Best Laid Plans.

Each morning I drag myself out of bed, slip on some shoes, and trudge through the backyard headed for Coopenhagen. My Start-Of-Day-Chicken-Chores have become a daily regimen that's as necessary as it is mundane. And since the Girls have moved from the Brooder into the Coop, it's been the same thing, day after day. Day in, day out.

Until recently.

Let me explain.

See, here's what I do each morning:



Every morning starts with
a cup of coffee and this.

List of Start-Of-Day-Chicken-Chores

 
1. Open the little red chicken door and watch as my flock of six comes swooping out, each one squawking and complaining because I wasn't there at the break of dawn to let them into the Run.

2. Make sure the waterer has plenty of clean, fresh water. No poop, please.
 
3. Make sure the feeder has plenty of food. Again, hold the poop, please.
 
4. Open Coopenhagen's window to help get a little fresh air in the place.
 
5. Check the nesting boxes to see if any of the Ladies finally started laying.



And it's here that we'll stop. At Number 5.

After four months of patiently waiting. Four months of scanning the wood chips... scrutinizing the straw.... It finally happened. I got to number 5 on my list, popped open the Nesting Box lid, and there it was: A beautiful brown Egg!

Omeletting you know, finding this was very eggciting.

Now I've read (on Google) that the first eggs a chicken lays will be small. And this first egg was exactly that. Small. But no worries. Because I also read that as a chicken ages and her body becomes accustomed to laying, her eggs will become larger until they're eventually the proper size.

The first Egg (middle) with coins for size reference.
A penny, a quarter, and for those across the Atlantic, a one pound coin.

So, now that I have the egg, and have an explanation as to why the egg is small, the next question on everyone's mind, I'm sure, is: Which of the Girls laid this little bundle of protein, cholesterol, and amino acids?

Well, according to Google (I find myself saying this more and more these days) these are the approximate ages for my breeds of chickens to start laying eggs:

My two Silkies - 8-9 months
My two Ameraucanas - 5 months
My Dark Brahma - 7-9 months
My Red Star - 4-6 months

Now, the Girls are just a little over four months old, so the late-blooming Silkies and Dark Brahma are out of the equation. And considering the Ameraucanas lay blue eggs, I can cross them off of the list. Which leaves only one. And that one is...

My Red Star. Miss Lynn.

Hello. My name is Miss Lynn. I lay eggs.

Congratulations, Miss Lynn! You're now earning your keep. Good work!!!

Now all I need is about five more of her eggs and I can make a decent omelet. I found a great recipe on Google.


--Chicken Dup