Three Is A Magic Number

Egg production has tripled over the past two weeks, from 6 to 12 and now 18 eggs in a week.  The obvious conclusion to draw from this is that three of the hens are now laying almost daily, which suggests that a few more eggs may yet still be on their way. So I'm now in the happy situation of having more eggs than I can get through on my own and can distribute free eggs to those people who've been kind enough to let me have supermarket egg cartons that they would otherwise have thrown away.  (It must be one of the spin offs of us living in a recycling culture now that people think nothing of saving empty egg boxes, although we used to collect old cereal boxes for school from time to time when I was a kid). However I've also become more aware of a problem that my ex wife alerted me to when she was tending the chickens while we were away in Tenerife.  It seems that there is a Gang of Three operating within the group, with one chicken being picked on by the others as a result.  One of the two white-tailed chickens (Angie) seems to be the dominant one, and Penny seems to be hen pecked by the others. The hens generally lay their eggs mid morning and Angie was clucking loudly away, which is the only time they generally make any noise unless they're alarmed by something.  A plastic football in the garden was a source of distress to them every time the wind got up and blew it across the lawn, but that irritation was removed when my son took a kitchen knife to it.  It seems that a visit to the nesting boxes necessitates some urgent clucking by Angie, who seems to have assumed this role in the absence of a cockerel.  Although I've just read a website that suggests that if I spend enough time in the garden with them then I'll be the dominant one, so we'll have to see. There is obviously a gang culture operating, with Penny chased away be the other birds.  Sometimes they'll be sat in the sun having a dirt bath while she's at the other end of the garden on her own.  What it's like to have no mates!

Three Egg Island

Well, back in the depths of January, when four hens were laying two eggs a week between them, I never thought it would happen. But today we reached a new high in egg production of three, with two having been laid yesterday. Three in one day is some achievement. It's been a team effort, and I have to say thanks in particular to the ladies, without whose sterling efforts none of this would have been possible. Three eggs. My goodness - I'm soon going to start making inroads into the world's biggest collection of egg boxes and begin distributing hem to the needy and the deserving. Well, to the deserving.

There must be some kind of etiquette around eggs that you give to people, eg. no straw stuck to them and no signs of poo. I don't know how they achieve that for supermarket eggs, unless they give them a rinse at some stage in the packing process. Still, a minor thing to worry about and certainly a good problem to have (although I have been making my own banana bread in an effort to use up some of my surplus eggs and have made four loaves in as many days, so that I am now sick of banana bread!).

Fresh Eggs

I've just rushed into the garden to see what all the noise was about as there was a serious clucking going on. Two fresh eggs were in the nesting box, and they were still warm from having just been laid, so that must have been the reason for all the fuss. So it wasn't a fox or a large cat!

Egg production, after plummeting to two eggs a week, now seems to have reached two a day, which means that two of the hens are laying and two aren't. Hopefully this is a sign of further improvements to come, and with warmer weather and the two birds that moulted having both regrown their feathers, I'm now in the happy position of having slightly more eggs being produced than I can consume myself. This is despite making three lots of banana bread in the past few days to use up some bananas that were turning black in the kitchen and the shop bought eggs that were approaching a month old. I may be about to give my ex wife six fresh eggs as a thank you for feeding the chickens six weeks ago.

Actually, I don't know why I thought a cat might be the source of all the clucking in the garden. I didn't let my own cat into the garden when I first got the hens as I was concerned that she might chase them, and her antics when the patio doors were between her and them was that she would pounce on them at the first opportunity as she twice threw herself at the glass as though she was hunting them. But two weeks ago I decided to let her into the garden while I was there and so that I could rescue them if she was minded to attack them and she cowered on the ground and cried to go back indoors. The chickens, meanwhile, were resolutely unbothered.

The only casualty so far have been my lawn, which is now a brown and barren strip of land, and my plant pots, which have been overturned by the feathered vandals and their contents tipped all over the patio. I'm potting up some seedlings today and so it looks as though the plant pots are all going to be transferring to my front garden, away from the vandals but within easy reach of any passing thieves. I think I'll take my chances with the robbers - I know the vandals will be back if they're given the chance.