The hens have been doing a bang up job of egg laying for the last few weeks, for which I am truly grateful. Egg custard is back on the menu.
Though I noticed that Jill, who had been a regular contributor, had for some reason stopped joining in.
The hens [at least MY hens] don't lay an egg every day. So it's not alarming if they go a day or two or even three without popping one out.
But Jill seemed to be totally on strike.
I had a little talk with her the other day about it, but she just looked at me like, 'What's your problem? I'm your BFF. I can't take a few days off without getting a lecture from you?'
So I dropped it.
And I was glad I hadn't scolded her too much, because yesterday when I went out to put them to bed, I almost stepped on one of her eggs that was sitting by the steps to the coop. As I bent down to retrieve it, I caught a glimpse of another one just under the coop. Turns out she had laid three eggs under there.
I had recently removed some rocks and a couple of planters that were blocking any hens from doing just what Jill decided to do.
I apologized for calling her a slacker, and promptly put all the rocks and the planters back so it won't be a tempting place to get some peace and quiet and hide eggs at the same time.
So here's her contribution to the egg collection:
Jill's eggs add a nice bit of variety and color to things don't you think?
I keep my eggs on the counter and they keep perfectly fine there. Because I don't wash them, [until I use them] they have a natural protective coating that helps them stay just fine for quite a while. I've never lost an egg to spoilage. Though they may only stay here for ... oh, ten days or so before they get used up.
I have a little system to help me keep track of egg counts. The ones on the left are the oldest ones, the ones to the right of them were laid yesterday, and the ones in the basket are today's eggs. I always take eggs from the left pile when I cook.
Tomorrow is custard baking day, so five of them will get used up. I also supply Mr. P with eggs as much as I can since he helped out so much with the chicken coop and run when it was under construction.
So anyway, Jill is back in 'Hen In Good Standing' status. And I have learned my lesson about the allure of 'under the coop' egg laying and will make sure to keep those stones in place from now on.
I had a little talk with her the other day about it, but she just looked at me like, 'What's your problem? I'm your BFF. I can't take a few days off without getting a lecture from you?'
So I dropped it.
And I was glad I hadn't scolded her too much, because yesterday when I went out to put them to bed, I almost stepped on one of her eggs that was sitting by the steps to the coop. As I bent down to retrieve it, I caught a glimpse of another one just under the coop. Turns out she had laid three eggs under there.
I had recently removed some rocks and a couple of planters that were blocking any hens from doing just what Jill decided to do.
I apologized for calling her a slacker, and promptly put all the rocks and the planters back so it won't be a tempting place to get some peace and quiet and hide eggs at the same time.
So here's her contribution to the egg collection:
Jill's eggs add a nice bit of variety and color to things don't you think?
I keep my eggs on the counter and they keep perfectly fine there. Because I don't wash them, [until I use them] they have a natural protective coating that helps them stay just fine for quite a while. I've never lost an egg to spoilage. Though they may only stay here for ... oh, ten days or so before they get used up.
I have a little system to help me keep track of egg counts. The ones on the left are the oldest ones, the ones to the right of them were laid yesterday, and the ones in the basket are today's eggs. I always take eggs from the left pile when I cook.
Tomorrow is custard baking day, so five of them will get used up. I also supply Mr. P with eggs as much as I can since he helped out so much with the chicken coop and run when it was under construction.
So anyway, Jill is back in 'Hen In Good Standing' status. And I have learned my lesson about the allure of 'under the coop' egg laying and will make sure to keep those stones in place from now on.