This is where I go out on a limb and ponder a while.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Finally!



We have an egg!  E's hens have been molting for what seems like forever.  For those of you who are not familiar with chickens, molting is a period where they lose most of their feathers and grow in new feathers.  During this time, they do not lay eggs (and they look pretty pathetic).  So we have had to buy eggs from the store for the last couple of months.  I'm an organic fanatic, so I pay a premium for those eggs.  But today I finally found the first egg in the nesting box when we let the hens out this morning - yay!  We have 7 hens, so obviously we're not in full production yet, but it's a start!


This is my favorite, Honey.  She's a Buff Orpington, and she's the Boss-Lady, as she's the oldest hen.  Buffs are very mellow, and easy to tame.


We also have two Black Austrolorps, another favorite of mine - also very gentle hens.


And of course, one must always have the traditional red hens.  We have two Red Stars, probably the most popular of the large breeds.


And then there are the two Aracaunas, also known as the Easter egg chickens, because they lay pastel-colored eggs.  These are E's favorites, because she thinks they're the prettiest.  

Of course, all of her hens have names, and she insists they all have individual personalities ;)

We let our hens free roam, which is the best way to have organic eggs.  In all the years I've had chickens I have only lost one to a fox.  I guess that's probably because of the dogs (I hope).  We do shut them up tight every night.  I am surprised that they're still roaming this late in the year, though.  Usually by now the ground is snow-covered and they stay in their little barn and eat chicken feed all day.  I'm not complaining!





1 comment:

  1. Congrats on the egg! My hens are hit or miss right now in the egg laying dept. Too cold, too little light I suppose. :)

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