This is an old post from February that I did not publish earlier, but am sharing it because it gives some good information. Even though the weather feels like we are still in February, the daylight hours have lengthened so my hens are laying a dozen eggs a day now! Scoreboard!
"Up to date egg count - 3 yesterday. 2 the day before. Zero the day before that. With the warmer days we have been having this week, the hens are beginning to lay their eggs slowly. The eggs are ranging in size from small to large, which means some of our younger hens have started laying for the first time. Hens will only lay eggs consistently the first 3 years of their lives. Then they are just "window dressing" for the farm.
I think I have figured out why we went 2 months without eggs last year.
First, the shortened and colder winter days always result in fewer eggs laid.
Second, Bear, our English Springer puppy, stressed out the chickens with his "playing".
Third, at least 7 chickens decided to live, roost and lay eggs outside of the chicken barn. Last week I found eggs in the wood pile, underneath a hay bale, and on top of the kindling piled in a garbage can! So, with net in hand, I chased the chickens from hay barn to wood pile to pasture and back to hay barn, wood pile and down to pasture again, until after 2 days of chasing, I have found them all and locked them in the chicken barn. It will take about 3 days for them to realize that is now their home. After 3 days or so, I can let them go and hopefully, they will choose to lay their eggs in the clean and dry nesting boxes and then come home to roost there at sunset. In the meantime, they are not free-ranging and not happy about that. The warm weather this week should help also.
Several years ago, we volunteered to become part of the Washington State Dept. of Agriculture program of testing chickens for Avian Flu. Two to four times a year, the Washington State Veterinarian will come to our farm and test our chickens for the disease. So far, no chickens on the western side of Washington have proven positive for the disease. We aim to do whatever it takes to keep our chickens healthy and our eggs safe.
Throughout the years, we have donated our eggs to the Salvation Army Emergency Female Shelter in Portland, The Evergreen Inn Retirement Home in Vancouver, the Summit View Church auction, and the Humane Society Auction. They were also on the menu for a sustainability luncheon for Clark County dignitaries. There is no comparison between naturally laid fresh eggs and those sold in the stores! We will continue to spread the word...and egg salad!"
