Two Dozen and Counting!

The hens have been clucking around for two weeks now, and the wonder of it all has yet to wear off.  Are getting approximately a dozen eggs a week from our three ladies, and they are delicious eggs!  Seriously, I have never been much of an egg fan, but I made scrambled eggs for my son and myself midweek while Derek had conferences, and they were amazing.  I have never liked scrambled eggs, but I knew Owen would eat them, so I decided to go with it.  I was SHOCKED at how yummy they were.  I went back for seconds!  The difference between store bought eggs and backyard eggs is unbelievable.  Too bad we haven't had any spares to share with friends yet...  (It's not looking like we will anytime soon.  They're just too darn good.)

We did have a bit of a scare on Friday.  Derek thought that Layla (the Australorp) went missing.  The two Wyandottes were together, but Layla was no where to be seen.  Poor guy searched the yard and peeked into all the neighbors' yards looking for her.  Turns out she had just found a great spot in a bush to take a nap.  She was fine.  Totally safe and sound.  Owen is now calling her a "Nawny Ninnen"  which toddler translates to "Naughty Chicken."  It was great to see how much Derek likes the hens though.  He was so upset when he thought she was gone.  He's already planning on adding to our flock next spring.

By the way, our girls have names now.  Layla is the Black Australorp, and she is definitly at the top of the pecking order.  Atilla the Hen (Tilly) is the larger of the two Golden-Laced Wyandottes, and Yadi (in honor of Yadier Molina) is the smaller of the Wyandottes.  Yadi is fiesty and probably the number two bird.  Surprisingly, Tilly is at the bottom of the pecking order even though she is the largest bird.  Not to worry though.  There have yet to be any squabbles, and they all get plenty of top notch food.  They love eating rinsed egg shells and apple cores.

We are thinking about starting construction on a new, larger coop soon.  I think I like the looks of The Garden Coop.  What do you think?  We'll put the nest boxes on the outside and move the door to the side so that there is room for ten hens.  Should be plenty of room especially since we let them free range for a few hours every day during the school week and all day long on the weekends.

From left to right:  Tilly, Yadi, Layla