Yesterday we had our first ever six egg day. The order was Barley first then Sparkle, Honey, Peaches, Emerald then Toffee. This is probably as good as it gets as Amber has only laid one egg this year so far and because of her egg laying problems right from the start I think she will slow down to only laying occasionally and that’s not a bad thing for her.
Topaz laid only six eggs last summer and this year laid eight eggs in two months but now hasn’t laid for five weeks. Topaz wants to go broody and spends her time following any girl about to lay into the nest box so that she can sit on their eggs. Because she doesn’t commit to staying broody, but gives up when I take the eggs away, she is in a kind of broody limbo. I wonder if this means she will just continue not to lay because there is nothing to kick start her off again. As this is a new experience for me it is a case of just wait and see.
This means that these two girls are out of the running at the moment so to get six eggs in one day from the other six is really quite amazing. I think this will be hard to beat.
I took a photo of three girls in the nest box recently and yesterday my husband found four girls in the nest box. They were Toffee, Emerald, Peaches and Topaz who just wanted to sit on the eggs as they were laid. Unfortunately I missed this which must have been an amusing sight and a great photo.
With this upswing in egg laying we have just had twenty seven eggs in the last seven days which is the most we have ever had in a week. I am enjoying being able to eat as many eggs as we want and still having some over to give away. I love looking in the fridge and seeing my neat egg rollers filling up and am really pleased with how easily the eggs now roll.
I just love this time of abundant egg laying and watching the girls trying to get the favourite nest box. I also love that somehow egg laying seems to give the girls an extra confidence. Emerald will now jump on to the inside gate (child gate) to greet me and sometimes will jump on to my arm or shoulder. She never used to be this confident. Even Toffee has become less shy and now accepts me being close to her and no longer moves away from me.
It really does seem that the girls are happy to be egg laying again. This is such a lovely time of year to be a chicken keeper.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
Just seen this. I have 5 egg days at the moment . I know that old girl Bonny is laying but I have yet to see her . She must sneak in there .
Isnt it wonderful .
It is wonderful. I didn’t expect a six egg day so soon which is virtually a full house because Amber and Topaz don’t lay. Topaz squeezed in the nest box with Emerald and Toffee again today to sit on their eggs. Once I removed them she came out shouting but stayed out. Peaches and Sparkle had laid in the other coop.
I have come to suspect that six eggs last year and eight eggs this year from Topaz is the amount she would lay to get a clutch to sit on and is why she is wanting to brood.
They’re doing brilliantly; mine have picked up considerably, but we’re constantly blighted by broodies – 3 at the current time, with BigSil going into her 3rd spell of broodiness this year. It’s hard to work out who’s in lay, with 2 just out of broodiness a few days ago! Wyandottes! More persistent than silkies.
I don’t envy you the broodies. Topaz is enough for me. It seems that if you have a broody wyandotte they are persistent because Sparkle is no trouble but Topaz is wanting to be broody all the time. She is as I say, in broody limbo though, not laying and one day following all the girls in to the nest box and sitting on any eggs she can and the next day not bothering then the next day sitting again on an every other day basis at the moment. When she does want to sit she is angry and gives the death stare and will peck. My husband says she is actually quite an unpleasant character but I get that it’s hormones and instinct and she just can’t help herself. The other girls are little angels in comparison.