The Monster Egg!

Double yolked? At least!

Recently, little miss Cinnamon decided the time was right for her to take the final step towards hendom and start laying eggs. She started right off with beautiful large white eggs which were a great contrast to the medium brown of the Rhode Island Reds and the dark browns of the Cuckoo Marans. Pretty eggs, yes, but nothing out of the ordinary. Well, she went about 3 days with no egg, which is common during the winter months, and then IT happened. I went unsuspecting to the nest boxes just like every morning, gathering a few eggs here and there when my hand brushed a foreign object. Now this is always scary in the darkened corner where the nest boxes are. You never know what your hand is going to find! But what I pulled out was amazing! It was the largest chicken egg I have ever seen! it is fully 3 times the size of a normal egg! It looks like a goose egg. Poor girl! The photo above shows for comparison, a medium egg from our Golden Campine and a jumbo egg from our Rhode Island Red. That's not a dime on top, it's a quarter! The young lady took it all in stride, though. She was scratching around outside as though it was no big deal. Well, she got an extra bit of cabbage and banana that day.

Eggs A Plenty!

Dan's hat full of eggs.

Well, the ladies are starting to increase their output! It's almost like Christmas morning with every trip out to check the nest boxes. About 6 of the hens are laying regularly now, with eggs ranging from bright white to off white to light brown all the way to dark chocolate brown from one of the cuckoo marans hens. I hope that this is an indication of how productive the flock will be when warmer weather approaches.

The gardens are in the planning stages right now. Only about 8 short weeks until onions sets go in the ground. Currently, asparagus, raspberries and blackberries are being transplanted to areas with better soil management. We still have the cold frame to build that we were hoping would be finished by now. Plants need to be started indoors soon! Whew, but we love this time of year!

Winter Birding

Woodpecker photo by Carrie Taylor 2008

Chickens aren't the only birds enjoying a home at Morning Meadows. This woodpecker is having a breakfast of suet and sunflower seeds just outside the kitchen window. In addition to the suet blocks, several bird feeders are kept throughout the lawn and barnyard to encourage birds to become a part of our eco-system. The insect control that they provide from spring through freeze earns them a treat in the winter time. Throughout the winter we will be visited by a variety of finches, sparrows, chickadees, cardinals, bluejays and more.

Moonshine photo by Carrie Taylor 2008

The full moon over the farm gives the coyotes ample light to go about their business. The chickens are well protected from any that would feel up to trying for a meal. The ladies come in to the coop to roost every night and we lock the door behind them. They are usually waiting in line for the door to open early the next morning. Watching as 15 birds try to exit a 1 x 2 ft door
as one mass is a very entertaining way to start the day.

Woohoo!

Well, this was a pretty eventful week in the old chicken coop. Carmella, the golden campine hen, has layed her first egg! Golden Campine eggs are listed as being white or light tinted. Hers have the slightest hint of a buff color. They are small but pretty. She has produced about 4 so far this week in trying to keep up with the Rhode Island Red (Rhoda) but I don't think she stands a chance as the big RIR chook gives us a huge light brown egg almost every day! I'm taking this as a sign that the other ladies will soon be laying eggs everywhere.

Autumn Morning

The morning as it breaks over the soybeans. The beans are now harvested, well, what few were left by the remnants of hurricane Ike. The garden will soon be cleaned out and put to rest and it's on to transplanting raspberries (latham red), blackberries (arapahoe thornless) and wild asparagus. This winter's list includes pruning apple trees in the hopes of actually harvesting larger crops of apples, and the construction of a rotational grazing area for some spring steers as well as additional pasture areas for the chooks and a pen for some goats that Carrie wants. So, we're staying occupied for the moment!

The lowly poo bucket

Just a quick word on sanitation where our birds are concerned. Cleanliness is way important when it comes to keeping our ladies healthy, pretty and sweet smelling. So, every day the rounds are made with the poo bucket to clean up the surroundings. Plus indoor (nighttime) accomodations receive completely new bedding once a month.