March 2007

1 Tat is first on the score card this month.  
Two days ago I stopped separating the hens overnight.  Aggie immediately reverted to sleeping in the hen house, but Titfer & Tat remained perched outdoors..... until this evening, when all five are in the house.  Since it's due to be sub-zero overnight and Titfer has not thrown Clover out, I've let them be.  Sleeping arrangements seem to be:  Aggie in the rightmost nest, Lacey & Clover side by side up on the left nest divider, Titfer & Tat side by side on the left of the front perch.
3 Convinced that it's time Aggie and Lacey were laying, we are adding chicken grit to the feed, in case they are having trouble forming strong egg shells.
4 Titfer seems to chases Clover just for sport.  Keeps her on her toes, I guess.
5 It's a bit breezy and when Lacey wandered into the run for a snack, one of the doors blew shut.  She was then a bit dumb and thought she was "trapped".  After a bit of fuss and noise, she realised the other door was still available.
6 Now, I'm confused.  I saw Lacey sitting in the nest this morning and waited with baited breath.  Eventually she came to the door of the hen house, made a big announcement and then strutted very slowly down the ladder.  Sure enough, there was a perfectly formed, but very small white egg.  But, Wyandottes are supposed to lay brown eggs, just like Lacey did in December, so how can she lay a white egg now?  Is it Aggie's first egg and Lacey was just sitting on it?  Then Lacey was very strange all day.  I was working in the car port doing lots of houseplant re-potting and she kept coming up close - definitely slightly odd behaviour which supports the egg laying?
8 Our first "three egg day" of the year.
9 That December brown egg will forever be a mystery as it's now clear that it can't have been Lacey's.  As far as I know, one thing a hen can't do is change the colour of her eggs.
10 Aggie's being a bit of a loner at the moment.  She doesn't come begging at the door with the others and sometimes wanders about alone.  Meanwhile, Lacey is getting so bold.  She's becoming the first to run to the door when I appear and even jumped up onto the lobby step today.
11 Another 3 egg day!
12 Once again, we are trying the night time arrangement without the temporary divider.
13 3 eggs is now becoming a regular event, as is the return of giving eggs away to our friends & family.
14 I was back & forwards along the patio today and Lacey followed me all the time.
15 Poor chicks confined in the run today, as we went out & about.  For three nights, although not prevented, Aggie, Titfer & Tat have still chosen to perch outside overnight.  Strangely, tonight, Titfer or Tat (too dark to tell which) has gone into the nest.
16 Aggie's sitting on the nest this morning........ and now it's 12:25 and she's laid her first egg of the year!  She's doing her throwing straw and garden bits over her shoulder thing - so cute.
That also means today is the first ever four egg day!!
17 I was so busy telling you about our four eggs yesterday that I forgot we had another "first".  I had both Titfer & Tat in my lap!  OK, OK, not because they love me but because they loved the cake I had in my hand.  Having tasted a morsel, they did everything possible to try to steal the rest of it from me and that meant getting up close and personal in my lap.
18 Eggs - 17th/18th March 4 eggs for mummy's day! 

(plus three from yesterday)
19 Did you know that hens don't like hailstones?  Well, it's true.  Nothing, but nothing has ever made our hens shelter in the chicken run in the middle of the day - not heavy rain - not gale force winds - but hailstones sent them running for cover.  They might be bird brained, but they're not entirely stupid!
20 Yet another four eggs (and two yesterday).  We're in full production with four of the girls now!
21 Hens at pond Aaaah.... the local watering hole
22 Rat in chicken run4 eggs and a rat in the chicken run!

At bedtime, Lacey made a strong attempt to stay out on the top perch with the big girls.  In the end, after much shuffling, shifting and pecking, she gave up and joined Clover in the hen house.
23 Plenty of rat poison disturbed this morning, so hopefully, Mr Ratty will disappear!
24 Aggie's been acting strangely today.  First, she disappeared for a while then she seemed to be looking for somewhere to lay - she had several trips around the car port, jumping up on the tables to check them out and she had a good look at all of my large pots.  Finally, she settled in the nest and did the business to make it yet another 4 egg day.
(Loads more rat poison consumed overnight.)
25 Egg production lineIt's egg layers anonymous!  

At last, Lacey made it onto the perch to sleep overnight with her fellow producers.

And, Clover must be due to lay soon as her comb is very bright red.
26 Boy oh boy, did Lacey make a lot of noise for a long time when she laid her egg today.
27 Clover's first eggClover's first egg!  A tiny, tiny, but perfectly formed effort, pictured here with Tat's large egg and Aggie's small/medium egg.

Bets are now on for when the first 5 egg day will be.  My money's on 30th.
28 Aggie had another senior moment day.  She sat on the nest and didn't lay, then she took to wandering - around the car port, up on the tables; into the barn and into one of the old kennels; into the tack room; into the stable where I store my compost; to the kitchen window, up on the tall pot; back to the stables, now closed, for a longing look at the doors (she used to live in there, two years ago); round the garden again and finally back to the nest to lay!
29 Well, I've lost my bet because Clover has laid again today!
30 Lacey's sleeping out every night with Titfer, Tat & Aggie now, but poor Clover still gets bullied and retreats to the nest.
31 Scores on the doors:  Tat 26, Titfer 19, Lacey 18, Aggie 11, Clover 3
A phenomenal score from Tat who has ended the month by laying for ten days on the trot.
eggs this month
eggs since 1 May 2006