Chickens Lay Eggs

Greta: One of my Easter Eggers

Chickens lay eggs... common knowledge. Well, except for my hens apparently. They are approximately 22 weeks old. The time that hens begin to lay eggs varies by breed and by individual, but it is generally around 18-22 weeks. Most people would probably think that I was a crazy, but I am so excited about my hens laying eggs. Not just because I want to eat them (yum!) but because I have raised these girls from day old chicks and it is almost like waiting for your babies first words or steps. I know... crazy chicken lady, but I'm not alone. It is an exciting time! I AM excited about eating them, though. I can't bring myself to buy store eggs anymore so we have just been doing without since May, unless I can find a friend locally to let us buy some of their farm fresh eggs, which we have been lucky enough to do a few times.

About 2 weeks ago I was surprised to find a perfect beautiful little green egg in my nesting box. Imagine that! My chickens are so smart that she figured out exactly where to lay her egg without me showing her and having never done it before! Sounds silly, but it is impressive to me. I didn't expect the EE to be the first to lay. A few days later I found another pretty little green egg, and then a peachy colored one! Then, of course (I got too excited apparently) the Easter Egger that was laying my perfect green eggs went missing. We never found her and assume that she fell prey to our neighborhood hawk (another story). So back to one egg a day. I tried everything! I gave them treats (sunflower seeds, fruit, and veggies from the garden), I made sure the nesting boxes were clean and pretty, I checked all around the yard to make sure that they weren't laying them somewhere else... nothing. Now, they will lay when they are mature enough. I know that I can't convince them to do it because it isn't their choice, but I seriously thought about marching straight over to the coop with an egg basket in one hand and a frying pan in the other and telling them to make a choice. We are, afterall, paying their room and board with nothing in return!

The one laying hen that I have left has consistently laid every day, only missing a single day this week. My son figured out why, this morning, when he was making breakfast ( YES HE COOKS! I'm so proud!). He cracked the egg open, into the pan, and out falls another egg! He found an egg within an egg! This happens occasionally when a fully formed egg, for some unknown (to me, anyway) reason, turns around and heads back up the reproductive tract instead of down to be laid, and gets another white added to it. Once it gets back on its downward track, it gets another shell added, and then is laid. I wish I had gotten to him before he cracked the second one so I could get a picture. I have been hoping to find a double yolker at some point. I know that those are also common in newly laying hens. Two yolks leave the ovary at the same time, go through the process of having white added together, and are enclosed in a single (much larger) shell.

 This afternoon (my girls don't like mornings... they lay in the afternoon or evening) Keegan went out to check for eggs. He found one in the outer nesting box, and was happy to discover another lady in one of the inner nesting boxes! We got two eggs today!!! I am so happy! Small wonders. I am always reminded of the scene in Curly Top when Shirley Temple's character says "Oh my duck can do a wonderful trick! My duck can lay an egg!" The hateful headmistress asks "Well, what is so wonderful about that?" and Shirley replies "Well, can you lay an egg?". My chickens can lay eggs! Now if we can just get the other 11 ladies to catch on.

Einstein (my EE rooster) and some of the Buff Orphington ladies trying to find their way into my tomatoes. Bad bad chickens!

The ladies came to visit at the back porch. Surprisingly, they don't eat my potted herbs.