The laying of a young chicken's second egg

It is so nice in this busy Christmas season to have gotten enough done yesterday that you have time the next morning to ponder with your young hens. Yesterday was a big day: BB and Olive both laid their first eggs. Christmas crafting was in overtime in my studio, and art commissions are coming in and joyfully being worked on. I'm loving being busy, but this morning i took joy in being quiet and still with my lovely ladies.

I let the girls out to run about, they were less 'flap all over the place' than they have been thus far in their lives. Calmly skittering here and there, scratching up bugs while i changed their water and nesting materials. I moved the tractor to a new spot with tasty rye grass to snack on and filled their suet cage with cauliflower stem and greens from last night's meal.  At some point BB beelined back to the coop: i knew something was up. Up into the nest box she went!  I did NOT want to miss this so i went inside to brew some tea to keep my chilly hands warm and came back out to settle in with the hens. The other girls continued to graze while BB nestled in, but soon came in to the coop: to be with her? to enjoy snacks? who knows. It seemed to me that Soot and Belina were taking interest in BB's activity and wanted to keep her safe. I watched, took pictures and filmed waiting to here that joyful song of "i laid an egg" she did not sing, but when she started shuffling the nest material around i figured she'd done her thing.
Sure enough, a peek inside showed a soft hen and her beautiful fresh egg. I plucked it out still warm, and encouraged her down to the snacks - don't want her getting 'broody' now.

What a joyful morning.  Now it's back to Christmas crafting and G is for Grace.

First Eggs have been Laid!!!

I am so proud of my girls. At 23ish weeks, BB my Chantecler hen has laid her first egg (surprising as she was the miniature seeming "pocket chicken" who seemed to refuse to mature - hard to tell as Chanteclers don't get much for combs or wattles really). Olive, our little adopted swap-hen Wyandotte at about 26-7 weeks old has done the same.
This is my presumption: they are the two who have been squatting, but i could be guessing incorrectly.

Very sadly, i was across the house in my studio, behind closed doors, so i could not hear if they sang the announcement of their amazing feat. But they have been showing all sorts of signs of agitation: squatting (which looks like they're kneeling down in terror holding their wings slightly out, is a natural response to allowing the rooster to mount safely) hopping up and down in and out of the nest boxes, cackling and making all sorts of odd communication noises. I do not speak chicken, but i had a feeling this day was coming soon. And here they are: two beautiful, well formed eggs. Shells are nice and thick, shape is smooth and mostly uniform. They are gorgeous, light brown, one slightly lighter than the other, one slightly more slender than the other.

I am so proud, and excited to have eggs for dinner!!!!!!