Egg Sausages, a Man Covered in Bees and our Top Secret Project...
This week, in the spirit of holidaying, we have some news from all around the world. If you're looking for a fun day out for the family why not check out what our Course Host of the Month has to offer? And if you're going away and don't know what to do about your hens, read Barbara's holiday advice. Plus, enter our eggstra special competition – it's eggciting stuff!
First Egg Sausages in Fiji
We've heard of beef sausages, venison sausages, and sausages with stilton in them, but never before had we heard of egg sausages. That is until now, because Fiji has just produced the world's first sausages made from egg. It all sounds very odd, but when the Ram Sami stall unveiled their first batch of egg sausages last Friday crowds were fighting their way to the booth to get a look at the new product.
According to the company's quality assurance officer the contents of the sausages are 100% egg based, held together by collagen and vacuum packed like other sausages. They have the same nutritional content as a boiled egg and they make a healthy alternative to regular pork sausages.
There was a lot of interest from the public so they might well prove to be a real hit in Fiji. All we want to know is do you boil them, fry them, poach them or grill them?
USA Heatwave Fries Eggs
The USA has been hit by a heatwave recently, and last Friday a temperature of 115 degrees was recorded in Washington D.C. Now, that is hot by anyone's standard, but is it hot enough to fry an egg on the pavement? Well, the research team at the Herald-Mail decided to find out!
The team spent 35 minutes attempting to melt chocolate bars and crayons as well as trying to cook eggs, with a variable amount of success. According to eggsperts an egg needs a temperature of 158 degrees to become firm, so when they cracked their egg onto a 120 degree pavement, the yolks began to solidify, but the liquid did not turn white. Meanwhile, within half an hour the crayons had started to melt onto the pavement, and the chocolate bar became pure liquid.
So, is it hot enough to cook an egg on the pavement? Apparantly not – but do let us know if you have ever managed it!
Contest in China to Beeware of
Bee-ing covered from head to toe in bees isn't most people's idea of fun, in fact it's more like a nightmare, but in China people have been competing in a 'bee-attracting' contest. The aim of this competition: quite simply, to see who can attract the most bees onto their body. Sounds...terrifying.
Wearing just a pair of shorts, and with a queen bee they reared to attract the swarms, the entrants have to stand on weighing scales and wait as they get covered in bees. Whoever gains the most amount of weight in bees is the winner, and in this case the prize went to Mr Wang, for attracting 26kg of bees in one hour. Although this sounds like an enormous amount of bees, the Guinness World Record is held by a US citizen, who attracted 39.5kg of the insects. Unbeeliveable!
Australian Fried Egglu
Our limited edition Fried Egglu has been selling well and houses that look like fried eggs have been popping up all over the country. More eggcitingly though, there is now a Fried Egglu taking pride of place in a garden in Australia.
Tom Rosoman was so happy with his brand new chicken house that he posted this fabulous photo on our Facebook page. The Eglu looks brilliant and we wonder what the neighbours must think – we eggspect they are all very henvious. We particularly like Tom's addition of an Australian flag on top of the Eglu.
If you want to get your hands on a limited edition Fried Egglu you'd better be quick because there are only a handful left. And don't forget, it's the same price as the regular Eglu but we will donate £20 from each one sold to the BHWT.
In Oz they like their eggs sunny side down-under!
Name our Latest product!
The winners of last month's competition were Mitch Buss, Rozalinde Gilbert and Joy Timmer. Their doorstops are just settling in but we will have some photos for you in the next newsletter.
But for now, listen up...
We are launching a brand new product! We can't say too much about it now as there are still some parts of the design that we have to keep Top Secret...but we can tell you that it's an indoor house for small furry animals. As you would eggspect from Omlet it looks great but also works brilliantly making keeping these furry friends more enjoyable and less work.
YOU could name the new product! We have been trying to come up with a name as good as Eglu is for a chicken house and Beehaus is for bees. If you think of the perfect name for this new pet house then you will win one of the very first ones off the production line. Just email your ideas to johannes@omlet.co.uk, by Friday 5th August, and if we choose yours we'll let you know.
And a bit of advice: Please don't try to fit the word 'Eglu' into the name – we have tried this and it just sounds too silly!
The Omlet Team
The children have broken up for the summer holidays at last and the great getaway is well and truly underway. We all put so much time and effort into our own holiday plans but sometimes little thought goes into who will look after our hens while we’re away and their welfare is often the cause of a last minute panic stricken e-mail to me asking for help. We have a wonderful network of volunteer chicken sitters on our forum but unfortunately many of them would struggle to look after a large number of hens with no accommodation of their own. Most volunteers will also find chicken sitting for weeks on end quite a trial too while you enjoy a world cruise. Remember that most will be looking after your hens in their own gardens where space is often limited. It’s also quite an imposition to expect the chicken sitters to travel a distance to and from your home a couple of times a day to feed and let your hens in and out if you aren’t able to transport them along with their coop to the sitter for the duration.
If you need someone to look after your hens while you’re away on holiday and do have a large number of birds or a coop which isn’t transportable, the best thing to do is look to your immediate area for help. Ask neighbours and friends if they might be able to pop in to check on your birds and make sure they have food and water. Most feeders hold enough for a couple of days so if daily visits are a problem, maybe every other day wouldn’t seem so difficult,
especially if your hens also have a secure run to stay in while you’re away as this can do away with the need for them to be shut in at night. Check your Yellow Pages, animal feed stores, pet shops and local vets to see if there are any pet sitters listed who might be willing to add chicken sitting to their resume. Scout and Guide groups may appreciate some chicken handling experience to put towards animal carer badges. Some poultry breeders and animal boarding kennels also offer hen holiday boarding so do an internet search for anyone nearby.
