A good friend of mine popped round to see me recently, and we discussed my intention to increase the chicken flock.
At present I have just ONE hen (Richard), and she offers me one egg a day. As you can see above, I have a constant stock of about half a dozen eggs in the fridge at any one time.
My intention had been to buy another six hens (black ones), but if they all started laying, it could mean that I have a whopping 49 eggs a week. What the hell would I do with 49 eggs (or even 40; or even 30)!
We may have to re-think matters.
I do like Richard to wander about at liberty, but she's recently taken this as an opportunity to lay elsewhere than in her designated nesting box. Thank goodness I discovered her well hidden 'wild' nest, as she now refuses to lay anywhere else. I suppose the only way I'll get her to start using her nesting box again will be to deprive her of her liberty. I'm not sure if I want to do that; maybe Lady Magnon will have thoughts about it when she returns, as retrieving the eggs now involves crawling through brambles.
Hmmm.....a surplus of eggs should be easy to give away if it should come to that.
ReplyDeleteI wish my hen-keeping neighbor would offer us some fresh eggs. So far, he has not. :)
Good old Richard...I'm sure she'll be happy to welcome some new friends. I do envy your fresh eggs!
ReplyDeleteThis is totally off topic, I hope you don't mind....I know how you love mushroooms. My husband has found about a pound of morels in the last couple of days...I'm so excited! We haven't found any for at least 3 years, so this is like striking gold. There's just nothing to compare to the taste of a morel. :)
I saw you had one post about them. Have you ever found any?
It's the one mushroom that evades me. I've been out looking this Spring, but nothing. I'm very envious.
DeleteI seem to remember that hens lay in the mornings and so one could keep them inside and let them forage in the afternoons.
ReplyDeleteI'll try that, and maybe return one of the plastic eggs to the nest.
DeleteMy recent american visitor was surprised that I don't keep eggs in the fridge....it seems there is a fridge/basket divide.
ReplyDeleteI usually keep a few at room temperature, and the rest in the fridge.
DeleteI sympathise here Cro. We had around six hens, all very old - some as old as ten - and decided to let them live their lives out in the luxury of free range in our fields. So we bought six point of lay pullets. One died almost immediately but the new 5 are all laying every day. This has spurred the old hens to lay again so we are getting around eight or nine eggs a day. I have put a sign on the farm gate 'eggs for sale' 50p for 6' but so far, no takers. I am giving them away right, left and centre. They are delicious but one can only eat so many. So be warned.
ReplyDeleteEven with my one-a-day, they seem to build up. Maybe I should eat more.
DeleteA perennial problem when you keep hens even three hens is too many for a small family - you will have to get yourself an egg round like John Gray.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure some of your neighbours would be happy to take some eggs off your hands. If I lived next door I'd buy a dozen a week. You could start making omellettes (sp?) and those little eggy pies (quiches) oooh...now I'm thinking about egg salad sandwiches for lunch.
ReplyDeleteWe do eat quite a few lunchtime hard-boiled eggs in our Summer salads.
DeleteI just had a fried egg for my tea. We buy them from the farm gates around here; there are lots of places to stop and buy them so lots of people have surplus eggs. I took the egg from the box on the shelf in the kitchen, I never put eggs in the fridge.
ReplyDeleteWe lost our first chook yesterday :( her name was Oxo and she was my favourite and will be sadly missed. We have Nugget and Boris and we are going to get some chicks soon but I will always have a soft spot for Oxo as she was our first chook x Richard is a fab name x
ReplyDeleteTwo of ours were both called Richard.... named by our grandsons.
DeleteI thought hens like company, so shouldn't you consider at least two more hens for Richard's sake? Would some of your neighbours like the eggs? If i were your neighbour, i would. I'm sure Monty and Bok would welcome a raw egg or two mixed in with their dog food, too.
ReplyDelete