How Many Eggs Did You Get Today?

[wayneclea]

A lot going on all at once.
First, yesterday I found one egg with a hole in the shell, but not the membrane, i picked it out and put it aside to add to the dogs food.
then I found one of Ausrtras eggs in the second nest, but right after I picked that up, I found the egg thief.
turned out to be a rat/gophe snake, which crawled up into the nest box.
I had a discussion with teh snake, grabbed it behind the head, while it tried to strike.
needless to say, the snake lost the battle, and its head
I have two eggs from the girls today, so far, maybe another later.

Now, around this time of the year, in many areas, it is getting rather hot.
I have read in the past that there are two times of the year they tend to stop laying.
When it gets very hot, and when it gets very cold.
this may vary with breeds, and the ages of the hens.
Older ones are more likely to stop laying.
My old one stopped two springs back when it got hot, and one finally started laying a few once in a while the next spring.
I have also read that their first two years of laying eggs are the best.
I read that commercial places would get rid of them after that. Not enough money to pay for their feed if they don't produce well enough.
And I dare say they get their feed a lot cheaper than we can.

Anyway, looks like my pullets will be back to normal now.
No idea how many eggs they laid that I never saw even.

 

[Red Feather]

4 of 5 today.

 

[ChickenLover200]

A lot going on all at once.
First, yesterday I found one egg with a hole in the shell, but not the membrane, i picked it out and put it aside to add to the dogs food.
then I found one of Ausrtras eggs in the second nest, but right after I picked that up, I found the egg thief.
turned out to be a rat/gophe snake, which crawled up into the nest box.
I had a discussion with teh snake, grabbed it behind the head, while it tried to strike.
needless to say, the snake lost the battle, and its head
I have two eggs from the girls today, so far, maybe another later.

Now, around this time of the year, in many areas, it is getting rather hot.
I have read in the past that there are two times of the year they tend to stop laying.
When it gets very hot, and when it gets very cold.
this may vary with breeds, and the ages of the hens.
Older ones are more likely to stop laying.
My old one stopped two springs back when it got hot, and one finally started laying a few once in a while the next spring.
I have also read that their first two years of laying eggs are the best.
I read that commercial places would get rid of them after that. Not enough money to pay for their feed if they don't produce well enough.
And I dare say they get their feed a lot cheaper than we can.

Anyway, looks like my pullets will be back to normal now.
No idea how many eggs they laid that I never saw even.

snake loses 0 -1! haha

 

[gummybear24]

We had 3 out if three however one accidentally stepped on it so 2, booo

 

[SigningChickens]

2/5 :/ I'm going to build a couple new nesting boxes tomorrow. The lady I got my hens from said they didn't use them but I need eggs! I'm willing to try anything.

 

[Frostyfeathers]

I got 4 from the four grown up ladies. They are, Thelma, a Barred Plymouth Rock, 2 yrs old. Lucy, a Rhode Island Red, 2 yrs old. The Ameraucana sisters Beavis and Butt Head ( don't ask, lol ) also 2 yrs. And Peggy Sue my baby Copper Maran, 5 months old today, laid her 1st whole egg today. Her actual 1st egg was yesterday but it was terribly thin walled and she stepped on it and broke it.
Now the hen who rules my tiny roost is my broody hen Jenny. She has hatched and raised the afore mentioned group, quite the feat as she happens to be a bantam and a small one at that. She is such a devoted mother staying with her hatchlings untill they are bigger than she is. It's fascinating to watch her teach them how to scratch for bugs, or she will call them over and give up any bugs that she had found. What birds are friends and witch ones are foes. How to take a dust bath. How to stretch your wings and spread your feathers to soak up the sun on those cooler days in the winter, ect ect I do go on, lol. Any way Jenny has been hiding her eggs from me for the last couple of weeks now. I finally found them when I watched where she went when I opened the coop yesterday morning. She's been laying them in a great big stag horn fern that hangs from a chain under one of my big oak trees. It's a good thing I found them because she started sitting them today. So this evening as everyone was headed for the Coop I went and collected Jenny and her 12, yes 12 !! eggs and moved her into her brooding cage. I took half the eggs and put them in the incubator and let her keep 6 to sit on plus the eggs that Beavis and Butt Head laid today. Yes I also have a rooster, Cee Lo. He's the brother of the Copper Maran hen Peggy Sue. So, here is a question that I need advise on. I have caught Cee Lo having his way with Jenny a couple of times now. Is it possible for a full size rooster to fertilize a bantams eggs and if so will the chick adjust its size to the egg shell it's in or will it be too big for the shell and die before it hatches? Any answers to my questions will be greatly appreciated.
Frosty. AKA Lisa

