Starting over after a 30 year hiatus

[MacTech]

Egg #2 tonight, same size, a little darker shell, I put this one in an egg carton and I'm gonna' get a dozen together before I eat them.... At least that's the current plan

Maybe I'll take some pics of this one in those Vaseline glass dishes I used for the first one

Okay, I admit it, I just wanted another excuse to use those cool Vaseline glass props....

Science Fun Fact;
What gives Vaseline Glass (also called Depression Glass) that cool yellowish-green color? (That glows bright green under UV light...)

2% of......Uranium Oxide!

Yes, *THAT* Uranium.... And yes, VG/DG *IS* radioactive!
....slightly, no more than normal background radiation or what is emitted by granite rocks common to New England
....it's also only an Alpha particle emitter, alpha is a low energy particle that is stopped by a single sheet of paper, most of the Alpha emitted by DG is unable to even leave the glass containing it anyway

...and so ends tonight's science lesson

 

[Kelsie2290]

Congratulations on those first eggs! We'll take any excuse for more pictures! Next science fact!

 

[MacTech]

Now up to the fourth egg they are getting *slightly* larger, and I think I figured out which hens are laying....

The Partridge Plymouth Rocks

How do I know this?

Well, I just went out to check on them, and one of the PPR's had just laid an egg, at 7:30 PM, and it's dark out already this early in Maine, she got up as I walked in, and I spied the egg in the hay bale she was sitting on, it was still warm

Can't get much fresher than that

It was the PPR with the perfect comb and wattles

So far, she seems to be laying every other day

 

[MacTech]

[VIDEO]

Here are some close ups of the PPR I believe is laying (it may be both, actually)

Is the tall comb normal for PPR hens? How does she look as far as breed purity?

I got all these birds as chicks at the Agway in Dover NH, close to work

 

[MacTech]

We added another one of Tribble's nest mates to my flock, Tribble still hasn't integrated fully, and we're still not sure if he's a rooster or hen....

So, we now have Raven up in the flock, same Cochin/Silkie genetics, but drastically different, he looks almost completely Cochin...

Jet black feathers with an iridescent beetle green sheen, and a smattering of golden yellow ovals on his flight and hackle feathers, feathered feet, and Silkie-esque down on the rump area

He's also reasonably freindly, and will huddle with the hens at night, will pal around with Tribble during the day while free ranging, and likes human company and being petted, in short doses

Pics soon

Oh, and he crowed for the first time today

 

[Kelsie2290]

It's always a fun waiting game with those silkie mixes trying to figure out what you have. At least Raven crows
Not sure if you have seen it, but there is a Plymouth Partridge Rock thread. PRs do have single combs that stand up, so your girl has a pretty normal comb. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/456704/partridge-rock-thread/650