How Many Hens?

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

I currently have three hens and one rooster residing in my nice big coop. They are let out to free range daily. I have recently added a fenced in area. The last couple of nights I didn’t close them totally up. I left the door open a bit.

I have been getting more eggs than I have hens. I was wondering how this was possible. Yesterday I collected six eggs. Today there were eight. Backstory, I did have more hens but they disappeared. I thought something had happened to them even though there was no compelling evidence. I have kept fresh food and water out, just in case. There are plenty of safe places around. There was a time I had many more.

Then today. The collected eggs are different colors: two shades of green, tan, and one is even pink! I did have a little pink egg layer. I am hoping there are little girls living in my woods, happy, protected, safe, and well fed.

The pink, and all green eggs are from yesterday and today. Two of my hens are Cochin mix: the other one hatched here, from one of my third generation green eggs and she only started layering a couple of weeks ago

Am I crazy to think these green eggs are not from one hen? One of these eggs is almost teal colored. Am I missing something?

 

[Chicken Heel]

Interesting. In my experiences, your "missing" hens would be unlikely to return to the coop to lay eggs. They would just have a spot they prefer in the wild so to speak. As for egg color variation, I do see some of that with my Shetland Hens who lay different shades of green to blue ones with no particular rhyme or reason.

 

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

Interesting. In my experiences, your "missing" hens would be unlikely to return to the coop to lay eggs. They would just have a spot they prefer in the wild so to speak. As for egg color variation, I do see some of that with my Shetland Hens who lay different shades of green to blue ones with no particular rhyme or reason.

Thank you. Color was part of it. I was under the understanding that egg color didn’t change but may lighten with aging. Most curious is eight eggs in less than two days. My two little Cochins have their favorite spot and there were two eggs there. I was wondering if someone put them there. I live in the country and my little dog would alert us to any living thing, human, animal, birds…my house is 450 feet away from the highway, too.