I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but our chickens aren't ones for privacy when they are laying. They have a total of 6 nesting boxes to choose from, but most days I find about 80% of the eggs in one box. It is not the same box every day... I'm guessing there is a leader who chooses the box for the day, lays the first egg, then goes and tells everyone else which box they need to lay in if they want to be part of the in-crowd. There are always a few rebels, and I think they are probably the ones who have to wait patiently behind while the boss eats the best leaves from the cabbages and weeds we feed them.
Yesterday I went to check the eggs and found the above scene - 5 completely empty boxes and one box with 3 chickens and 9 eggs in it. I have no idea how they manage to lay like this, but they do and somehow they never break any of the eggs in the process. Perhaps I should observe them more closely and see if they get a few more chickens in there at one time so I can enter them into the Guinness book of records!
Although we only have three chooks, ours seem to do the same - all lay right on top of each other. Occasionally we find an egg outside the house, but I think this is when the nesting box is already fill and they cannot wait any longer......or perhaps it just takes them by surprise!
ReplyDeletei'm jealous of your chickens...not sure if they'll be possible at the new place...stupid question, but do you need a rooster around to get the hens to lay eggs, or just to lay fertilized eggs? stupid follow-up question, do eggs taste different depending on whether they're fertilized or not? (assuming you know everything about chickens ;)
ReplyDeleteYou need Mike to come over and rig up one of his fancy spy-cameras! Better yet - he could teach me how to do it and I could come over instead! Although - knowing me I'm probably scared of chickens so wouldn't be able to get close enough to hide the camera in the ultimate spot!
ReplyDeleteThis makes me absolutely smile just thinking about it. Thinking about a bunch of your chickens all into 1 laying box, when I know you have this beautiful chicken house for them to live in with many different laying areas. hahaha. Maybe they like the company? Hahaha. : )
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