Finally, Fluffy/Buffy started laying!

Let me tell you a bit about Buffy (officially named "Fluffy", but I like Buffy better). After debating whether she's worth keeping... we have decided to put up with her longer. She's got the biggest personality in the flock, despite being the lowest in the pecking order. She's a bit of a loudmouth-busybody! We used to distinguish her from her twin Buff Orpington flock-mate named Ginger, by her shorter comb. Now that it has grown, we can only distinguish her by the egg she lays, if we happen to notice her lay it, or by her squawky personality. She squawks in the morning, to announce that another hen is in the nesting box (even if the hen is just fixing her nest and not actually laying) and she squawks again when the egg has been laid. If two hens are in the two nesting boxes at the same time, she really makes an announcement. She also is the "hens jumped the 4-ft gate to the side yard" alarm. She was the last hen to finally start laying and within the 3 weeks she's been laying, she's laid 5 eggs, though she and the other hens ate 2 of them. Given that she's only laid 5 eggs total, she's been squawking on the other hens' behalves for months now! For some reason, she likes to lay on the ground, but when an egg is on the ground, the hens can't help themselves but to eat it up, shell and all, at that moment. In fact, Doily has been known to purposely knock her eggs out of the nesting box onto the ground so that she can eat it. Weird!









From left to right, these eggs were laid on Dec. 29 and 30 by: Doily, Minerva, Louise, Ginger, and Buffy.

Each hen lays a distinctive color/shape/size so we are able to tell which hen is laying which egg. Doily's eggs are a medium brown and they are the most slender egg. Minerva lays a small, dark brown egg. Louise lays a fat medium brown egg that usually has some white calcium spots on the outside. Ginger lays the lightest colored egg, but with a shape very much like Minerva's. The darkest brown egg is Buffy's and they are also larger and more torpedo shaped than Minerva's. Hawk's egg, not pictured above because she hasn't been laying for a few weeks, is white. Below, is a photo taken in October when Hawk laid her first white egg.