. I wish we had a chicken coop like your grandfather's:)

Nancy said...

Great post that brought back memories.

Muffie said...

I'll bet those fresh eggs are delicious! I do like oatmeal and cream of wheat, though. Haven't had either in a long time.

L. D. said...

My dad went to a neighbors place and bought a shed from them. He drug it a half mile and placed it in the back of the farm place. It became my job most days to gather the eggs and yes all that junk that came with them was bad. I like the memories of the pullet eggs and it was a treat to find them out there.

Henny Penny said...

I love the old picture. I am getting a few pullet eggs now also from my newest hens. Your posts are always interesting.

Ryker said...

My cousins lived on a farm and I just loved to visit them. Farm life would have suited me well. I always try to buy local eggs but right out of the chicken...that is the best!

Red said...

Nothing better than farm fresh eggs. forget the store bought and factory farm eggs. My Dad had a small chicken business. he had an egg washer...put the egg basket in a pail that was hooked to and electric motor. The pail would turn and move the water so that the eggs were washed.

LindaG said...

Is the building with all the windows, the coop? It's similar (but much bigger!) to the one that hubby's grandmother had.

I don't blame you for not using cracked eggs if you mean store eggs. No telling where they came from!

Have a wonderful evening!

Jacqi Stevens said...

Cats peacefully co-existing with all those chickens? I don't think my cats could handle it. Why we don't have chickens :)

Far Side of Fifty said...

Yes the building with all the windows is the chicken coop:)

Linda Reeder said...

Well, that brought back memories. My mother sold eggs to the :egg man". We put them in flats and he stacked them on his truck, a truck with flaps that opened up to expose the crates of eggs. I don't remember how often he came. I don't know if we held off eating the fresh eggs so that we would have more to sell. I do know Mom needed every cent she could get to keep our growing family going.
I always hated gathering the eggs when the hen was still on the nest. But collecting the warm eggs was fun. We had to be very careful. I may have gotten the job because I could be depended on.

Cynthia said...

So fun reading everyone's egg stories! There is nothing like a farm fresh egg, with its bright yellow yolk that stands up tall in the pan. I'm lucky to live where I can get them right at the farm. No delivery though!

Rita said...

I have had farm eggs right on the farm for breakfast when I was a kid. These days I get brown organic eggs and that is the closest I can come, I guess. ;)