Turns out Bossy P isn’t a rooster but she is having an eggdentity crisis (those egg jokes are horrible but really hard to resist, no?). She is supposed to lay turquoise blue to army green eggs and she pops out brown like the other hens. It wasn’t eggsactly what I had in mind but they are delicious anyway.
We are getting three to five eggs a day. When it’s chilly at night, it is a bit slower. I can’t believe how easy chickens are. And friendly and so fun for a nine month-old. They like to have their butts scratched. They get all riled up and clucky when they see me tromping across the yard with an arm full of beet greens or apple peels.
For months the girls have refused to lay in their cute little apple box box turned nesting box. They instead laid in the dirt outside and then buried the eggs in the far corner of the run. Andy devised a tactic to retreive the eggs that included an old piece of trim, careful balance and a nutty amount of patience. But, if there was a contest that involved balancing an egg on a stick, he’d win for sure. He is quite good at it.
But now they lay in their box. I placed some smooth, egg-shaped rocks in there and perhaps that worked. Or, perhaps they are evolving. Or, perhaps the dirt is cold now. Whichever way, they have matured into eggsquisite hens. Clem is the most prolific for sure. She is a faithful nest-rester-uponer and yearns to hatch eggs.
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This is so cute! The whole thing!
Eggstraordinary! She’s got eggs – she knows how to use them…
xoxoxo,
ZZ Top
I’m now quietly chanting “egg pile” “egg on a stick” over and over. That photo series cracks me up!
Great photos and story, as always.
I am “eggstatic” to see all these prolific, egg laying chicks!
xo, Mom
Very eggciting. I love that series of Andy. That kid cracks me up. XOXO J
Nici,
Where do you buy your hay and is there a reason you went for hay over pine shavings?
Marcy
Marcy: I have a giant hay bale in my back yard that I bought from some dude down the Bitterroot for an art installation a few years ago at the U. It involved me carving tunnels into the bale and installing mirrors and lights…like a little diarama. Man, getting that bale in the gallery was a bitch.
So that’s the reason I use hay! We use chips on our floor hay just seemed more nesty to me. By the way, my neighbor has an assload of wood chips if you want some!
An answer to the resort/waste conundrum. I just heard about this place so thought i’d share.
XO
http://www.playaviva.com/
Haven’t checked in for awhile. So glad that your hens are working out well for you. My 10 girls started laying mid-september and we’re up to about 4 eggs a day. I love going out and sitting in their run, without fail one will hop up on my lap for some cuddle time. The others will peck out of curiosity…annoying and sometimes painful! We love having chickens!!
dual zipper preferred drawing a line under. It all