Awww. My first egg!
I don't know who laid it. It was so small, it would take 3 to make a decent frittata sandwich. The oldest hens are the Blue Old English and Buff Laced Sebright, and they're also the smallest so I'm guessing one of them.
Oh yeah, I finally identified that buff laced hen. I noticed yesterday that she does a have a rose comb so most likely definitely Sebright.
Maybe you're asking what a frittata sandwich is? It's my invention sorta. I like fried egg sandwiches and omelets. A frittata is the lazy man's omelet. The first time I had one was in a restaurant. How easy is this! Chop and brown your favorite omelet ingredients and then pour lightly scrambled eggs over them. Cook until egg is firm, flip, sprinkle grated cheese on top, and cook for a few more minutes to melt the cheese. No fumbling for a perfect omelet fold (mine rarely fold perfectly). My favorite ingredients are sausage and onions with sharp cheddar cheese, and it makes a great sandwich. BTW, a fried egg sandwich is the ONLY time I put ketchup on eggs, or any sandwich for that matter.
Haven't found any more eggs since that one. I haven't set up nestboxes yet. Still thinking about how to do it. In the meantime, I don't expect fertile eggs in any quantity until spring. I'll collect them for hatching then.
If I needed any proof chickens are bird-brains, I got it last week. There are 4 free-range roosters. Spiffy, blue OE, mottled black d'Uccle, and white Japanese. All but the Jap are going over the fence as they please. The blue returns at night to roost with the Jap under the carport outside the Summer House. Spiffy roosts with the d'Uccle but comes back in the fence during the day sometimes. The d'Uccle does not want to be there. I got him back in shortly after he got out, and he immediately went back over. So their domain is the front yard.
Spiffy and the d'Uccle began roosting on the bird bath in the front garden. I don't know why that was a good place. There's a deck out front that would be a higher more comfortable roost. They've been on the deck, but for some reason didn't "think" of it for a night roost.
Then Hurricane Lee's rains came, and the bird bath filled. They realized they could get a drink there, so that was cool. I had no idea where the d'Uccle was getting his water, but he didn't seem inclined to come in the fence where there's water bowls all over the yard. My best guess was that he was drinking dew in the morning. I figured they would find somewhere else to roost when the bird bath filled. Not. Stupid birds spent that night with their butts in 2" of water and under non-stop rain.
So I set the bird bath on the ground next to the pedestal, and put a bowling ball (garden art) on the pedestal to keep them off it. There was still room for one of them on the pedestal, but they couldn't grip the ball. I was trying to force them to look somewhere else, like the deck, for a roost. Nope. They spent that night in the bath on the ground, again in the rain. [rolls eyes] The next day, I moved the bird bath over near the deck in hopes they'd notice it and the higher deck. Nooo. They hunkered down under the pedestal with their heads in the daylilies. [shakes head] So after they settled in there, I went out and PUT them on the deck. That's the easiest way to catch chickens...they go into a stupor at dusk. The next evening, they ran around in a worried way for a while and finally FINALLY went to the deck. Jeez! Bird brains. I think all is well now. They're going there every night. I'll put the bird bath back pretty soon, and since they insist on staying out there, I put a small bowl of water out front as well.
The guinea question was answered. The last 2 keets went gone and now there's just the 2 adult males. So that's it, I'm not buying any more.
Haven't talked about the rabbits in a while. There's 2 due tomorrow, and I got a couple bred the other day. Lost 2 of Chevelle's, leaving 3 blacks. Looks like 2 bucks and a doe. I'll probably keep the doe. Dreamspinner's black and broken black are both bucks and the most promising of the bunch. I'm concerned the black might go too big, but right now, I like him a lot. I don't feel that way about solid blacks very often. He's also clean so far. No white spots or hairs. His sire has a few white hairs on his back but that's not a big deal. I can live with that on a black.
Dreamcatcher's adorable little broken is a doe and almost 7 weeks. Sadly I'm struggling with her teeth. I don't know what happened. They were good, but then went bad. That's not good. Bad at first might correct on their own, but usually not the other way around. She spends a lot of time working the water bottle so might have wrecked them on the metal spout. I'm giving her one clip and file to get right. I almost lost her to what I thought was fading last week. The brood holes have J-feeders at cage floor height so the babies can easily reach it. There began to be a lot of feed under Dreamcatcher's cage. She's never been a feed digger before. Turns out it was the kit, and she was starving herself! When I saw her fading, I moved her to a carrier. The cup is raised so she can't dig so easily. She immediately began to gain weight and seems fine now. Except for the teeth. It's going to kill me if I have to cull her. Not only is she really promising, but she's the sweetest friendliest little thing. I always get kisses. She has a small carrier water bottle so if that was the cause, the smaller spout might help.
One of my problems right now is the borrowed buck. He's not very studly. He will only mount one day in a row. The 2nd day - 2nd doe, it's like he doesn't have a clue. That's making it hard to get a round of does bred in the same time frame. I usually leave a pair together overnight, but for him, it works better if I take the doe back in the evening. Then he's interested again when I bring him another the next day. But not always, and for some reason, he doesn't have a lot of enthusiasm lately. The does were eager and mounting him, but he just wasn't rising to the occasion. I could use the other bucks, but really want these does bred to him.
It's been so nice out! 80s with lows in 50s and 60s, and clear deep blue skies. Just perfect! The AC is off for good and the windows are all open during the day. Just perfect!
tnt