 

[wayneclea]

I got 4 from the four grown up ladies. They are, Thelma, a Barred Plymouth Rock, 2 yrs old. Lucy, a Rhode Island Red, 2 yrs old. The Ameraucana sisters Beavis and Butt Head ( don't ask, lol ) also 2 yrs. And Peggy Sue my baby Copper Maran, 5 months old today, laid her 1st whole egg today. Her actual 1st egg was yesterday but it was terribly thin walled and she stepped on it and broke it.
Now the hen who rules my tiny roost is my broody hen Jenny. She has hatched and raised the afore mentioned group, quite the feat as she happens to be a bantam and a small one at that. She is such a devoted mother staying with her hatchlings untill they are bigger than she is. It's fascinating to watch her teach them how to scratch for bugs, or she will call them over and give up any bugs that she had found. What birds are friends and witch ones are foes. How to take a dust bath. How to stretch your wings and spread your feathers to soak up the sun on those cooler days in the winter, ect ect I do go on, lol. Any way Jenny has been hiding her eggs from me for the last couple of weeks now. I finally found them when I watched where she went when I opened the coop yesterday morning. She's been laying them in a great big stag horn fern that hangs from a chain under one of my big oak trees. It's a good thing I found them because she started sitting them today. So this evening as everyone was headed for the Coop I went and collected Jenny and her 12, yes 12 !! eggs and moved her into her brooding cage. I took half the eggs and put them in the incubator and let her keep 6 to sit on plus the eggs that Beavis and Butt Head laid today. Yes I also have a rooster, Cee Lo. He's the brother of the Copper Maran hen Peggy Sue. So, here is a question that I need advise on. I have caught Cee Lo having his way with Jenny a couple of times now. Is it possible for a full size rooster to fertilize a bantams eggs and if so will the chick adjust its size to the egg shell it's in or will it be too big for the shell and die before it hatches? Any answers to my questions will be greatly appreciated.
Frosty. AKA Lisa

First, yes it is possible for a full sized rooster to fertilize bantam eggs.
Things like that happen all the time.
And I would say that any chick from that would not be too large for the shell.
nature is wonderful in how animals adjust.
I raise a few sheep, and some goats, and one doe is a small one, but has kids from my huge Boer buck all the time. Though none this year.
She never had any problems kidding from the start.

Yesterday, only wound up with the two eggs, not one from Austra.
Today, so far, two eggs, but I think Austra will most likely lay one later.
BTW, she laid one egg a while back that was about 1/3 to 2/5 the size of her usual. It was all white, no yolk.
Still was okay in cooking.
I make omelettes and fritattas a lot. and plan to fry a can of corned beef hash and add an egg to that.
I am lucky in that I am able to share eggs with my neighbors, and still have more than enough for myself.
I need to hard boil a dozen and make more pickled eggs.
I am trying various recipes, though none use sugar of any sweeteners.
So far, have come out very good, pickled all the way through, unlike some I tried making many years ago, where it seemed that only the outside was pickled.
be interesting to pickle some with hot chilis that I am trying to grow.

 

[cheeka]

15/20, all chicks hatched by last night and Broody Mama laid an egg early this afternoon.

 

[Red Feather]

4 out of 5 today!

 

[gummybear24]

2 out of 3