Maximum productivity

We finally had 10 eggs in one day yesterday. In my last post, I speculated that it wasn’t the same Araucana that didn’t lay every day. We have revised that hypothesis. Hilda found a small egg on the floor of the coop last week. We hadn’t seen an egg out of the next boxes since the onset of laying. Terry guessed at the time that these first eggs were so small that they caught the hen by surprise. We have not had any reason to reject that hypothesis. Therefore, this egg outside the nest suggests that one hen was slow to mature. I think it was Ina. She’s the smallest, and I had never seen her in a nest box. Hilda saw Ina peering into the nest boxes one day and sitting in one the next.



I was able to get a photo of three hens in the nest boxes all at once. Unfortunately, Nigella was facing the wrong way. It is very cute to open the back door and have three hens poke their heads out.

Left to right: Jennifer, Bridget and Nigella in the nest boxes.

We are having an unseasonably warm day today. There is, however, a strong wind from the east, so the girls can’t quite make up their minds whether they want to be in or out.

As the girls have grown up, they have become less distinctive. I’m sure it’s exactly what a breeder wants—a breed true to its breed, but it’s gotten very hard to tell the two fat ladies apart and distinguish among the Dominques. I finally broke down and ordered leg bands. Jane did the research for me. Since she retired, she has become my go-to person for searching the internet. I needed three leg bands, one for one of Light Brahma and two for the Dominiques. One chicken without a leg band counts as a marking.  The smallest number of leg bands I could order was 50. It may be a lifetime supply. I got the assorted colors. Having 50 of one color was no help at all. If we add to the flock later, it would behoove us to mark the old hens for that sad day when we might have to cull.

A lifetime supply of assorted 12/16" leg bands

The bands came last Thursday. They are just plastic rings that pull apart and go over the leg, like a key ring but easier to separate.

Hilda came out with me this morning to install the leg bands. She grabbed Clarissa first. I put an orange band on her leg. She was NOT happy to have her leg touched. Giada got a green band and Sara, blue. They were not so fussy about it. I saw Clarissa pecking at her band later. The bands were obviously large enough (maybe even too large—that remains to be seen) for the Dominques. The feathers on Clarissa’s legs are a complicating factor. We’ll watch for signs of discomfort/infection. Jane worries that the other chickens will be jealous of the chickie bling. We’ll have to keep an eye on that too.

Clarissa with her orange leg band. NOT happy.

Giada sports her green leg band, which you can see if you look closely at her left leg.