We're Learning So Much from These Hens!

Yesterday, I left the hens in the coop until mid-day. Minerva ran straight to her nest in the bamboo to go lay her egg! I guess she was saving it to lay when she got out.















Today, Minerva's egg was full sized! This picture shows her small egg laid yesterday and her large egg layed today. Coby wonders if it will have two yolks like Hawk's giant egg had.





















Not only did Minerva lay her egg in the bamboo nest, Hawk did as well. In fact, both of them decided to lay their eggs at the same time, so they were crammed in there together. Maybe Minerva is getting broody because she continued to sit on her egg after laying it. Coby said he lifted Minerva up and took her egg. Poor hen!

Doily also layed an egg today-- in Minerva's nest! Both Doily and Hawk were seen a couple times in the actual nesting box this morning, getting the nest ready, but for some reason, they both ended up laying in Minerva's nest. There were lots of noises coming from the hens this morning, but I wasn't sure who it came from. Maybe Minerva called Hawk and Doily to come lay eggs in her nest?

Oh Where Oh Where Could Those Little Eggs Be?

Minerva has been laying an egg virtually every day for the last three weeks. However, since Thursday, we have not found any eggs from her. Today, we decided to keep all the hens in the coop to see if they would lay eggs in their nesting box. Minerva, Doily, and Hawk all laid eggs by lunch time, so they could go free range for the rest of the day.
















After searching for a nest in the backyard for several days, we finally found the nest-- with 5 eggs in it-- nestled in the bamboo! Upon quick inspection, Coby was able to determine that 4 of the eggs were Minerva's and one was laid by Doily. Hawk has always laid her eggs in the nesting box (good chicken!). Doily's egg is the lighter colored one on the bottom right in the photo above.

We needed to decide if the eggs were still fresh or if they had spoiled. We decided to do the floating test to find out. If they float, they are spoiled and if they sink, they are fresh. If they sink, but tip, they are getting old, but could still be used in baking or to hard boil.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Eggs/EggsFloat.htm

All five eggs sank, without tipping, so I scrambled them for lunch. Yum yum!

Double Yolks

The first egg I cracked open this evening while making a frittata was Hawk's giant white egg. What a surprise to find two yolks in that one egg!
















Here is the first frittata made from our eggs-- 1 giant egg from Hawk, 4 Minerva eggs, 2 eggs from Coby's school farm (Ohlone School), and 2 of Doily's eggs. It also had swiss chard from our garden, parsley, onion, and New Zealand sharp cheddar. It was pretty yummy!

Hawk

When we were picking chicks at the pet store in May, we were told that Hawk is a "red sex link", which meant her color was linked to her sex chromosome and was bred to be a good egg layer. However, as she developed, she did not look like any pictures of the red sex links (also called Red Stars), but we could never quite figure out her breed. Now that we know she lays white eggs, instead of brown, we discovered she's a Mediterranean breed known as a Leghorn. White Leghorns are among the best egg layers and are therefore the most common for industrial chicken farming, producing cartons and cartons of white eggs sold in grocery stores. However, we have a Brown Leghorn, and while still a fabulous egg producer, she is not as productive as the white variety. We are still impressed by her egg size-- JUMBO!

Hawk's first egg!

Hawk laid her first egg today and we were so surprised to see how big it is! In this photo, the light brown egg is from Doily, the darker brown egg is from Minerva and the giant white one is from Hawk. Remi and I went to check on the hens after school and dance class on this crazy rainy day because they were making such loud clucking noises. I think it was Hawk singing her "I laid an egg" song because her egg was hot when we got in.





















Here is the temporary rain cover on the coop today. The wind was blowing in the rain, so now the girls can stay dry.

Two Egg Layers, So Far...

"Minerva"














There are now two Holly Oak Hens laying eggs! The first hen, named Minerva, has been laying for 10 days now and has given us a total of 7 eggs. She's the friendliest of the flock and really enjoys being held. Minerva is one of our two Barred Rock chickens and overall, her coloring is lighter than the other Barred Rock (who doesn't have a name yet).


"Doily"

















Doily, who gets her name as tribute to her breed (a Silver-Laced Wyndotte) layed her first egg yesterday. And like Minerva, she chose to lay her egg in the homemade nest under the rolls of spare chicken wire in the side yard, rather than in the nicely constructed nesting boxes. Doily is our showiest hen who, until recently, we suspected might be a rooster. We know for certain she is a hen because Remi and watched the egg actually "plop" out yesterday!

















You can see in the picture that there is a remarkable difference in these two brown eggs. Doily's egg is lighter in color than Minerva's. And Minerva's egg is a little fatter than Doily's.





















Here is the nest that Minerva made, after cracking two eggs in the nesting box because she scratched out all the straw and wood shavings from the box. She found the perfect spot in the side yard under the leftover chicken wire. Doily must've paid attention because she explored the coop's nesting box, but chose to lay in Minerva's nest.