National Chicken & Egg Day .......................

Forget Groundhog's Day ........

Because yes ........ today was actually the day to celebrate our chickens and the eggs they provide for us. My hens have just started laying again after their fall molting process. January started out good , but their egg laying has been slack this week. I'm not sure why , but it's probably the crazy weather pattern we're having. It's been very spring like , but we've had a couple of really cold nights. Pictured above is Ms. Rose , she provided me with an egg today and I'm mighty thankful to her. Ms. Rose is my aggressive hen , she'll chase you down for a snack , jump up and grab it if she gets the chance. She also pecks you if you don't get her feed in the pan fast enough , but it's a gentle peck (LOL ).

This is Iris , she lays white eggs with beautiful school bus yellow yolks.
She's the shy hen , I'm really surprised that she allowed me to capture this pic.


Jenny and Violet were hiding in the bushes today , guess they didn't want their picture taken ............ bad feather day , perhaps (LOL).

It was almost 70 degrees today , so this trio was seeking shade under the old truck. I'm thankful for my chickens and the eggs they provide us.

Happy Chicken and Egg Day !!

Blessings

JoyceAnn

~ Our 1st Eggiversary ~

Beige Eggs , Brown Eggs , Green Eggs ,

Spotted Eggs , White Eggs ................

Wee Eggs ..................................

And Big Eggs , this one had a double yolk.

Happy Eggiversary Ladies !

Thank-you for the incredible edible eggs !!

It was one year ago yesterday that we received our first egg from our laying hens. I've tried to keep track of how many eggs the hens have laid , although it's possible I have may have missed a day or two along the way . Our 2009 egg count was 886 eggs and as of yesterday we have collected 694 eggs already this year , so our grand total would be 1580 eggs in one year. During the year I've collected many eggs , small eggs , large eggs and I collected eggs everyday , they didn't stop laying this winter , it slowed down but I always got an egg or two. I am so happy we got our hens , wish we would have got chickens years ago ,the taste of fresh eggs is amazing , completely different from the eggs you buy at the store.

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

*** 3 Hens a Laying ...............

Yesterday , there were 3 eggs in the nesting box !

~ ~ Ju Ju had just laid an egg ~ ~


~ Fern is Laying ~


~ June decided the nest needed more fluffing , she spent time adding more straw and shavings before she laid her egg (lol) ~



~ I can tell the hens apart now , spent time watching them this past weekend , June has a dark head , while ...................




Jenny has more light color on her head.



~ Blessings ~
JoyceAnn

~ Up on the Roof ~

Dh worked on the hen house this weekend , he replaced the roof and .............

made an overhang , a place to organize and store the garden tools and .....................

a place to feed the guineas , so their feed tray doesn't get wet when it rains. It looks so much better around the coop , he did a great job. I've been watching the hens closely this weekend and I think I've figured out how to tell the black hens apart. We've got 2 hens laying now , there were 2 eggs yesterday and I found a guinea nest too. I'll post more about the hens tomorrow , need to get off the computer and head to the garden. The hen house needs cleaning and there's always something that needs to be done in the garden. Hope you had a wonderful weekend and accomplished something great.

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Surprise , Surprise

Late this afternoon , I let the chickens out to free-range for about an hour. I went to check on their food and give them fresh water , I happened to spot a egg in the nesting box. I think Fern the dark red chicken , laid our first egg. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that her comb looked larger than the others , so I figured she was older. I guess I was rewarded for cleaning out the coop , I'm so excited , just had to share.

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~~ Those Crazy Guineas ~~

Well , those crazy guineas are laying eggs and they're just laying them out in the open. We've collected 5 eggs and 3 of those were lying on the ground near our table in the yard , the other 2 were found near the chicken coop , lying in the open field. I guess it's because they're young and inexperienced.

Curious J found the smallest egg , he was so excited. He kept shaking it and wanted to know if there was a baby chick inside , so I let him crack one open to see what was in it. The shells are very hard , takes a few whacks to break them , the yolk is school bus yellow and they taste delicious. I sent 2 little eggs home with him for breakfast , but I'm not sure he'll eat them. When we got our hens , I told him they would lay eggs for us to eat and he told me " I'm not eating those eggs (LOL) ".

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn