Abby, our Buff Orphington, laid her first egg on August 31st! Geoff and I had a little bet going and I guessed August 28th while he guessed September 7th. For those of you who don't know, Geoff is an amazing guesser! He comes within cents of the actual total at restaurants and the grocery store - yeah, we play that game- so I figured he would be spot on with this guess too. I did a little dance when he pulled out Abby's first egg because I was excited and because I WON! Coco's, the Ameracana, first greenish egg came on September 1st. Happy, our Brahama, should start laying any day now. I did a little research and found that Brahamas are late bloomers and usually are the last in the flock to start laying. Happy and Midnight will probably start laying around the same time. My guess is the end of September.
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Ameracanas (Coco) are called "Easter Eggers" because of their green/blue eggs.
I love this egg crate and could use a few more! |
I had this romantic vision of walking out to the coop each morning, opening the nesting boxes and retrieving fresh eggs for our breakfast. It doesn't exactly work this way. They do no lay at the same time each day, at least not my chickens. This is pretty early in the game so they might get more regular but for now it is just a guess and check kind of thing. Most chickens lay an egg everyday. I have found that Abby lays 6 a week and Coco lays 7. Ruby loves checking the coop for eggs and always thanks the chickens when she finds the eggs. When a chicken is in the coop doing her business, the others are outside cheering her on. There is a huge commotion in the coop, so much squawking and clucking you would think the girls were under attack. Finally the one who was laying emerges from the coop, stands on top of the ramp and squawks a huge, proud squawk and everyone goes about their business.
Remember you do not need a rooster for a hen to lay eggs, you only need one if you want fertilized eggs to yield chicks.
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| Get a load of those yolks! |
The first eggs are tiny and as the hen grows, so do her eggs. The yolks are deep golden and seriously the tastiest eggs I have ever had. I am looking forward to having extra eggs to give away to all of our coop building helpers and other folks but at this 2 a day rate, we usually have enough for weekend breakfast.
According to Mother Earth News, eggs from free range, backyard chickens are better for you. They have :
• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E• 7 times more beta carotene
Support your local backyard farmer and be healthier, buy cackle fresh eggs today!
