Matches made in HEAVEN and 17 eggs

My Favorite X BIL loaned me his incubator!

Now, while I am waiting for these two to get "after it" I am hatching some RIR purebreds and RIR crossed with BA.... they should be pretty.

I also introduced the famous Black Australorp JT to 5 girls today. He is now sharing his bachelor pad with Bambi Shrek and Tundra (all EE) and Belle the BO and Crackle the WR. The EE will make more EE but the BO BA mix and the BA WR mix will be interesting to see what happens. The plan is to leave them where they are for about a month to increase the fertility percentage of the eggs...... One Roo 5 Pullets... I do not see any reason for less than 100%....

These two pullets became broody at the same time a couple weeks ago. They were both setting on wooden eggs. I was able to round up some fertilized eggs for both of these little Mama's. This made Claire really happy and content, but Sparkle headed for the hills.

If you count the shell less egg that I caught the girls cleaning up, and the one I found in the grass close by....... we collected 17 eggs. 4 of these eggs were GREEN which means one of the young EE pullets has also started laying.

All of the normal eggs are hard shelled and the girls are offered extra calcium as a side dish, so from what I gather, the shell-less eggs are from pullets who are still fine tuning their equipment.

a tale of two biddies

Yesterday, my loving man completed work on new nest boxes for our chickens.

They went from using a kitty litter box (the kind with a roof and a door) to this.

From 2010-02-03

A state of the art, multi-layer, nest box condominium.  Nice, huh?

Here's the problem.  Remodeling is so hard on a chicken.

Here's the good part.  Chickens are followers.  If you can convince one of them that this is the place to go for laying eggs, everyone else will follow.

So, you see my task at hand.

The poor darlings start 9-ish in the morning, and there are currently three of them who have been previously waiting in line to use the nest box because they're apparently on the same schedule.  Well, this morning, with the old nest box removed and everything just different, they were walking around in circles squawk-squawk-squawking, looking for the missing nest box.

I knew this would happen; therefore, i was on egg watch most of the morning.

I was hoping that i could convince them by mere suggestion, to settle in to the new boxes.  So i put the first two squawkers in the boxes to check out the new digs.

From 2010-02-03

MYRTLE:  Psst!  Hattie!  What do you think?

From 2010-02-03

HATTIE:  Looks like she got us a three-holer.

From 2010-02-03

MYRTLE:  Lacks a little in privacy, don'tchathink?

From 2010-02-03

HATTIE:  Well, it wouldn't if you would keep your head on the other side of that wall and pay attention to your own business.  EXCUSE ME PLEASE.  

About then, Myrtle decided she'd had enough of this and flew the coop...or at least the nest box.

From 2010-02-03

HATTIE:  Myrtle?  Where'd you go?

From 2010-02-03

MYRTLE:  I'm blowin' this joint!

And with that, Hattie followed the stubborn and rebellious Myrtle out of the coop to wander around and eventually come back, their egg-laying instincts forcing them to find a safe place to lay.

Which is when i knew i had to take more drastic action to help them get used to the new digs.

From 2010-02-03

MYRTLE:  I told you we should've blown this joint.

HATTIE:  Myrtle, shut up and lay an egg already!

However, Myrtle did not lay an egg right then.  Instead she busted out of that joint, true to her word, and issued some scathing edicts from the rafters, which echoed throughout the eggland woods.

From 2010-02-03

But in the end, Myrtle did lay her egg.

From 2010-02-03

The one on the left is legit.  The other one is to fool the girls.

In fact, we got all the previous layers and one newbie today.  FIVE EGGS.

Hallelujah.  I'm 1/4 of the way to 100% production.

Mr. Bennet

This morning Kate and Jeremiah and I woke up at 6am ish to prepare for our great adventure.

Beth had forwarded some information on a FREE EE Roo in Dobbin Texas. This was such exciting news... another Roo! Not only another Roo, but an Easter Egger Roo. This means that this Rooster would theoretically be able to breed with any hen and produce more EE that would be able to lay eggs many colors....from pink blue or green....or brown. OMG was I excited.

We also were able to get 4 fertilized EE eggs for our brooding buff.

What a great day! New Roo.... 4 EE eggs... looking forward to February 18-20th hatch....

We get home and unload everyone, set the eggs under Nanny the Buff, and go back to the Roo with the camera.

The pics where all through the cage, and who wants to see a cage in the pics... you can not see what a pretty roo he is... the name Mr Bennet fits him well.

So we open the cage to get a better look, snap a few pics and ......... he flies out and gets chased all across the yard by Enoch and he jumps the fence and runs across the street and finally makes it to the woods and he is GONE!

So.... in a nutshell, (or an eggshell) ..... This morning we all got up early and drove out to Dobbin Texas and picked up 4 fertilized Easter Egger eggs for Nanny to sit on and Cut n Shoot has a new ferrel Rooster. Where is Mike Rowe when you need him? (dirty jobs caught Miami ferrel chickens last week)

Myrtle #2

I'm so happy!

Yesterday, i was having a hard time telling which of two different rir were the one trying to lay, and whoever it was, she laid it from the roost, and it cracked on the floor.

Today, i was on intense egg watch.

As soon as Myrtle started squawking around and roosting like she was about to do something, i put her in the nest box and blocked it off with a live trap (that was just the easiest thing to do at the time). Forty minutes later, i had an egg. But i was surprised about this one. It was a different shape than all the others. More rounded, not so pointy. But i figured she's a pullet, maybe things will change as time goes on.

Well, then about 2:00, i saw an identical rir squawking around and acting like she was going to lay an egg. So i used my best instincts and put her in the nest box just like i had done the other one this morning.

A little while later, an attentive buff orpington who had been keeping her company in the coop, came out singing the egg song. So i went in and removed the blockade from in front of the nest box. But little Myrtle stayed there for a few minutes. I kept doing yard work, and ten minutes or so later, she appeared at the door of the coop with a little SQUAWK! Like o.k. i'm done!

So i went in, and low and behold, another egg - pointy like all the other eggs i've collected before today.

So now i know! This morning's was Myrtle #2, and today was her first egg!

Congratulations Myrtle #2!

And Congratulations to Myrtles #1 & #2 for finally learning to lay their precious eggs in a safe place!

WOOHOO! We're on our way to egg abundance!

JT Fitzwilliam and Bingley

These Roosters are all so pretty, but earlier this week Head Hauncho Bantam Roo had a mysterious bloody comb. No Way Jose!

The only thing new in the coop was Fitz, but if I was going to go through the trouble of introducing him to the Monster Roo JT, then I might as well include Bingley. To sinch the deal, as I was drinking coffee and staring at the chickens.... Bingley chest butted pullet MC and then another. Okee Dokee.....

Now, after being carried around all morning and then forced to participate in a photo shoot, JT is in a small humbling cage, Bingley and Fitz are in the Roo Coop n Yard... and James is back to his rightful place as Head Hauncho of the entire Flock!

JT

JT aka Monster Roo!

Fitzwilliam

Fitzwilliam aka The Goose!