Shell-less Egg

I've heard of this before, but it is the first time I see it. One of the hens laid an egg without a shell. It did have a thick membrane, but not a shell. When I found it on the ground of the coop this morning, it looked like a popped balloon because the chickens ate out the inside. I'm guessing it was Doily who laid it because Minerva, Louise, and Ginger all laid eggs today. Hawk "tried" to lay late this morning and her eggs are white, but this one was slightly brown. We didn't get an egg from Buffy today, but her eggs are much darker than this one was. I think it is normal for hens to have some weird eggs the first year of laying.

First Day of 6 Eggs!!

This is the first day that all six hens lay their eggs! In the picture above, starting with the white egg and going clockwise, the eggs were laid by: Hawk, Doily, Minerva, Buffy, Ginger, and Louise. It has been a month and a half since Hawk has laid an egg, so it was quite a surprise to find her egg out there this morning. Then this afternoon, the other 5 hens had laid their eggs. Such a proud hen Mama I am!

What Do Holly Oak Hens Eat?

Perhaps you're wondering just what do chickens eat?

The kids and I made a list of all the foods we feed to our hens. They also roam free in our backyard and eat whatever they please like my entire asparagus fern, the lower leaves of my potted Japanese maple tree (photo above), insects, and worms. Fortunately, the vegetable garden is in the front yard, in an area the hens don't go. Here is our comprehensive list as of January 1, 2010.

lettuce
watermelon/melon
bread
tortillas
corn on the cob
carrot greens
swiss chard
cucumber
zucchini
yogurt
beet greens
collard greens
bok choy
cabbage
oats/oatmeal
avocado
crushed egg shells (calcium supplement)
oyster shells (calcium supplement)
quinoa
scrambled eggs
millet
flax seeds
mealworms
crickets
kale
banana
bamboo leaves
tomatoes
persimmons
apple cores
sunflower seeds
"scratch" (cracked corn, barley, cracked wheat)
laying crumbles chicken food (corn, soy, wheat, vitamins, and minerals)

Usually, the hens just eat their chicken food and whatever they find in the yard, but we feed them scratch, black sunflower seeds, and flax seeds when we put them in their coop in the evenings. They get other treats/scraps when it is on sale, when we have excess in our refrigerator, or when they need to spend more time in their coop.