Some of us watch for those first tulips or crocuses to pop out of the ground. Some wait until we set the clocks ahead an hour and get more daylight and some wait until the first day that you can walk outside and smell spring in the air.
This is not how I know spring is coming. I guess you may have figured it out but I know spring is on my back doorstep when I start getting a lot of eggs!! Yes, Eggs!
I went out this afternoon to feed all my girls and I was soooo happy to find 10 eggs! This is a awesome number for this time of year and for having 13 chickens, 10 is a wonderful number to have in 1 day.
Now how do I tie eggs into spring you may ask? Well, chickens stop or slow down their reproductive cycle when they loose daylight. So in the winter some hens will stop laying all together and some will lay every once in a while. Once the daylight hours start getting longer the chickens reproductive cycle kicks back in again and they start laying again. So now you understand why I am so excited about getting 10 eggs. I was only getting 2 or 3 all winter and then the other day I had 5 and now 10!! Yea!!!
My girls are wonderful. Believe it or not every one of them has a different personality. I know, who would think that stupid chickens would have personalities. They really do. Some not so nice and others just totally lovable. The 3 in this picture are Ginger on the left, Sesame in the middle and Sage on the right. Ginger and Sesame are so friendly and Sesame will actually talk to you! I will talk to her and she has her own way of answering back. I always know when she is near me. Mostly all of them will let you pet them. Miss Paprika, aka Paps, will let you pick her up carry her around and she will even help me garden! They are also a lot smarter then you think they are ;)
Here is a real treat for me to show you. Ok, maybe not a treat but let me explain. You are looking at an egg. Yes, a shell-less egg. Every time I have found a shell-less egg it has always been destroyed and I end up having to clean all that yolk out of the nests. This egg was perfect. It was fully formed but just no shell. This picture shows how the membrane is fully intact and why it has a "tail" I have no idea. But this was so awesome to find!
A missing shell is when a hen's shell forming mechanism malfunctions or for some reason and one of her eggs is rushed through and laid prematurely. A shell of an egg forms just before an egg is layed so if it passes through to quickly then the shell never has the chance to form. This is something that is common this time of the year because the chickens cycle is getting back into motion and it can sometimes move the egg faster then it should. Just another piece of information, it takes 25 hours for a chicken to produce an egg. I have read that it takes a bit more but that is an average time.
Well that is my egg laying lesson for today...LOL. I hope you all enjoyed it :] Maybe I will have to fill you in a little more on where your eggs come from in the future. It is really fascinating to know where and how you get some of the items you use all the time and are always in your fridge.
This is a very happy time in our household knowing that the girls are starting to lay again and that spring is just around the corner! Thank you girls!
16 comments:
That is really cool info! I wish I was your neighbor. I would be borrowing eggs all the time...OK not borrowing because I would have to buy store bought to pay you back. Since I love to bake, I would just bring you samples of everything I make.
Since we live on other sides of the country, I guess I should stop rambling on and on about us being neighbors! :0P
I had never heard of a shell-less egg. That is pretty neat.
What a neat lesson in chicken reproduction! I mean that! Stuff I never knew! And I definitely believe chickens have personalities - how could they not? They're one of God's creatures, aren't they? My uncle used to have a raccoon he rescued as a baby and they named him Awful. (Because he was...awful, that is.) He was with my uncle four about 4 years until the city he lived in made him get rid of Awful. They used to sit on the sofa together, eat popcorn and watch movies and Awful would sit up just like a human and eat popcorn from a bowl! (He never tried to wash it in the toilet, so I'm told!)
I'll never look at eggs the same way again!
Hope you're well!
Jennifer @ Random Ramblings
Jen, you wouldn't need to replace the eggs. I haven't bought eggs in a store in 3 yrs! I get an average of 55-60 a week! I only charge $2 a dz..to cover cost of food and shavings.
Diamondaj..thanks for stopping by. They are really neat.
Jennifer..I'm good! Most people think chickens and sheep are really stupid animals. I can't see how chickens are stupid when at sunset they know when to start heading back to the coop for the night so they don't get eaten by our little fury cousins of Awful!..LOL. We don't like them much! I won't get into the details on why :(
That is fascinating. I've never heard of a shell-less egg. Thanks for the lesson!
Karrie - when is your son's birthday? What day?
Jennifer @ Random Ramblings
I always learn something new on your site! That is really, really cool!
I'm passing an award to you, by the by- I'm leaving it in your more than capable hands :)
Thank you very much Sundays Pearl and Beth. SP Thank you for stopping by and I am so happy to know that people like to read what I write. Sometimes if feels like you are writing to nobody :)
I am so happy to hear that all of you are liking what I am writing! Maybe some more chicken info in the future!
I never knew that was possible, shell less eggs. Great images, BTW.
O and it's never too late. You can get in the fun with WTJ anytime. I would love to see what you do!
:)
Fascinating! Very fun blog by the way- I found you via Dan Falstead's blog in the comments- you got my attention talking about the egg with no shell. Interesting stuff! :)
This is fascinating. I had heard my grandmother talking about shell-less eggs but had never seen one.
What kind of chickens lay the brown eggs?
Thanks for stopping by Glassfancy. There are so many breeds of chickens that lay brown eggs. Just some for and example: Rhode Island and New Hampshire Reds, Buff Orphanigtons *sp*, Black Sex Links Etc. The Auracanas lay Blue/Green eggs. No egg is a like. I can tell who lays what egg. It is really neat!
Karrie,
That is a first for me! I have never seen or heard of a shelless egg...have you seen this before? Now I know why the chicken at the top of your blog!
Dan
I can totally relate to this post =)! And your Sesame looks just like my Mona - what sweet girls they are!
I think if everyone had a little flock of chickies the world would be a happier place =)
Dan, yes I have seen them before but not until I have had chickens of my own. Sometimes it happens when it is really hot out or if the chicken is scared. I just have never gotten there in time to find it perfect.
Jnicdesigns..I couldn't agree with you more, everyone should have a few. My 3 yr old has learned so much from them and it is great to have breakfest for dinner every once in a while to eat some of the eggs! the kids love having omelets for dinner :]
Being a chicken lover, I found this post interesting. Great pics too!
Post a Comment