The Hidden Nest
For 4 days in a row, I couldn't find any eggs from the SFH Coop, and wondered first, where they might be hiding them and second, if they just all went on "strike". Then, last Thursday 9/24, when I was looking for something else, I went on the outside of the SFH fence & looked between the two round bales of mulch hay. Lo and behold, there was the hidden nest.
Once I got a separate egg carton, I had to reach my hand & arm through the 2"x4" welded wire (yes, that was slightly painful), and grab those eggs. When all was said & done - there was 13 dirty eggs in that hidden nest. Needless to say, we ate those eggs, I wouldn't sell them, even if they were only a few days old.
There was a little "tunnel" through the hay, where they'd obviously come through every day to lay their eggs. Crazy girls! Once inside, I looked at them carefully to determine who were the "culprits". Three of the eggs were bantam, so obviously that's why Confetti was going over to the SFH side of the fence, just to lay her egg. Five were light creamy brown eggs, from the sneaky SFHs. But, the real culprit was one or two of the green-egg laying Catskill Homesteaders, as there were 7 green eggs.
After removing the eggs, I stuffed the hidden nest with hay, with hopes that they would find another place to lay.
Even though I say the hens are at fault, it's probably just because they want a hay-line nesting box, which they don't have in their coop. That's on my to-do list for today, plus add another roost, with hopes of keeping them "locked up" for a few days. Why? because two of the young pullets prefer roosting in the pine tree, and hens prefer laying their eggs outside the coop, where you have to daily "egg-hunt" for them. Plus, it's forecast to rain, so they'll stay drying inside - until they curb their "naughty" ways.
Once I got a separate egg carton, I had to reach my hand & arm through the 2"x4" welded wire (yes, that was slightly painful), and grab those eggs. When all was said & done - there was 13 dirty eggs in that hidden nest. Needless to say, we ate those eggs, I wouldn't sell them, even if they were only a few days old.
There was a little "tunnel" through the hay, where they'd obviously come through every day to lay their eggs. Crazy girls! Once inside, I looked at them carefully to determine who were the "culprits". Three of the eggs were bantam, so obviously that's why Confetti was going over to the SFH side of the fence, just to lay her egg. Five were light creamy brown eggs, from the sneaky SFHs. But, the real culprit was one or two of the green-egg laying Catskill Homesteaders, as there were 7 green eggs.
After removing the eggs, I stuffed the hidden nest with hay, with hopes that they would find another place to lay.
Even though I say the hens are at fault, it's probably just because they want a hay-line nesting box, which they don't have in their coop. That's on my to-do list for today, plus add another roost, with hopes of keeping them "locked up" for a few days. Why? because two of the young pullets prefer roosting in the pine tree, and hens prefer laying their eggs outside the coop, where you have to daily "egg-hunt" for them. Plus, it's forecast to rain, so they'll stay drying inside - until they curb their "naughty" ways.
Comments
Post a Comment