- Jul 17, 2012
- 6
- 0
- 7
Hello everyone!
I've been lurking here for months, and finally created an account. *Woohoo!*
I've enjoyed so many posts that you all have had about hunting eggs that I thought I would share mine. I'm rather new to the chicken world. This spring we were given 3 six week old pullets: two Plymouth Barred Rocks, and one Buff Orpington. We've named them Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose. Our barred rocks have just started laying FINALLY!
Our chickens sleep in a coop at night and then free range on our 6 acre property in daylight. The barred rocks have been squatting for the last two weeks or so, and on Saturday at 21 weeks and 1 day exactly Dorothy laid her first egg in the nesting box in the coop.(I think it was Dorothy, since she has been squatting the longest, and is the biggest.) I've read on here about how chickens who free range can lay anywhere, and sometimes you have to train them to lay in the nesting boxes. Boy, did I feel lucky. This was going to be easy! What smart chickens I have! Errrr, or so I thought. Now we've had construction going on at our house. We are putting up a new addition, and the chickens are always investigating what is going on. They often share the workmen's lunch, and are always "helping out" underfoot. Today I found out that Dorothy laid her second egg on Monday in a workman's open truck! Now this both greatly relieved me and irritated me. I was worried because she hadn't had a second egg and it was already Tuesday (three days after her first egg), then I found out she HAD laid one on Monday, but the workman just decided to take it home to his wife! She did lay it in HIS truck, I understand, but that was my precious egg that I've waited so long for.
I kept my mouth shut.
So today I kept a better eye on my chickens. No more laying eggs in other peoples' trucks! So this evening I noticed that Blanche, my second barred rock was acting "frantic." She was wandering away from the flock, and she wouldn't sit still. She kept exploring, and I rightly expected that she was looking for a place to lay her first egg. I went to go feed my horses at dusk, and close the girls in the coop. I did a head count and noticed that Blanche was missing. I started looking for her, and calling for her. No Blanche. I had noticed her scoping out a burn pile where the workmen have been throwing old pallets and scrap pieces of wood. From deep in the bottom of the burn pile, underneath a charred pallet I saw two little chicken eyes staring out at me. Blanche was in the process of laying her first egg in the ashes of a previous burn underneath all of the rubble! She came out, I escorted her to the coop, I went in the house to get my kitchen tongs, and retrieved the precious egg from the bottom of the burn pile. I think perhaps that Blanche believes she is a Phoenix instead of a chicken. At least I found this egg before we burned the pile!!
The moral of the story is that three chickens will be stuck in the coop until they learn to lay in their boxes. The end.
I've been lurking here for months, and finally created an account. *Woohoo!*
I've enjoyed so many posts that you all have had about hunting eggs that I thought I would share mine. I'm rather new to the chicken world. This spring we were given 3 six week old pullets: two Plymouth Barred Rocks, and one Buff Orpington. We've named them Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose. Our barred rocks have just started laying FINALLY!
Our chickens sleep in a coop at night and then free range on our 6 acre property in daylight. The barred rocks have been squatting for the last two weeks or so, and on Saturday at 21 weeks and 1 day exactly Dorothy laid her first egg in the nesting box in the coop.(I think it was Dorothy, since she has been squatting the longest, and is the biggest.) I've read on here about how chickens who free range can lay anywhere, and sometimes you have to train them to lay in the nesting boxes. Boy, did I feel lucky. This was going to be easy! What smart chickens I have! Errrr, or so I thought. Now we've had construction going on at our house. We are putting up a new addition, and the chickens are always investigating what is going on. They often share the workmen's lunch, and are always "helping out" underfoot. Today I found out that Dorothy laid her second egg on Monday in a workman's open truck! Now this both greatly relieved me and irritated me. I was worried because she hadn't had a second egg and it was already Tuesday (three days after her first egg), then I found out she HAD laid one on Monday, but the workman just decided to take it home to his wife! She did lay it in HIS truck, I understand, but that was my precious egg that I've waited so long for.
So today I kept a better eye on my chickens. No more laying eggs in other peoples' trucks! So this evening I noticed that Blanche, my second barred rock was acting "frantic." She was wandering away from the flock, and she wouldn't sit still. She kept exploring, and I rightly expected that she was looking for a place to lay her first egg. I went to go feed my horses at dusk, and close the girls in the coop. I did a head count and noticed that Blanche was missing. I started looking for her, and calling for her. No Blanche. I had noticed her scoping out a burn pile where the workmen have been throwing old pallets and scrap pieces of wood. From deep in the bottom of the burn pile, underneath a charred pallet I saw two little chicken eyes staring out at me. Blanche was in the process of laying her first egg in the ashes of a previous burn underneath all of the rubble! She came out, I escorted her to the coop, I went in the house to get my kitchen tongs, and retrieved the precious egg from the bottom of the burn pile. I think perhaps that Blanche believes she is a Phoenix instead of a chicken. At least I found this egg before we burned the pile!!
The moral of the story is that three chickens will be stuck in the coop until they learn to lay in their boxes. The end.
