The New Girls turned 1 year old the end of March. They are all in full laying mode to varying degrees.
Jasmine, my Gold Sex Link, is pretty much head of the new flock and the best layer. She usually misses only 2 or 3 days a month! The others give me about 4 eggs a week,
Lilly seems to average the least and now she just went broody! [defined: When a hen wants to hatch a clutch of chicks, she will sit on the nest continuously until they hatch. This is called broody, for raising a 'brood'.] I take her off twice a day so she can get food and water: oh she does not like that. Growling at me and puffing up feathers "How dare you take me away from my important mission". She'll go thru the 3 week cycle and come out of it. If I needed more chicks, I'd get some babies and put them under her so she knew she fulfilled her duties and could raise them up. But, not this time. Eight is enough!!!
The Buttercups have the habit of flying up on me. Amelia, RIP, did the same thing. I am thinking it is a trait of the Sicilian Buttercups. If I bend over, they launch up to my back. Kiwi can fly up to my shoulder without notice, and especially if I walk into the coop-pen carrying the worm cup. She's up on my shoulder ready to eat them all!
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| Selfie: Kiwi and Karla - that's the fringe of my hat, not a bad perm |
And now, Jasmine, who is much larger, will do it too! I think, because she is Leader, she doesn't want to be left out of anything. She can't get to my shoulder like Kiwi, but she can get on my back or in my lap if I am sitting down. It really is too funny because you don't normally think of chickens as flying.
I just love a basket of New Flock eggs!From the top: Medium brown is Jasmine's size large egg, Hosta lays the sage green egg, Kiwi and Ivy lay the small white eggs, Lilly lays the dark reddish-brown egg.
There's Ivy checking out their offerings.
I made a felted basket to carry the eggs safely in something soft.
