The case of the missing eggs

Last Monday I went and bought 15 White Leghorn hens because I needed more eggs not only for us but also for my egg customers. I was very impressed on Tuesday when I collected 19 eggs from my hens. I figured that was a great start and it would only get better from there. Well the next day I collected 14 eggs. Hmmm, maybe they are having an off day. The next day; 11...

Yesterday:

And today:

Four eggs? From 26 hens? That's a little ridiculous! I expect my animals to earn their keep whether its eggs, beef, or guard duty. Four eggs from 26 hens is not earning their keep!

So I have a few thoughts as to what has happened to the eggs:
1. The lady who sold me the white leghorns lied as to how well they were actually laying.
2. Someone or something is stealing the eggs.
3. The chickens are holding those eggs in until I open the gate before they head for the bushes to lay them(my husband thinks perhaps the hens and dogs are in cahoots somehow)

Whatever the reason for the missing eggs, the chickens should know that it is in their best interest to "show me the money" or it's off with their heads!

Good day.

'Steward of the Environment'

A couple weeks ago my daughter came home from school with the weekly newsletter and in it they were asking for volunteers to take one of two composters home for the summer to make compost for the school garden. Well that was right up my alley! So I called and volunteered to take one and also to weed and water the school garden over the summer while the kids are out of school.

Today we went to the school and picked up the composter. It was pretty clear that there hadn't been much interest in the idea. The teacher was pretty near falling at my feet to thank me for taking it! It amazes me that more people don't compost. Even my step Dad composts and he's about as red neck as a British Columbian can get!

So now we have all summer to make new soil for the school garden! I'm pretty excited about it! And I get to call myself a 'Steward of the Environment.' And I didn't even have to get a degree or anything!

Chick Update

Well I think that this will be the last 'official' Chick Update. They are now four weeks old and can go outside though I have yet to build them something that they can go outside in and not get eaten by passing hawks, ravens, coyotes, cats etc. I managed to keep every single one of them alive though there is still the little mangled one- what's his name? Oh yes, Gimpy Von Legster(thanks Lissy) For a first time chick raiser, I think I've done pretty well so far!

Anyway Chick Update day did not start off very well in other departments. My son woke up with a cold and in his case coughing means barfing so that was fun. Then I had to clean up this:

(Thanks again to Indi who will now be officially residing outside)

Here is the baby chick with his 'mom'.

Look how tiny he is!!
And here we have the chicks(or rather some of them)

"I don't think we'll be fighting any fires today,boys. We are completely surrounded by giant chickens!"

Yeah someone disappeared the police car too so now I'm down to a ladderless fire truck.

Here is Daisy with her kittens because they are growing faster than the chicks! Look at that face! If she wasn't purring I might think she was going to rip my face off!

Look at that face! Isn't he precious! So that's it for Chick Updates. I will certainly continue to blog about them just maybe not every Thursday! Hope you have a wonderful Thursday and your dog did not sh*t on your carpet!

Quote of the day

I haven't done a quote of the day in a while. Obviously my kids are constantly saying hilarious things but some days I just can't remember to write it down.

Today however, I could not let this one slide...

"Mommy, when I grow up can I pay my own bills?" from my 3 year old son.

Yes my son, you most certainly can!

A little surprise

Remember way back in May I told you about the hens that were competing to incubate eggs? Well the young hen gave up the race a long time ago and this old bird kept on going. Sitting on them day and night, only leaving to eat some breakfast in the morning. About a week ago I went to gather eggs and discovered one of the incubated eggs crushed with a fully formed chick inside. It was probably a day or two from hatching. That was pretty disappointing to see. I figured she was sitting on the rest of the eggs for naught and nothing would come of it. Yesterday while I was collecting eggs I had to move the broody hen because she is in the habit of stealing eggs to add to her clutch. She of course had an extra egg in her nest which I took and then happened to hear a little peeping noise. All the eggs were still there and there wasn't a chick to be seen. I realized that the peeping was coming from inside one of the eggs. Now that is pretty neat if you ask me.

This morning I picked the broody hen up to check for stolen eggs and what did I find? Two little yellow chicks! She actually hatched two eggs! I was so excited! I couldn't wait to tell the Toothless Wonder(my daughter) when she got home from school.
Unfortunately for whatever reason, one of the chicks was dead when I took my girl to see. So that leaves one chick and four unhatched eggs. I wonder if she'll hatch the rest?

Cute little guy huh?

Plain tuckered out

When my kids are tired they refer to it as being 'tuckered out.' I think its something my mom says and they picked it up from her because it isn't something that I say. Today the boy and I went to town for our 'Town Day.' Every Tuesday while my daughter is at school, the boy and I do the grocery shopping and whatever running around that needs to be done. It is far easier to do all that with only one kid in tow. Plus it has the added benefit of no fighting, screaming, kicking, yelling etc.

We got home around 2 ish and the boy said he wanted to go into the house. I had to unload dog food, chicken scratch, wood chips, garbage cans(because Tuesday is also dump-run day) and groceries. After I finished I checked for eggs and then came into a very quiet house. Usually quiet means that somebody is up to no good. I peeked into my son's bedroom and found that he had tucked himself into bed and fallen asleep.

They are so peaceful when they sleep... and quiet... and cute... and sweet. Makes your heart squeeze a little...
and then they wake up.

Welcome to the farm, Ladies

The kids and I drove up to Onoway this morning to buy some more hens. I have this egg customer who wants crazy amounts of farm fresh eggs and my 3-5 dozen a week was just not cutting it. Its gotten to the point where we don't even eat eggs anymore because I'm selling them all to her. Great for my 'egg money jar' but kind of not the point of having your own chickens when you can't even eat farm fresh eggs yourself!

So I decided to buy 15 White Leghorns. They are prolific egg layers which is exactly what I'm looking for. These are some of the new girls:


Here they are trying to mingle with my 11 original hens. Lets just say that my browns are not being very welcoming.

And Cornelius(the little white rooster in the front right) is definitely not being welcoming. I think he thinks they are roosters too. He has his neck feathers up in typical rooster fight stance. It might take him a couple days to realize that these are girls which means more tail for him! *smile*