We've gotten our first egg at 21 weeks -- a demure and lovely blue gem. One Araucana, Maybelle, is the most likely suspect. I'm going to use this page to document the gifts we receive from our 9 ladies, so this is the first!
She left it for us in the pen. I've left golf balls in the nesting boxes, and I know she has been investigating those and generally sitting around in one of the boxes quite a bit. We'll see where the next one falls.
This egg was laid yesterday, though I found it early this morning. A couple of hours later I heard EXCITED CLUCKING and went out to see if there had been another event. There was an egg-sized and -shaped object in the selfsame location! But it turned out to be a giant poo. :\
To be continued...
Update, Thursday, August 9, 2012
Somehow the waiting seems excruciating, though it's been less than a week! But we've had three more eggs -- one on Sunday and two yesterday.
My guess is the brown is from an Australorp. I have two Rhode Island Reds, but my hunch is they're not quite ready yet.
The second blue egg weighed 35 grams and the brown was 41. I don't know why I weighed them; I was just curious. I'm told they'll get bigger as the birds mature.
So coming home from work and looking for eggs is a new highlight to my day. And I'm glad to report that my dear, glossy rooster has not charged at me all week, and therefore has not had to encounter the "broom of discipline." That's just better for everybody.
August 11, 2012
A few more eggs...
Eggs five through nine. The larger one below is 51 grams. There was no blue egg on Thursday so she was working up to a biggie. I wonder if the smaller one is the first from a new layer.
These eggs continue to amaze me.
Meanwhile, later that same day...
Another Australorp egg, this one 68 grams. Yikes!
August 24, 2012
As of yesterday we have six out of nine hens a-laying. Here was the booty:
The new one was a darker, redder brown than the others. Does this implicate a Rhode Island Red?
All the browns are quite a bit lighter than shown here. Phone camera, don't you know.
October 6, 2012
A couple of weeks ago we found a stash of five blue eggs in some tall grass near the house. We never did figure out which one was laying there, but after removing them there was one more the next day and since then we've gotten our normal complement in the nesting boxes as before. Some days I get the full 9 eggs, so I'm pretty sure there are no more out in the bush.
We finally have electricity to the coop now, so I have a timed light that comes on at 4:30am. I get up around 5 usually, and it's funny to look out into the dark yard and see a Rhode Island Red in the little coop window. I can just imagine the thought bubble over her little head. "Why is it all light in here, and all dark out there? Will there be Fud soon?"
Of course they have pellets in the coop at all times, but that's not the special FUD that Mom brings every morning. The special Fud is... the exact same layer pellets, made slightly soft with water. And sometimes a dollop of plain yogurt or cottage cheese. I know I don't have to do this, but it became a ritual when I had to hand-feed Napoleon for several weeks after the Beak Incident.
Anyway, the other day I was spot-cleaning the coop under the roost area, which has gotten harder since they're up for a few hours before I actually let them out. They tend to scratch everything together so it's harder to find the bits that need removing. I almost missed an egg, which I first took for a broken shell and was going to sweep up with the shavings. On closer inspection it turned out to be a miniature specimen, about 8 grams. Later that day one of my Australorps laid a giant. Here they are together:
We said that a rogue robin and a ninja duck must have entered the coop silently and left their calling cards.
Can't wait to see what the inside of the blue one looks like. I wonder if it's fully formed?
She left it for us in the pen. I've left golf balls in the nesting boxes, and I know she has been investigating those and generally sitting around in one of the boxes quite a bit. We'll see where the next one falls.
This egg was laid yesterday, though I found it early this morning. A couple of hours later I heard EXCITED CLUCKING and went out to see if there had been another event. There was an egg-sized and -shaped object in the selfsame location! But it turned out to be a giant poo. :\
To be continued...
Update, Thursday, August 9, 2012
Somehow the waiting seems excruciating, though it's been less than a week! But we've had three more eggs -- one on Sunday and two yesterday.
My guess is the brown is from an Australorp. I have two Rhode Island Reds, but my hunch is they're not quite ready yet.
The second blue egg weighed 35 grams and the brown was 41. I don't know why I weighed them; I was just curious. I'm told they'll get bigger as the birds mature.
So coming home from work and looking for eggs is a new highlight to my day. And I'm glad to report that my dear, glossy rooster has not charged at me all week, and therefore has not had to encounter the "broom of discipline." That's just better for everybody.
August 11, 2012
A few more eggs...
Eggs five through nine. The larger one below is 51 grams. There was no blue egg on Thursday so she was working up to a biggie. I wonder if the smaller one is the first from a new layer.
These eggs continue to amaze me.
Meanwhile, later that same day...
Another Australorp egg, this one 68 grams. Yikes!
August 24, 2012
As of yesterday we have six out of nine hens a-laying. Here was the booty:
The new one was a darker, redder brown than the others. Does this implicate a Rhode Island Red?
All the browns are quite a bit lighter than shown here. Phone camera, don't you know.
October 6, 2012
A couple of weeks ago we found a stash of five blue eggs in some tall grass near the house. We never did figure out which one was laying there, but after removing them there was one more the next day and since then we've gotten our normal complement in the nesting boxes as before. Some days I get the full 9 eggs, so I'm pretty sure there are no more out in the bush.
We finally have electricity to the coop now, so I have a timed light that comes on at 4:30am. I get up around 5 usually, and it's funny to look out into the dark yard and see a Rhode Island Red in the little coop window. I can just imagine the thought bubble over her little head. "Why is it all light in here, and all dark out there? Will there be Fud soon?"
Of course they have pellets in the coop at all times, but that's not the special FUD that Mom brings every morning. The special Fud is... the exact same layer pellets, made slightly soft with water. And sometimes a dollop of plain yogurt or cottage cheese. I know I don't have to do this, but it became a ritual when I had to hand-feed Napoleon for several weeks after the Beak Incident.
Anyway, the other day I was spot-cleaning the coop under the roost area, which has gotten harder since they're up for a few hours before I actually let them out. They tend to scratch everything together so it's harder to find the bits that need removing. I almost missed an egg, which I first took for a broken shell and was going to sweep up with the shavings. On closer inspection it turned out to be a miniature specimen, about 8 grams. Later that day one of my Australorps laid a giant. Here they are together:
We said that a rogue robin and a ninja duck must have entered the coop silently and left their calling cards.
Can't wait to see what the inside of the blue one looks like. I wonder if it's fully formed?
