I am pretty sure that it was Myra who laid this first one. Her comb is the largest and she was acting a little strangely early that morning.
I found it when I went to let the chookies out at around 10am and it was still warm. Myra had made a lovely straw nest to lay her egg, in a spot behind a bale of lucerne, nice and tucked away.
I wonder why she chose that spot and not a nesting box?
I am not sure why I have this little strange feeling in my chest, after all Myra did all the work.
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| Myra on her first day in the coop - she's a little older now |
But the winter vegetables are planted and thriving and the new vegetable patch is being fenced to exclude the wallabies. The citrus are in and soon it's time to buy bare rooted fruit trees.
The home paddock is now empty of agisting stock and is resting up but there are plans for a house cow and some sheep and maybe a pig.
I am tinkering with various little rehabilitation experiments to improve and support the native pasture. The dam wall, once scared by eroding hoofs, is now greening up with at least 5 different grass species all in late-autumn flower. I am starting to identify grasses from a distance. I am gradually winning the battle with the thistles by hand slashing and hoeing them and,
we have an egg, a beautiful native grass-grazed egg. And there should be another one this morning...
That is exciting. I think any egg from a pet chook is exciting, but especially the first one. What a gorgeous property you have. I just love reading your posts and seeing your photos.
ReplyDeleteOh thank you Lanie, and it will get better and better. please feel free to get in touch and visit if you are in the adelong / gundagai area and go feather hunting.
DeleteHello Louise 'Glut', Your blog has been recommended to me by your brother with whom I work. I am loving it already. What an idyllic lifestyle you are now leading. I am quite envious. Oh for retirement when I can follow my heart and do what I love doing which is more spinning, knitting and crocheting. You might like to take a peek at my blog.
ReplyDeletehttp://melsnattyknits.wordpress.com/
Hi Mel, glad you like it, say hello to Matty! Idyllic it may seem, but only when weeding is not involved. I have a constant struggle with thistles and an emerging Paterson's Curse problem but still couldn't be happier. I am not sure I would call myself 'retired' just not earning. I have a whole new job now and that is custodian of our conservation area and junior, amateur farmer.
DeleteI LOVE your socks!
I remember our first egg from our girls you can't beat freshly laid eggs....... Enjoy :-)
ReplyDeleteI am saving a few up for a poached egg breakfast. nothing says fresh egg to more than poached eggs.
DeleteWhen I had an allotment the old boys there used to say 'dig a bit and do a bit' - meaning you don't have to do it all at once. I'm trying to keep this in mind as we get ready to rip the kitchen out of the house we bought almost a year ago. There's so many other things that need doing but we're trying to just focus on that at the moment. 'Slowly,slowly, catchy chicken' as Mr Asparagus Pea likes to say!
ReplyDeletethis is really sound and sensible advice, thank you!
DeleteYay! *Does first egg dance* I remember when we got our first eggs - we got 2 :) on the same day (as we have 9 chickens it is not surprising). Chickens can be picky about where they lay their eggs - one of our leghorns just laid the egg wherever she was in the garden - resulting in an egg hunt each day. After we cooped all of them up for a whole day as it was raining very hard - she saw the others using the nest box and subsequently we have had no more egg hunts :) So hopefully one of the other chickens will show her the suitable place to lay her eggies.
ReplyDeleteI like the egg dance, I do it each morning. Two on the same day! My lassies got let out late this morning (11am) as it seemed clear that Myra wasn't going to lay, but at 12.30 Myra went back in for a sit and eureka, an egg... I am hoping that she will show the others that the coop is the pace to lay.
DeleteThat is fantastic you should be justifiably proud of all the achievements that egg represents. I wonder when mine will start laying - they have been behaving oddly but then they have been behaving oddly since birth so oddly seems to have become the new normal. Their decision to roost on the washing line instead of in their nice safe house is a case in point......Hope they don't decide to lay eggs in odd places too.....
ReplyDeleteThe washing line... that's funny. Mine don't roost. At night they all cuddle together behind a bale of straw, its very cute.
DeleteI am rather proud for you as well. I remeber when the chicks we would raise started laying. It was always a special breakfast. Even if it was one egg, everyone got a little from it. Enjoy your chicks.
ReplyDeleteThanks Melissa, I am really enjoying them. They are hours of fun. The problem is that it is more fun watching them than weeding...
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