If you have an easy to transport coop such as an Eglu, Go or Cube, check our forum chicken sitters list to see if there is anyone near you who might be able to care for your hens while you’re away.
If you’re a forum member, you can contact them using the forum private messaging facility or you can email me at barbara@omlet.co.uk and I’ll pass on any messages for you. Please try and give as much notice as you can when you do contact one of our volunteers as it’s not very good form to ask someone to look after your birds the following day because your plane leaves at 6am! The rates charged for care vary from sitter to sitter and some have set up websites to advertise the service they offer so check any links on our forum list for details.
Your name: Janet Hargreaves
Where and with who do you live? I live with all of my three sons and husband, in Hare Hatch, Reading. My two big boys have returned home from uni and will be flying the coop yet again. I've got two beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs who are very interested in the chickens!
How many chickens do you have and what are their names? At the moment I have 11 hens. Two gingernuts Miranda and Queenie, one Blackrock Jojo, a white sussex Cracker , Cream legbar Angel , Rhode island Red called Rhodie and a thumping big Welsummer called Big Mama. I have two Buff Rock bantams called Rosemary and Thyme and two Fresian Fowl, Gemma and Jessica.
Why did you decide to become a hen party host? I decided to become a host as I was fed up of nobody in the family wanting to listen to me warble on about chickens. I was becoming a chicken keeping oracle and the family were moving in the opposite direction when they saw me coming with a chicken under my arm, with no doubt another little chicken related tale to tell them! I was looking on the Omlet website at the courses page and the penny dropped, why not talk to people who actually want to hear what you have to say who have an interest in chickens?
What do your courses include? My courses cover the basics of chicken keeping, and discuss chicken breeds and their temperaments, trying to work out which breed would suit their particular needs. I also go into a bit of detail about chicken health - that was the bit that I found was so important at the start. I use a very forgiving chicken to demonstrate all the "important bits". I also show people how to handle a chicken and demonstrate how to dust a chicken with mite powder as that was something I was quite nervous about as a beginner. I talk about different feeds and supplements, how to look after and clean the Eglus and about looking after the grass that the chickens graze on. I have different set ups with all the Eglus so we go through each one to see which would suit their particular circumstances at home.
Why should people attend a course? I have become incredibly interested in all aspects of chicken keeping and I have amassed a wealth of knowledge and an abundance of enthusiasm which is really quite infectious! It is a really enjoyable way to spend a morning, finished off with a smashing piece of cake (even if I do say so myself)! People have really enjoyed seeing the different setups with the Eglus and so many different breeds of hens.
Upcoming Courses
Jan is running the Beginners Chicken Keeping Course throughout August, but here is a selection of the dates:
Wed 3rd, 6pm-8pm
Thurs 4th, 11am-1pm
Sat 6th, 11am -1pm
Wed 10th, 6pm-8pm
Thurs 11th, 11am -1pm
Example Review
“My fiance and I had a wonderful few hours with Janet and her girls. Janet's passion and enthusiasm was plain to see and she was full of really useful information and tips for us (we are beginners). She had also prepared a really helpful file that we could take home with lots of information and cuttings - really thoughtful. An eggsellent time had - would wholeheartedly recommend.”
With 11 hens, several Eglus and some cracking cakes, Jan is definitely the hostess with the mostess
There'll be no problem with foxes with these guard dogs around!
Tarts are always welcome at this Hen Party!
Martin Gulliver Hen Egg Cup - Union Jack
If you're patriotic about your country and a fan of boiled eggs, this is the perfect egg cup for you. Made from ceramic, with a bright and brilliant union jack print, this beauty will make your breakfast eggsperience even better. Listen to a quick blast of the National Anthem while dunking your soldiers for a real kick-start to the morning.
Keep the lid on until you're ready to eat and you'll not only keep your egg warm, but it will be hidden from anyone else with a craving for boiled eggs.
Charlie the Chicken Tea Cosy
Gone are the days of old, dull tea cosies knitted by your great Aunt Mabel. This is a cosy with real character and a dash of craziness. The challenge will be to pour that cup of tea without cracking a smile.
Essential for keeping the pot nice and hot so you can enjoy that second cuppa on a Sunday morning.
Made from 100% acrylic and suitable for hand-washing only.
Mini Chalkboard - Hens
Every kitchen needs a chalkboard - that's a fact...and without one things can become quite chaotic! (We talk from eggsperience.) If you don't have somewhere to scribble down those shopping essentials that you need to pick up, you'll end up with either scrappy paper lists all over the place, or no recollection whatsoever. This can lead to situations like having to eat a roast dinner with no gravy. Tragic!
For those unfortunate few without a chalkboard, the excuse is often that there is no room to put one (what with walls covered in kids' "artwork" and other things), but this one is so small that you are certain to find a spot for it.
Fairy Cake Hook
Hooks come in very handy in day to day life, but, let's face it, they aren't usually the most exciting thing to buy...in fact, they can be pretty darn boring! However, we make an eggsception for this one, and we think you'll agree that it's somewhat a swan amongst the ugly ducklings. It's also especially lovely to look at when you're feeling a little peckish.
Now, we know the fabulous fairy cake print looks terrifically tasty, but try not to eat it. Instead, try fixing it in your kitchen, hallway or bedroom to hang those things that just shouldn't be on the floor. Admire, and even lick your lips if you like, but do remember that it's made from MDF!
