Cooking with bantam chicken eggs

We have been cooking with our bantam chicken eggs this past week, and I promised an update on how they are.  First up, the shells are sturdy!  They require a little more force to crack open, and I suspect it is a function of geometry as they eat the same as the standard hens.  Second point, the yolks are the same size as the standard eggs, just with less white (albumin).

two poached bantam chicken eggs - yum!

one bantam egg (on left) and one standard egg

As for taste, if you enjoy dippy eggs, poaching bantie eggs is just perfect!  They also make more yellow scrambled eggs and omelettes.  For baking, I am using two bantie eggs in place of one good-sized standard egg for bread and that turned out just fine.  The two red hens, Ninny and Betty, have been laying about every other day or even only twice a week, so their eggs are definitely at the top end of "large" size and some probably on the lower end of "extra large" size, so two smaller bantie eggs equal one standard in overall substance, just with a lot more yolk.

As for the remaining five nuggets, they spent the first part of the morning stretching their legs and wings, and they look leggy ... I strongly suspect they are in another growth spurt.  The two for Christmas are still in the extra refrigerator, as we didn't finish plucking the one and had to skin the second due to poor skin integrity.  They have all had the same diet (plus or minus bug-catching ability) so there must be a genetic component involved.  The skinned cockerel was also easier to clean out, as membrane and ligament integrity was also lower.  In fact, it sort of felt like a store-bought chicken to me.  Hmm.

Final note: I have ordered my birthday present: 50 new chicks!  I am getting 25 golden-laced Wyandottes straight run, and then 25 assorted heavy cockerels for late spring and summer eating.  They will ship out of Texas on the 7th, and arrive here the morning of the 9th, which is my birthday.