Nope, not a Ghost, an egg. Our very first home grown chicken egg from one of our 5 little bantams.
OK, stop laughing. I know, I'm a middle aged woman and really, is this event a reason for me to be jumping up and down and sending photos as high as mid NSW and and low as Hobart in Tas (where Hubby is at the moment) and then blogging about it? You know what, laugh away, i don't care. This little eggs means that my girls have settled in and feel comfortable enough to produce an egg. It means that they are healthy and happy and i am one more step along the road.
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| The brown one is a shop bought egg - not a bad size from such little girls. |
I truly was beginning to wonder about them. Just like my dog doesn't know he is a dog, they don't seem to know that they are chickens. They do not eat kitchen scraps. Seriously, Ive tried fresh spinach leaves from my garden and veggie peelings. I've even taken broccoli stalks and cut them into tiny bite size bantam treats and they were still all there at the end of the day. I have left the gate open to what should be a chicken nirvana of green grass, compost heap and veggies. I even got desperate and hosed them out of their yard (while i was cleaning it), blocked their path back in and do you know what they did? Stood for hours on the concrete under the line and looked at everything. They would not go onto the grass. When i picked them up and put them on the other side of the yard, they gravitated towards the concrete on the other side and spent the day pooping all over it. At 4.30 pm the alarm clock must have rung and they toddled off as fast as their little legs would carry them, across the grass, without stopping to scratch or find bugs, and put themselves to bed. Honest, i could run my clock by these girls. 4.30 pm everyday.
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| Lacy, the grey one looks like she has an old ladies gown with a bustle. Funny as when she runs. |
A friend suggested they might prefer protein in the form of bugs and worms to veggies but they don't seem very enthusiastic diggers which is typical of this breed. The garden bed in their run looks pretty unscathed except for small patch where they dust bathe.
One possible solution might be what i call "Chicken Crack". They love this stuff and it is always polished off first before anything else. None of it is left. The sparrows (by the hundreds) have to be content with the laying pellets as that's all that's left.
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| Chicken Crack |
So tomorrow they are going on Crack rations. A friend suggest 3-4 tablespoons a day each (thanks Bronwyn). Trouble is, ole bossy boots Molly would take the lot. She is such a meany to the others. I know, i know, pecking order.
At least today, they produced an egg. Identity crisis is over for at least one of them.
Do you think i should i start an egg count on the side of my blog? LOL Do bantam eggs get half a count?
Thanks for visiting Living In The Land Of Oz
Hey Lynda that's fantastic! There must have been a commotion when that egg was laid! Such fun having chooks and observing their carrying ons.
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Kudos on your egg...there is nothing like that first egg to make you feel like a grandma to that small calcium encrusted ova. We have lost track of where our hens are laying. NO doubt some of them are laying low like brer rabbit and hunkered down on 20 - 30 eggs, they love NOTHING more than all laying in the same nest and one gets clucky then the rest move on...sigh... chooks are worse than Hitler with their aspirations to take over the world. He was only one man but they are legion! Beware... your fluffies might just be planning to take over the compound. Where you see cute fluffy benign bums, I can see keen minds the size of metal ball bearings turning over the possibilities that surround them...be afraid...be VERY afraid! ;)
ReplyDeleteROFLMAO I love the way your mind works.
DeleteSo happy for you that you have got your first egg...trust me it will be first of many. Chickens are so great to have but yes, why chickens love the concrete is beyond me and of course that's where they decide to poop most of the time. I have a spray bottle with water in it and if they come onto the area I just spray them and the move away (given you have to be in the backyard yourself at the time). Before that we could pick them up and move them and they walk back, shoo them, nothing worked but the spray bottle with water in it. I think maybe if you let them out first thing without having eaten food they might be encouraged to scratch around because they are hungry. Have fun with your little chickens. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane, Australia
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Good to know Kathy. I thought perhaps it was just mine which of course reflects on me. Such a comforting thought to know others have the same predicament. I did spray them once and they held a grudge so i havent done it again.
DeleteHow exciting that's exactly what I did when my chooks layed their first egg, I think everyone thought I was crazy I sent photos to everyone lol. I must say your girls are beautiful where did you get them I wouldn't mind adding some bantams to my flock .
ReplyDeleteYoull have to go back to my post, but two (Molly & Blackie) came with the Coop. I was looking for a tractor for my friend Jess on gumtree and came across the coop with two Pekin Bantams in Melton (say 20 min away)for $100 inclusive. We have been wanting chooks but i thought this would be good taster for the boys who have never had chickens before. A day later i had 5. Jess has lots of chooks including big roosters that were preying (sexually) on the bantams. It was too cruel to just walk away, so i took them as well. Yes, they are beautiful, like little of ladies with bussle dresses. I only wish they would act more like chickens. My only advice if you are buying them is turn them over and inspect their feet. They should be healthy. Have a look at Chicken Bath post. They are due for more treatment this weekend.
DeleteHi Lynda Sorry I have not been able to comment for a while. I can understand your excitement about your egg I still love finding eggs in the nest and we have had chickens for years. I am wondering if you are over feeding and that is why they are not wanting anything else? Also try splitting the food between 2 containers. The bantams we have are keen on silverbeet but not as keen as the chickens. Our 2 like to dust bath and they do scratch a bit but again not as much as big chickens. However I love their personalities so would never be without them. We have one silkie and one cochin which is like your grey one. When she runs it is like an old lady who has hitched up her skirt. How are the feet coming along?
ReplyDelete12 days....hmmmm....everything ok in the land of oz?
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