An egg-straordinary day in my backyard
By Gina Spadafori
June 18, 2008
Eight of my nine chickens laid an egg today, and one of the ladies laid two. How do I know this? Because only Viviana lays green-shelled eggs. She apparently took the day off, since none of today’s eggs were green. And yet there were nine eggs.
Usually, I get three or four eggs a day, so this is quite remarkable. I wonder who the super-chicken is?
In all, the Ladies Who Lay continue to be lots of fun, very friendly and entertaining.
Agatha, the Delaware, is the adventurous sort. In the mornings I let them out of their secure enclosure into the fenced-off garden to look for bugs. Not enough adventure for Agatha, who decided to escape into the larger yard.
The first time this happened I was unaware. I let the dogs out back and soon heard a lot of squawking. Ran to the back door, to find McKenzie sitting on the steps with one indignant but completely unharmed white chicken in her mouth. I thanked McKenzie, and she put Agatha into my hands.
She is a good retriever, is Ms. McKenzie!
Two more rounds of this, and Agatha finally decided maybe the rest of the yard wasn’t as appealing as she originally thought. Agatha is the white chicken in the picture, one of the Original Three, along with Beatrice (Rhode Island Red) and Charlotte (Barred Plymouth Rock).
Sometime soon, three of my ladies will go to my friend Pamela, who wants to get started with chickens, and the six babies neighbor Judy has been raising (two Silver-Laced Wyandottes, two more Rhodies and two more Americunas) will join my flock. I’ll be hoping at least one of the Americunas is of the sort who lays blue-shelled eggs, so I’ll have green and blue eggs regularly. (The other two Americunas I have now lay khaki-colored eggs.)
Maybe you will get lucky and get an Americuna that lays lavender eggs. There is a farmer who brings in Americuna eggs for sale at the weekly Farmer’s market.
Comment by cheryl — June 18, 2008 @ 9:01 pm
I want chickens! I love your chicken stories! What will you do with all your lovely eggs? I vote for sabayon! Yum!
Comment by Dr. Patty Khuly — June 19, 2008 @ 5:32 am
N-17 days until my chickies arrive! New Hampshires, Americaunas, Delawares, Orpingtons and Wyandottes — we’ll see what we like best of these. I should be getting some Guinea keets soon, too.
I’m fixing up a box stall in the barn as a chicken house for this year. I’ll post pictures when it’s done — all I have left to finish is the roost and the doors (human door into the stall, chicken door out into the yard). The former owners of the place left behind an 8-bank of metal chicken nest boxes, plenty of sawdust horse bedding, and most of a concrete lawn groom (painted lily white with blue, blue eyes, so’s he’s PC, natch), a paint-by-numbers horsie picture, and foxhunting print curtains that have added to the function / atmosphere.
I’m hoping for eggses by me birfday.
Dr. Patty, I didna know what a sabayon was. Google. Epicurious. Strawberries glazed with sabayon. OMG! Next year, when the wild strawberries in the pasture come in again …
Comment by H. Houlahan — June 19, 2008 @ 6:03 am
Cool! I’ve been looking at those metal nest boxes. I’m using two cat carriers inside a little storage shed now, though, and they work great!
Comment by Gina Spadafori — June 19, 2008 @ 6:05 am
I love the posts about the chickens! It’s like a soap opera…with feathers.
Comment by Lori — June 19, 2008 @ 6:17 am
You know - it’s funny! I lived on a farm (with chickens) for 10 years. During that time, I used next to no eggs! (and I could have gone and found them fresh myself if I’d wanted!) But now that I live away from the farm in town, I use a lot more eggs. Figures, doesn’t it?
I enjoy hearing about your chickens. I have no interest in having my own, but the stories are fun!
Comment by Tammy — June 19, 2008 @ 9:39 am
Those chickens are just way too cool.
Thanks for the update, Gina!
Comment by Marcy — June 19, 2008 @ 2:07 pm
I am interested in the lavender eggs. My chickens lay every color imaginable. I had one large black lady who laid one very large pale lavender egg every day, including the summer months when the rest of the girls felt it was too hot.
She was alot like Agatha, and went places a girl shouldn’t go… and my dog wasn’t as gentle as yours, I now am without that lavender egg and don’t know what kind of chicken she was. I have tons of araucana and mixes thereof, and while their eggs are blue, aqua, army green, green and Kakai…. they do not lay lavender. Help please?
Comment by Beth — September 27, 2009 @ 9:31 am