Is my pekin bantam male or female?

[Clarabelle]

I'd love a double yolker!

Have you eaten it yet Clarabelle?

(my memory is terrible so sorry if you have already said!)

 

Hi Cathy,

 

Yes, my son ate the double yolker on Saturday, I think that might be our lot though. I've just put some more pictures up in our part of the gallery. They are now all coming out at between 55 and 60g. Very respectable, but they aren't going to get us on the leader board!

[redhotchick]

Hi Clarabelle,

 

Those leader board eggs sure are huge! 2 to 3 times the size of my girls eggs!

[SharonX]

Hi Clarabel,

Just had a little nose through your gallery and was very impressed with your egg box label. How did you do it if you don't mind me asking? I would love to put a picture on my boxes like that

 

Sharon

[superjules]

Clarabel, SharonX is right! Your egg box label looks fab! Very impressive.

[Clarabelle]

Hi Sharon and superjules,

 

Glad you like the egg box label, I was a bit worried it might offend some people and my husband and I had a discussion about the use of the word bottom rather than the word a*se (can't even write it here without it being censored!)

 

He's a real dab hand with Photoshop so the label is just a photo of our girl's bottoms with text overlaid, but he did spend quite a while fiddling with it - he's a bit of a perfectionist!

 

We keep trying to think of a killer idea that is going to make us loads of money, but somehow I don't think egg box label design is it though

[redhotchick]

We keep trying to think of a killer idea that is going to make us loads of money, but somehow I don't think egg box label design is it though

 

Ah Clarabelle, me too. I have had some ideas, I either forget them or don't know how to action them!

My current idea is egg boxes for bantam eggs. I don't think it's a "killer money maker" though. I have a vague notion of using newspaper pulp and some kind of press. No idea how to go about it really though! (and unlikely to action it!) Also tiny egg cups for little eggs. Why are egg cups so big!

[SharonX]

Hi,

 

That's that out the window then I'm useless on the computer! You should sell them maybe on ebay. Lots of people offer picture services. There was a thread on here not so long ago where people were searching everywhere for egg boxes that hold 4 eggs but were coloured. Omlet was the only company to sell 4 but are boring grey. Maybe you could find a was of dying them & adding labels & team up with Omlet. Not going to make you rich but i think theres plently of people that would love to personalise their egg boxes. Me for one! Tell Hubby to get cracking we are all waiting! You'd probably find the use of the word a**e wanted too!

[Pinkybijou]

Thanks for all your congratulations of Doris, the clever girl, laying us an egg. Since then she has laid two more - she's doing alternate days at the moment. Her eggs are still small (34-47g) but it's an absolute thrill to find one there in the nest!

 

Emma - you did make me laugh - I also would check the nesting box at least six times a day, probably more!!!

 

Doris sends eggy vibes to those chooks who are nearly there! (including our Dora, who is showing no interest at all yet!)

 

Kris

 

PS My eldest son ate Doris's first egg, fried on toast and said it was delicious! I'm having the next one....

 

[Clarabelle]

Cathy - the bantam egg box idea is a great one, I'm sure there are lots of bantam owners who could use them, but it's a bit of a niche market though isn't it?

 

Not sure that we can be bothered to market labels on Ebay!

 

So how many of your hens have been laying non-stop for several weeks now? We keep wondering when ours are going to have a break, but they haven't so far. Sarah, is Madras still going without a break?

[redhotchick]

Since they started laying, Bella and Dolce have laid an egg every day each .

What troopers! I love my chickens! I can practically time when they will lay them too.

I obviously spend way too much time watching them!

 

Bantam Egg boxes would be a niche market, probably not loads of money in it!

Might be fun to make a few though!

 

I was told that my hens would lay an average of 300 plus, each, a year.

I thought they would just have 2 months off in the winter when the day length is shorter. But some people's hens have been laying all through the winter I think? They go off lay when they moult don't they. Why and how often do they moult, and how long do they go off lay for? It probably depends on the individual chicken.

