Broody No More!

the birthday party when the hens turned ONE last week

After almost a straight month of broodiness, Fluff (my Buff Orphington) decided to stop her imaginary incubating today. She spent the whole day wandering the yard with the other chickens and was my happy little "puppy" once more. I'm glad. Now she needs to get back to laying eggs for me. They say there are random ways to stop a broody hen (one example is dunking her in a vat of water to snap her out of it), but I thought for my first time with one, I would wait it out. One month was longer than I thought it would last, but it wasn't horrible. I'm sure Bowtie will be next with the mama mood, since Australorps also tend to go broody (thanks to their Orphington roots).

I think my favorite part about having hens is that they come running to me when I pop outside and they will follow me around and come when I snap my fingers. It really is kind of like having puppies (and, according to my husband, they poo all over the yard like puppies, too).

It's been very hot here, and the girls' favorite pastime is lounging in dirty places and open-mouth breathing. They are also fans of trying to sneak raspberries from our bushes and raiding any picnics we might have on the lawn.

One year!

July Chickens

Fluff is still broody, but there is hope on the horizon - yesterday she didn't head immediately back into the nesting box after I kicked her out. It's been almost two weeks of broodiness. 

Bowtie - the new queen hen?

all in a row

Fluff

moody mama

Pretty Tinny

Broody

Fluff has decided she wants to be a momma. Never mind that there is no rooster and she cannot become a momma, she is going to sit on those eggs (which are wooden) and try to hatch them. 

You can see the momma rage in her eyes - look out!

 I had to lock her out of the nest boxes so the others could lay their eggs. She was not amused.

Grumpy! And mean. I hope this phase is short-lived. She is normally our friendliest hen.

By the way - egg count is now 400!

Spring chickens get into the mud.

Egg Count: 275

The hens are happy the weather has turned. There was much grumbling when the snow was falling. Poor birdies. They have become quite yard wanderers and Fluff especially wants to head down the driveway to see the world. That is to be prevented at all costs :)

Tinny

Bowtie

Fluff

Egg #96: Extra Jumbo

That's right, we have been tallying up our eggs since Day 1, and we are at 96 since December 23rd. Not too shabby, right? My chickens are egg-laying machines! The best surprise came this morning though, when Fluff pushed out this super huge egg. It is literally the size of my palm. Ouch! I am curious how many yolks are in there, but I haven't cracked it open yet. We have yet to have a double-yolked egg, but I think this might be the one! I'll keep you posted.

Lucky #96

two hands for this egg!

comparison

Jumbo next to its inferior siblings

The hens are well despite the recent frigid conditions. They do all have a bit of comb frostbite, which makes me sad, but they are rallying their spirits in the (relatively) warmer weather.

winter feasting

My hens have laid 19 eggs since the end of December. That's a lot! Aren't they lovely? They are mostly size "large" now and vary in shades of brown. The tiny ones are Tinny's - she is still very small compared to the other two.


Today I happened to look out the kitchen window and I saw Fluff racing around with a black thing dangling from her mouth and the other two hens in hot pursuit. I went out there and it was a vole!



They got him good and dead. Yikes. Little dinosaurs! Such predators. It worries me something can get into their run, but it is good to know they can take care of it alone.

I also decided to really take on city council this year and legalize my pets...which worries me very much, because I don't want to lose them in the process. But! It must be done, and apparently I am the one who must do it. :) More on that later.

four eggs, five days

My hens are on a roll! We've had four eggs so far since the 23rd. The eggs are getting bigger and are all a lovely shade of pinkish brown.

the coop after the deep snow a few weeks ago

Oh, and they are all absolutely delicious: deep orange yolks that taste like butter. 

this was the very first egg, right as it was cracked and put on the cast-iron skillet. 

a most excellent winter day

The day arrived! Today, December 23rd! We got an egg. I was so ecstatic, I ran around the yard with it (and almost slipped and dropped it). I joyfully shouted. I ran into the house with it and the kids cheered and jumped up and down. It was wonderful. And then I took a ridiculous amount of photos of an egg.

Isn't it lovely? It is pinkish brown and small. Here it is next to a store bought "large" egg:

The eggs will get bigger as they lay more. Want to know which girl left me that lovely present? 

Fluff!  I figured she would be the first to lay, since she is the most physically mature of the hens. I went out to change their frozen water for some thawed stuff (I really need to get a heated waterer for them). Now normally, I go out and bring them treats (aka kitchen garbage) several times a day. The hens start straining their necks to see what I am bringing, and so they all stand by the door with their heads up when I come out. But today, Fluff crouched down when I reached in, which is an instinct a laying hen has to encourage a rooster to fertilize her. So she crouched down, and I thought, "Huh, that's weird,"and I went and checked the nesting box. Sure enough, right next to the wooden egg I have in there was a tiny, warm, brown egg. So perfect. I am going to fry it up for breakfast, and I cannot wait to see how dark and nutritious that yolk is. The hens have redeemed themselves--lay, hens, lay!

winter hens~

Fluff profile

Bowtie profile

Tinny profile

Fluff butt.

It's true: chickens are obsessed with shiny things.

Fluff and Bowtie venturing out into the snow.

hiding inside the run - what a chicken!

It's Been A While

empty nest box...still!

It has been a while since my last post. The pullets are now completely grown, technically "hens" (although I have yet to see an egg to prove that) and are 19 weeks old.  Fluff is getting rather aggressive when I let her out, pecking at me. It makes me mad  but maybe it's because she knows I am mad that she hasn't laid an egg yet! Ha! Anyway. THey are warm and cozy in their coop and run, although I think they maybe need a bit more space. I try to let them out several times per week, but sometimes I just don't get to it. I think I will extend their run a bit this spring. They are loving my kitchen scraps and their chicken crack scratch. But really, where oh where are the eggs? Ben thoughtfully suggested we eat these duds and start over with a new batch. I think we'll give it a few more weeks before we come to that. :)