We have EGG!

My sister-in-law arrived about 10:15 with my niece and her cousin.  They were here for a visit and to see the chickens, which they've not met yet.  As we approached the coop, Pete Rose and Betty were no where to be found.  This is unusual, as Pete is usually crowing the second he sees me.  I am his mother after all.  But today they were not there.  I was mildly alarmed and wondered aloud , "Where's my rooster?".  I opened the coop door and there he was and Betty was inside the nesting box panting an in obvious distress.  Expecting that perhaps she might be ready to lay an egg, she is 20 weeks old after all, I shut the door to give her her privacy.  I checked her a couple of times quickly, no change and she wasn't moving.  We stood around the pen chatting over chickens and suddenly, my sister-in-law and Maestro both said, "I heard a knock sound in the coop!".  I opened the door and sure enough, there was Betty proudly standing over her very first egg.  To say I was excited was an understatement.  And Betty let out a very proud cackle of her own.

The picture above is a normal large egg, on the right is Betty's first pullet egg.  Small, but perfectly formed.  We cracked it open last night to see if it was the way it should be on the inside.  It was miniature, but perfectly formed, all parts there, color right. 

Our little farmstead is making food.  That's the most awesome thing I can think of.

Wishing you miniature eggs in your nest, ~Peacemom

Chick Update

Okay, the first order of business as the update to the chicks is this...Rose, pictured above started making some pretty funny noises about a week ago.  Around 10pm, some strange sounds were emanating from the brooder box.  I went to check on them, and well, she stopped the noises.  Everything seemed okay, so I went back to bed.

I have started to put them out during the day in the baby gate we saved (I knew it would come in handy again someday!  This used to keep the boys away from the woodstove when they were babies).  They are very much enjoying the fresh air, new space and perches I set up in there.  Well, Rose has been sparring with one of the other hens quite often, so I'm watching with caution to make sure they're not hurting each other. So far, they are just posturing.  Chickens figure out a pecking order (hence the term) and so it's normal for some of that to go on.  Well...then yesterday...I witnessed her hopping on the back of one of the other chicks...uh oh.  That's not girl behavior, that's randy teenage boy behavior. Now, I'm on full alert.

This morning while the boys were eating breakfast, we heard what is unequivocally a beginning practice crow.  And yes, it was emanating from Rose...Rose, the Rooster.  As this is Little Red's chicken, and he loves it and named it himself, it looks like we're gonna have to be the proud owners of a rooster.  No, I didn't want any roosters, but there's not a lot we can do about it.  As long as he doesn't become aggressive to anyone, he can stay.  Hopefully he'll be good protection for the girls. I'm just praying the one he spars with, Betty, is not also a rooster because I definitely don't want two roosters for 4 girls!

And by the way, Little Red has decided to rename Rose,  Pete Rose.  We've got to leave the boy with his dignity.

Wishing you hilarious practice crowing of your own, ~Peacemom