# Egg Production Picking Up!



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

My youngsters are all laying now and I have gotten to or three eggs a day all week, but today I took four eggs out from under one of the Buff Orpingtons. One of the eggs I pulled was a buff egg. Two were from lavenders and one was a maran egg. I suspect I may get another buff egg out of the girl who was in the nest box just now since she didn't get out when I rummaged for the eggs. Now my older girls just need to get going again. I think they will but a bit more into the spring. They have always slowed or stopped in the winter and since they all did pretty heavy molts in December and it has been crazy cold at times I am not surprised they haven't started again yet.

Here is a picture showing some very pretty (and delicious, nutritious) eggs. Not all from today, but showing the variety. The top left and top right are maran eggs and from my two different birds (different color and pattern of speckles). Those eggs should get larger as they get a little more mature. The bottom left egg is from one of the buff orpingtons and the other two that are almost pink and were both laid today (slightly different shapes to them) are from the lavender orpingtons.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

I love the speckled eggs - does each chicken have it's own pattern of speckles so you can consistently know who laid an egg?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I think for the marans it will be easy to know that different birds are responsible for different looking eggs. Now I just have to figure out which one goes with which bird. For the two types of orpingtons, buff vs. lavender eggs will be easily told apart, but to tie them to a particular bird will be hard since the two types of eggs look so similar, same with the ameraucanas to some extent although their eggs or slightly different shades of blue to greenish blue. I have never been too sure about who laid which eggs with them other than Sarah's which are the lightest blue and fairly wide compared to length.


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## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

Congratulations on your beautiful eggs. What will you do with all the eggs once everybody is laying?


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## Streetcar (Apr 13, 2014)

Really pretty, Lily CD RE ! Dumb question... Do they come out of the nest looking like that, or do you have to wash them or something?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Asta's mom I will give some to neighbors and family, and also plan to donate to the food bank at my campus when I really am under a pile that is otherwise too big to deal with. Streetcar, not a dumb question at all. When the ground is dry and their feet are clean generally I don't do anything to clean them up, but when it has rained and they have muddy feet they tend to get dirt on the eggs. When that happens I just wash them with plain water when I bring them in the house.


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## Streetcar (Apr 13, 2014)

Thank you . Really lovely eggs! I've found two providers with truly delicious eggs (after childhood trauma of being required to eat eggs, I'm cautious). One is only available during the farmer's market season, and the other seems to aggregate from a number of farms, but the chickens are all really out in fields and eat what they come across in addition to provided feed. There are other ethical providers, of course, but I try to be extra careful.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Streetcar, keeping chickens has really changed my attitudes on humane agriculture to a new level. I always have preferred organic meats and produce for health reasons and have long boycotted veal and pork because of the practices involved in producing those products, but have recently been able to find more ethically sourced bacon and I never never eat chicken or turkey if the birds weren't allowed to range. I keep my birds safely in their coop and run (we have overhead predators along with neighborhood cats, raccoons, possums and the like) when I can't watch over them but they do really appreciate being loose in the yard and I can tell they are always happier on days after their longer runs.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Streetcar here is the same egg as I took it out of the nest box this morning and after washing it with just cool water. The exciting thing about this one is it is from one of my older birds. Blue Ameraucanas lay blue to greenish blue eggs. I think this is either from Ruth or Rachel since it is a bit more green than Sarah's. Either way I am happy to see it since none of them has laid anything since late November.

















My egg basket is pretty full this morning!


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

That is indeed a very beautiful egg basket! So neat how different all the eggs are. Glad the girls’ production is picking up!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

galofpink said:


> That is indeed a very beautiful egg basket! So neat how different all the eggs are. Glad the girls’ production is picking up!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I take the number of eggs as a sign of my youngsters really maturing (the younger ones will be 6 months old this week) and a measure of winter waning in the lengthening of days. It is amazing to me how closely chickens measure the rise and set of the sun. Each day they stay out a couple of minutes longer and each week now egg production will continue to rise.


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

It is amazing how animals have very nature-tuned clocks and how they can be thrown off by the seasons. The cows are certainly more comfortable and better producers of butterfat and volume on the colder days typically peaking in November/December and struggling in June/July. 


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I keep using eggs, but now they are appearing a bit faster than our consumption!


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I see lots of omelettes in your future, your Mother's future, your dog's futures, your colleague's futures........maybe a little extra cash too, to help with all those entrance fees hahaha!!!!
Fresh eggs are a treat!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

MollyMuiMa said:


> I see lots of omelettes in your future, your Mother's future, your dog's futures, your colleague's futures........maybe a little extra cash too, to help with all those entrance fees hahaha!!!!
> Fresh eggs are a treat!


Molly the rules for chicken keeping in my town don't allow me to sell my eggs (although I think some people do, but why break a simple rule and lose your birds). There is a food bank at my campus and I will donate eggs there when I am really swamped. But otherwise yes, lots of omelettes, egg salad and egg drop soup...


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## Johanna (Jun 21, 2017)

I had to buy a cookbook of egg recipes to keep up with production. By the way, did I ever tell you that Henrietta, the Ameraucana, has healed completely where the bear tore her neck - and she is even laying again at her new home!

We will need a heavier fence, a new coop, and some hot wire but I eventually want to have chickens again. We are having an extreme drought and the prediction is that bears, bobcats, and mountain lions will come down the mountain this year to search for food. I'm not concerned about bobcats - I really rather like them - but bears and mountain lions are really dangerous.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Well here is my first five egg day! Looks like I will need that egg recipe book too very soon. I am so glad Henrietta is well enough that she is laying again at her new home. I also hope you will be able to make a set up that is proofed against bears. Part of me doesn't like living in a densely developed area, but I think the balance is favoring no bears, lions, venomous snakes and such, although coyotes are coming onto Long Island now and that is not a happy thing for us.


