At last Toffee lays her first egg of the year

For a while I have thought Toffee was getting ready to lay as she had started investigating the nest boxes in the mornings. Yesterday morning she sat in the left coop for a while and was scratching around in there. I thought she was going to lay her first egg of the year.

A little later she came out of the nest box with a pile of pine shavings on her back. I wished I had my camera. I checked the coop but there was no egg so it seemed that this was a practice run.

This morning Toffee looked in both little coops then selected the left coop again. She settled in and I knew this was going to be the day she laid her first egg. I checked back a short while later and sure enough there was her first egg with a tell tale slight blood streak on it. It was smaller and paler than Emerald’s eggs. Hurrah! Well done Toffee.

This means in theory all eight girls are back in lay but Topaz hasn’t laid an egg for a month now. I have worked out why I think this is. Topaz wants to go broody. As soon as any of the girls have a laid an egg she will go into whichever coop the egg or eggs are in and sit on them. When I try to take the eggs from her she will peck at my hand. Topaz is the only one of my flock that will peck me.

So far she hasn’t committed to going broody. As soon as I take the eggs away and especially if there are some treats on offer she will come out of the nest box and stay out. I think the reason she went broody last summer was because we were away for a couple days for Steve’s wedding and with no one to disturb her she settled in and stayed that way for three weeks.

I am hopeful that as long as I keep taking the eggs and encouraging her out of the nest box she may not settle in as this clogs up a nest box when all the other girls want to lay. Only time will tell if this will work.