Easter Egg Hunt is Over !!!!

[ruth]

As most of you know we moved to a farm last month that had a nice chicken coop, barn and horse stables. We used the coop of course and I was even bragging about how the chickens, though they free-range all day long, would still return to coop to lay their eggs in nest boxes. I have 13 chickens and was getting a dozen eggs a day until this past week when I've been getting 4 or 5 and NO rare green eggs at all. Could it be they dropped off for winter? I don't think so.

I have three rare green egg layers. I had already discovered Ruth's nest of green eggs in horse stables but I couldn't find where the other two were laying. I was pretty sure one of them was laying somewhere in barn because I kept finding her in there. For the past week I have crawled under things, I have pryed long-sealed stall doors open, I have looked in feed troughs but could not find any nests. I even tried tracking her.....anyone ever tried tracking a chicken??? Today while crawling under and over everything in barn I looked up and thought "no way....too high....how would she get in there....could she....did she..." so I crawled up feed trough onto fence and looked in....

One dozen rare green eggs.

I'm not sure if my two EEs are sharing this nest or not but still think it's amazing how she is getting up there. As you can see from pics it's pretty high up and the door to this stall was buried shut so she had to be going up from stairs in stall next to it or flying over fence. I guess they can get pretty determined when they want to.

Well, at least now I can get cleaned up and stop crawling in dirt on barn floor looking for nests. I always knew they got upset when I went in to get their eggs. Guess they think they need to hide them. Now if I had a rooster this wouldn't be so bad because at least they might go broody and hatch them.

 

[justusnak]

Determined little ones arent they?? What a great find tho...a dozen at a time! No waiting there. Sooooo. are ya looking to get some fertile EE eggs?? I have PLENTY!! Mine are all laying pretty light blue, or green. Or maybe when this hatch I have in now is done, you might want the extra roo? Im sure out of 8 eggs, I wont be lucky enough to get 8 hens....LOL

 

[ruth]

Hi Justusnak - I have a half dozen EE eggs in bator right now plus a half dozen Barred Rock (plus extras) due to hatch Valentines Day - got them from Lisa. I am hoping for a Roo. I also have some of Frank's itty bitty Serama eggs. This will be my first hatch. Now that we have a "farm" I am hoping to have roos and let hens hide eggs all they want as long as they will hatch them themselves. This bator watching is driving me nuts - can't get temps regulated.

 

[justusnak]

Oh Ruth, I DO know the temp thing. Seems just about the time I think its all set, and ready to be steady....either it spikes, or the bottom drops out of it.

I have a bator full....and getting plenty every day....I just hate to see them eaten, when they are so fertile...and hatchability has been great for them. Oh well...guess its time to slice a ham...LOL (green eggs and ham)

 

[ruth]

Deb, I'll take some eggs or babies if mine don't hatch well - should know by this weekend.

You know, I still can't figure out how that chicken got up in that feed bin - it's over 8 feet high and has those slats in front and on sides. The fence between the two stalls is 8 feet tall and there's a big gap between the stairs and fence.

Only thing I can figure out is she went up stairs then flew to fence then flew to top of wall-mounted feed bin. But why??? There were feed troughs and stalls, and knooks and crannies all over the barn that she could have used without going through all that trouble.

Anyone else have a chicken so determined to find a hiding place???

 

[Kaneke]

these free range chickens --- jungle fowl crosses and EE crosses, roost in the mango tree at least 15 feet up, and they fly up there direct ... don't just fly part way and walk or hop ...

I swear, chickens lay where the chickens want to lay, but I sure hope I can find where my escaped-from-the-coop EE hen is laying, as she IS laying pretty aquamarine eggs

so far found one buried in the coop underneath where the WR hen was laying hers .... one adjacent to the nest where the black hen was laying (but out in the open, and possibly because of shock ... as there was a badly-injured parakeet right next to all this) ... none today that I've found yet ... will see about tomorrow since she seems to be laying every other day ...

also carefully watching broody Blondie, I just spotted an empty 2/3 eggshell in front of her, and maybe it's my imagination but i think I hear peeping ...

C

guess that tells me she definitely IS an EE ...

 

[ruth]

Good luck Kaneke in finding your missing Easter Eggs. I looked for a week and the only clue I had was that I had seen her in the barn alone a couple of times. She's an EE and something mix. She doesn't have the muff and beard like my other EEs and has a strange looking comb but she lays large green eggs. Here she is the last time I saw her using the nest boxes. Maybe she didn't like having her picture taken.

I'm blaming that news story that said green eggs were rare. Ever since that story came out my green egg layers have been hiding their rare eggs.

 

[hcammack]

LOL Ruth I can't wait to find out if your eggs hatch how are the serama's doing. I always love to hear stories about your birds they are so funny.

Henry

 

[ruth]

Thanks Henry - I find my birds funny also. It's amazing the things they do when they have total free range of the farm. Mine seem to be moving into horse stables and barn and carriage house. Guess I'll end up going on an Easter Egg hunt every day just to find eggs.

The ones in bator seem to be o.k. but temps spiked as hgh as 108 one day while I was gone. The larger eggs seem to be doing better than small Seramas. So far looks like only 3 of the small Seramas are still moving. I never could see into the green eggs and the brown eggs I could see up until they went totally dark which I think is a good thing and best I can tell there is movement.

 

[chickenranchwife]

Ruth, I know how you feel. I have an EE that likes to hide her eggs too. Last summer I searched and searched for her eggs and finally found them in the weeds. She likes to play hide and seek with me I think.