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## Johanna (Jun 21, 2017)

We have lots of coyotes - I never worried about them because the chicken coop and run were inside the garden fence - a 6 foot fence with hardware cloth at the bottom and chicken wire above. That kept out rabbits, deer, bobcats, and coyotes, but it did not faze the bear, of course.

I thought I'd made the perfect predator-proof chicken coop. I first put chain link on the ground, then a layer of hardware cloth. I put two feet of concrete pavers outside that area. We never had anything bother them until Mr. Bear came around.


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## Johanna (Jun 21, 2017)

I have a couple of really great egg recipes - email me at [email protected] if you would like to have them.


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## Bevvie (Jun 17, 2017)

Hey Lily! I heard a little excerpt on the radio today about chicken boot camp and thought of you. I think its a way to learn animal training using chickens. Anyway, sending along the link

Why hardcore animal trainers are counting on chickens to help hone their skills - Toronto - CBC News

Maybe you could incorporate chicken training as a prelude for your dog classes!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Bevvie I had heard about using chickens as training subjects way back somewhere I think. I can't quite say I think my birds are trained per say, but rather that they are conditioned in certain ways. They are all pretty strongly imprinted on me since I got them all when they were one day old hatchlings. For each arrival I started talking to them during the ride home and left the radio off so before they even saw me they learn to recognize my voice. For each bird I made sure I picked her up several times a day and while I talked to her I would hold her so she could see my face. I also touched all parts of their bodies, spread their wings, stretched their legs, touched all of their toes and the like. I also installed a link between the sound of the bag of meal worms rattling and the arrival of the meal worms as goodies. If I need to get them to gather up and return to the coop I just stand near the door and shake the bag and they all come running from where ever they are in the yard. When I let them out to forage I often go out just before they are likely to go in to roost on their own and give them some meal worms from my hand. They are all really tame and now that they are laying they generally just squat down when I reach down to pick them up.

And egg production is pretty steadily 4 or 5 per day, even without (for reasons I haven't figured out) any eggs from my three older ladies. One of them laid a couple of eggs early on when the others were starting, but nothing since then. My egg basket is overflowing right now.


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## Bevvie (Jun 17, 2017)

I think the part I liked best about the article was the statement about chicken smarts ... "We have to remember chickens have evolved for thousands and thousands of years. They are very, very smart. Everything eats chickens. If chickens didn't learn quickly, they would be extinct."

It sounds like your girls are well on their way in terms of chicken training. Plus egg production is booming!


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

Thanks for sharing that link, Bevvie! Was really neat to learn and read about that. I might just have to trade Shae for a couple of chickens...just kidding. DH said no to chickens, but then again he said no to a poodle :hmmmm2:

Lily, I'm sure your girls are trained as well as your poodles  Glad to hear that egg production is still booming; hope the ole gals come out of their shell for you soon/you can figure out what's happening.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

They are pretty smart in their own way and much of what they do is very ritualized and clearly cued by their environment. If I were home every day at the end of the daylight, I would be able to tell you exactly how much earlier or later the sun set compared to previous days by checking what time it was when they went in to roost. You can also tell whether they are comfortable with you or not by how they look at you since they have separate right/left eye systems. Familiar things that require clear recognition tend to be viewed with the right eye while wary watching (like for overhead predators) relies on the left eye. When my birds look up at me they use their right eyes.

I think I remember reading something ages ago about clicker training for chickens, but since my clicker timing stinks I've never tried it.

galofpink, the older girls (blue Ameracaunas) have always taken a real break from laying in the winter and this year two of them did really heavy molts as winter started. While they are older, they aren't old so I don't think they've aged out on laying. All of them feel well filled out so right now it is just a bit of a mystery as to why they haven't started producing. However they are pets along with being a source of food, so if they decide they are done then so be it. It would be sad not to see some more pretty blue eggs though.


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

lily cd re said:


> I think I remember reading something ages ago about clicker training for chickens, but since my clicker timing stinks I've never tried it.


New summer project? 

The blue eggs certainly are beautiful and it would be a shame not to see more of them, but I get what your sentiment. As long as they seem healthy, that's all that matters. Might just take them some time and nice spring air to turn around - this winter has been hard for us.


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## Bevvie (Jun 17, 2017)

Lily, that's interesting about the right eye/left eye vision of chickens. I never knew that. Yet another chicken survival tactic!

Galofpink, I could never imagine Shae could be replaced by a chicken. Haha. Somehow, a chicken just wouldn't be as comfortable and cozy snoozing beside you on those cold winter mornings. 

BTW, I also heard that Toronto is now allowing backyard chickens in certain areas. About time. In so many ways, this city has become quite sterile and aloof in terms of appreciating the nature that we're all part of.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Around here all of the towns except the Town of Hempstead (not the village) on Long Island allow the keeping of chickens and New York City also allows keeping chickens. Mostly you can't keep roosters and the number of birds is limited and in my town we aren't supposed to sell eggs (health department concerns), but in a day and age where natural disasters are always just around the corner being able to count on eggs from the yard is really nice and they are interesting fun and funny animals.


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## LizzysMom (Sep 27, 2016)

I'm late to this party, but I love your beautiful egg basket pictures! There's just something so satisfying about the simple beauty of fresh eggs - especially in those pretty colors.


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