Thursday, February 2, 2012

Eggs, Escapes, and Additions

Escapes:  Last night while walking the dogs, we encountered the neighbor who lives behind us. He said he and his wife found one of our chickens wandering the alley between our houses, they attempted to catch it/corral it back, but could not.  Which is strange, because none of our girls have been missing.  I guess she found her way back in.  But last night I went around and plugged up all the holes under the fence large enough for a hen to fit through. They like to forage/dig under the fence line for treats, and in some places the gap they opened up was 6/7 inches. 

Eggs:  Today was the first day we got 4 eggs! Also, one of the hens is laying in the middle of the night, which is not normal at all. Last night I went out at 9pm to let the dogs out and check the girls. I found one laying on the coop floor, nesting in the bedding. I thought it was weird, put her back up on the perch, and didn't think anything more of it.  Then, this morning at 6am (again, out w/the dogs), I checked on them to find her AGAIN on the floor of the coop. This time when I moved her, she was sitting on an egg.  It's not really normal for them to lay in pitch black of night.  Consultation w/chicken experts (egg-sperts) seem to think she'll straighten her cycle out since she's a new layer.  The problem is since she lays in the middle of the night, it's too dark to find her way to the nest boxes.

Additions:  I think I have settled on 2 girls from someone nearby, who has an Easter Egger (XL green eggs @ 4/week), and a Silver Laced Wyandette (L brown eggs, @4/week).  I think I'll get these girls, unless someone emails me w/something I like better (i.e. a Leghorn or Austraorp would be my top choice). But these two girls are VERY pretty, so think they'll add some variety to my flock.

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