One of my Wheaten Ameraucanas has just begun laying. She clearly hasn't gotten the hang of it, yet. The first day she flew up into the ledge of a window and tried to lay her egg there. It rolled off and broke on the concrete below.
Today I watched her looking all around for a place to lay... she was clearly confused by the strange, new feeling she was having that was telling her she needed a private place.
She checked out every corner near the coop while the need to lay was getting more and more pressing. She complained loudly as she walked around, unsure of what her instincts were telling her. Finally she walked to the middle of our (private and safe) dirt road to stand in the middle of a mud puddle. I told my husband I thought it looked like she was just going to lay it right in the middle of the road: there she was, half hunkered down, feathers ruffled, looking entirely miserable.
"She wouldn't lay in the middle of the road," he said, and I had to agree.
"She must just be uncomfortable by the new feeling of being ready to lay," I reasoned.
We looked outside again not 10 minutes later, and there it was: she had indeed laid it right in the middle of the road, plop in a mud puddle!
What a pretty egg it was, but what a silly girl! Even when I said I thought she was going to lay it right there, I didn't really believe it. I guess I'm getting better at understanding chicken-speak. Now I need to work on
what they tell me!
I'm sure there are some other funny stories connected with strange places hens have laid. Who else has a good one?
Today I watched her looking all around for a place to lay... she was clearly confused by the strange, new feeling she was having that was telling her she needed a private place.
She checked out every corner near the coop while the need to lay was getting more and more pressing. She complained loudly as she walked around, unsure of what her instincts were telling her. Finally she walked to the middle of our (private and safe) dirt road to stand in the middle of a mud puddle. I told my husband I thought it looked like she was just going to lay it right in the middle of the road: there she was, half hunkered down, feathers ruffled, looking entirely miserable.
"She wouldn't lay in the middle of the road," he said, and I had to agree.
"She must just be uncomfortable by the new feeling of being ready to lay," I reasoned.
We looked outside again not 10 minutes later, and there it was: she had indeed laid it right in the middle of the road, plop in a mud puddle!
What a pretty egg it was, but what a silly girl! Even when I said I thought she was going to lay it right there, I didn't really believe it. I guess I'm getting better at understanding chicken-speak. Now I need to work on
I'm sure there are some other funny stories connected with strange places hens have laid. Who else has a good one?
