Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Egg Mysteries

 I'm always dazzled by the different colors and shapes of the chickens' eggs.


They're just so pretty.

I know from some of the chicken groups I'm in that people choose their hens based on the color of their eggs.  But as you know, the last eight of our girls were rescues, so egg color was up for grabs.

The other day I found this teeny specimen.


And then there was this one.
No shell, just the membrane.

I have not yet researched, how/why this happens.  I do feed the girls their egg shells back to them for the calcium.


All our shells are kept in a bowl on the counter to dry out.  After a few days I smash them with the potato smasher and they're kept in a jar in the coop.  It used to be only a couple of the chickens had any real interest in them, but now I find many of the girls dive in with gusto.  Yes, their feed has calcium, but a resource convinced me to add in the shells.  And no, this has never prompted them to attempt to eat their eggs in the nesting boxes. 

And speaking of behinds (wait, what?), Miss Goldie had to have her dirty derriere clipped of soiled feathers.  She's not as clean as I'd like so I'm scheduling a spa treatment for her in the next few days.  Little does she know the treat that's in store for her.


  On a completely different subject, I'm pretty excited that my orchid is re-blooming.  Yup, she's showing off with those beauties.


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Say Yes

This week's vegan highlight is a recipe for Sheet Pan Chow Mein  It was just on the menu for last evening's dinner and was a keeper.






2 comments:

  1. Hi Janet. I have always fed the egg shells to my girls, but unlike your ladies I don't think they actually eat them. I am always looking for ways of providing more calcium. I use oyster shell as well as bird grit mixed in with their greens. Unfortunately I don't think Vera gets enough calcium as she is still feather pecking at every opportunity. To protect my two older girls and her little sister Agnes I have to leave Vera in the run on her own when I am not there to supervise. Feel awful about this, but I have to protect poor Aggie and her bald neck. Luckily she doesn't seem to mind and just gets on with her day doing her chickeny things. I have had plenty of mucky bums and have given many girls the old spa session. They don't seem to mind this procedure and seem to love having the hair dryer on them afterwards to dry off. Oh my gosh - the things we do!!! Love the Orchid, how beautiful.

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    1. Louise, I didn't associate low calcium with pecking -- this is new to me.

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