[Sarah B]

Hi All,

 

Tikka has started crouching this evening - she did it twice

[Pinkybijou]

Wooo hooo Sarah! won't be long now! Our Doris crouched for 10 days before producing, but Dora laid the day after her first crouch - go check the nesting box again just in case!!!! We're already getting two eggs a day after having them freeloading for 10 weeks - it's so exciting this chicken business isn't it?!!!

[Sarah B]

Wooo hooo Sarah! won't be long now! Our Doris crouched for 10 days before producing, but Dora laid the day after her first crouch - go check the nesting box again just in case!!!! We're already getting two eggs a day after having them freeloading for 10 weeks - it's so exciting this chicken business isn't it?!!!

 

Hi Kris, yes it is so exciting! If she lays one in the next 3 to 4 days that will prove my original theory that she is about 2 weeks younger than Madras! Oooh I'm like an expectant hen mother all over again

[BarbaraJ]

i'm still waiting, no crouching by any of the girls yet though!

Congrats to those who have produced lol

I hate having to buy eggs now!

[Chuckov]

Still no eggs, Nutmeg has been crouching for over a week now, whereas Ginger has enlarged wattles but no crouching, Someone has also been sitting in the nest box, as the Easibed was all over the place, so maybe one of them is trying it for size and it won't be long?

[lindyloodles]

Anne and Margaret (named after mum & mum-in-law respectively) arrived complete with purple eglu on 29th March. Anne (Miss pepperpot) was significantly larger than Margaret (gingernut) and has continued growing loads - looks about twice the size of poor little maggie!.

 

Had a very excitable phone call at 4.30pm this afternoon from 16year old son to ask if I had put an egg in the nesting box this morning as there was one there when he checked this afternoon. Oh no! I have missed the first egg!!! And as I am working away from home today and tomorrow I won't get a look in. So lovely son is going to photograph the egg so I can see it, then he and dad will taste test this evening. Apparently it is on the small size and quite spherical.

 

I was at work when son walked for the first time too. Am I destined to miss all life's firsts????

[Sarah B]

It would sound that way Lindy loodles but just think of all those yummy eggs to come!!!! Congrats

[redhotchick]

Wow Lindyloodles! you didn't have to wait long!

Well done that chicken!

[Reikiranf]

We've had two eggs two days running but aren't sure who's laying as Lulu & Yum Yum keep going into the Eglu together Today though I noticed that Yum Yum was in there on her own and when she came out I found a lovely warm little egg that weighed 44 grams

 

So I'm not sure if it's just her and Mimi laying or whether Lulu has started laying too as we have had the odd day with a smaller egg that's also a darker colour so I'm assuming that must be one of the Gingernut Rangers. I suppose I'll have to wait for the first three egg day to know for sure

[Clarabelle]

At last, Clarabel had her first day off today since she started laying on Easter Monday! I wonder if she will lay tomorrow

 

Annie still obliged with one of her gorgeous brown eggs. They both seem to be laying 60g eggs on average so we are well chuffed!

[BarbaraJ]

I'm waiting still but Amber seems to be crouching or a bit anyway lol

do they crouch right down or just a little?

[Clarabelle]

I'm waiting still but Amber seems to be crouching or a bit anyway lol

do they crouch right down or just a little?

 

Hi Barbara,

 

Mine started crouching a little bit at first, but as they got closer to laying they crouched much more noticably as I approached them. Now they crouch at the drop of a hat, I don't even need to get that close and they are flattening themselves out. It's really funny and makes them a damn sight easier to pick up.

[ajm200]

We got our first egg this morning!!! I think it's from Bumble as she's been crouching for 2 weeks. It's so tiny that it falls through the egg skelter

[surferdog]

Hello, how long does it take roughly from starting crouching to first eggs? Hyacinth has started running up to me and crouching and Sylvie will crouch if you stroke her. Coco is still having none of it.

 

Amazing really as up until a couple of a days ago Hyacinth's attitude was more 'Come on then if you think you're hard enough'. Lauren the teenager had nothing on this girl. She's now really sweet (or maybe she's just trying to lure us into a false sense of security.) My son used to joke that if she ever got out sheep would be slaughtered in the fields and small children would go missing!

[ajm200]

I think it takes a week or two. One of mine will crouch as soon as she sees us and has been crouching for about a week.

 

The other one was crouching for two weeks before she got round to laying