REGIONAL FOCUS Giant eggs made Zelma “queen of the roost” at the Spicher Ranch, an urban farm in Portland, Ore. Whopper of an Egg For a man who loves omelets, it doesn’t get any better than stepping out your back door for just-laid eggs — unless your favorite hen starts serving up double-sized ones. “I got turned on to fresh eggs when I lived in Sheridan, Oregon,” says Robert Spicher, who now lives in Portland, Ore. Last summer, he put his money where his stomach was and set up a backyard coop stocked with seven chicks: three Rhode Island Reds, two Buff Orpingtons and two Plymouth Rocks. He bought the chicks from Foster Feed & Garden, which highly recommended Payback® medicated chick starter feed. By November, the “girls,” as the family calls them, were each laying about an egg a day and eating a steady diet of Payback Egg Layer Ration. During winter months, some urban chickens need special care, like supplemental light, to maintain egg production. That didn’t seem to be a problem for Zelma, one of Spicher’s Rhode Island Reds. One day he reached in to fi nd she had left him a whopper of an egg weighing 146.7 grams. That’s more than twice what’s typically sold as a By Lisa Graham-Peterson jumbo-size egg in the U.S. She kept surprising him over the following weeks with two more, progressively bigger eggs. Her biggest topped out at 153 grams (5.4 ounces). “The Guinness World Record — an egg laid in China — still holds at more than 6 ounces,” says Spicher. “But we’ve submitted Zelma’s egg for the North American title of largest chicken egg. We’re waiting to hear back.” SEE MORE: Visit chsinc.com/c to see Zelma’s debut. EDITORIAL STAFF Linda Tank / publisher / VP Greg Lamp / editor in chief Kristine Thompson / director Lisa Graham-Peterson Lani Jordan Tom Murray David Lundquist / photographer OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS Chairman David Bielenberg, Silverton, Ore. First Vice Chairman Dennis Carlson, Mandan, N.D. Secretary-Treasurer Dan Schurr, LeClaire, Iowa Second Vice Chairman Steve Fritel, Barton, N.D. Assistant Secretary-Treasurer Curt Eischens, Minneota, Minn. Don Anthony, Lexington, Neb., Robert Bass, Reedsburg, Wis., C.J. Blew, Castleton, Kan., Jon Erickson, Minot, N.D., Jerry Hasnedl, St. Hilaire, Minn., David Johnsrud, Starbuck, Minn., David Kayser, Alexandria, S.D., Randy Knecht, Houghton, S.D., Greg Kruger, Eleva, Wis., Edward Malesich, Dillon, Mont., Steve Riegel, Ford, Kan. Copyright 2013 CHS Inc. All rights reserved. Vol. 6, No. 3 C is sent to you courtesy of CHS to connect you with its broad world of resources and solutions. CHS is the nation’s leading farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods company. C is published bimonthly by CHS, 5500 Cenex Drive, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077. Subscription cost is $6.00 per year. Please send address changes to C , CHS, mail station 408, 5500 Cenex Drive, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077; call 630-462-2307; or fax 630-462-2202. For editorial requests, call 800-232-3639, ext. 4323, or send e-mail to greg.lamp@chsinc.com. TM 4 MAY/JUNE 2013 CHSINC.COM
Issue Articles
Regional Focus
Lisa Graham-Peterson
Visit Article: http://c.chsinc.com/article/Regional+Focus/1400234/159124/article.html.