mmm, not so pretty

There are clouds of fluffy feathers billowing around the backyard.  Oh yes, it's Molting Time!!  Winnie and Stella are shedding their old feathers, and boy do they look terrible.  Their bodies cannot produce eggs AND new feathers at the same time, so both girls have stopped laying and are now putting all of their energy into feather production.  It's a stressful but necessary process for birds.  Winnie and Stella are moving more slowly and are spending lots of time resting these days.  We make sure they get extra freeze dried mealworms to boost their protein intake.  ooo yummy!

I found this tidbit from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
A feather is a "dead" structure, somewhat analogous to hair or nails in humans. The hardness of a feather is caused by the formation of the protein keratin. Since feathers cannot heal themselves when damaged, they have to be completely replaced. The replacement of all or part of the feathers is called a molt. Molts produce feathers that match the age and sex of the bird, and sometimes the season.
Molting occurs in response to a mixture of hormonal changes brought about by seasonal changes.

In case you don't believe me, here are some "before and after" photos to illustrate just how unattractive the ladies are right now.

Winnie BEFORE

Winnie NOW

Stella BEFORE

Stella NOW

free birds!!

 
The girls now have the full run of the backyard, and they couldn't be happier about it!  They seem delighted to nibble on grass and weeds, reorganize the mulch in the flower beds, and look for slugs and other tasty bugs among the hostas.  At times, they all hang out under the deck to groom and take naps, and the older girls venture onto the deck to peek in the window and see what we're doing.  I'm sure they're hoping for a raisin or two. 

The only downside is that we now have a poo management issue - it's everywhere.  Although I don't enjoy "running the poo gauntlet"  when walking from the house to the garage, I do love seeing the girls free ranging.

our little overachiever

Our tiny Chirpy has been on a roll with laying eggs the past few weeks.  She has laid only one thin-shelled egg lately and typically graces us with 5 or 6 of her pretty green peewees each week.  I'm so glad her system is more regulated now.

As for Little Redder, her system is still somewhat out of whack.  Although she hasn't laid any without shells lately, she continues to lay 2 or 3 jumbos each week and small/medium eggs on other days.  The first time I used one of her jumbos I hard boiled it, sliced it in half while it was still warm, spread a little butter on the halves and sprinkled it with salt and pepper.  I was completely oblivious as I was about to cram it in my yapper when Eric notoiced that it had 2 yolks!!  This was a first for us!  Double-yolk eggs are more common as hens first begin laying.  According to Wikipedia (gulp), "Double-yolk eggs occur when ovulation occurs too rapidly, or when one yolk becomes joined with another yolk."  

a "regular" Redder egg and a jumbo Redder egg

This morning for breakfast we treated ourselves to bacon and eggs.  Believe it or not, we don't eat this every day!  Breakfast was especially fun since we each had a double yolker from Redder.  One seemed to have conjoined yolks and the other had distinctly separate yolks. 

We were especially thankful for this unusual breakfast treat!!

my smiley, tasty breakfast

egg update

Well, the babies are getting the hang of laying, but once in a while Chirpy or Redder will lay an egg with a very thin shell or even just a membrane around the white and yolk.  They started laying when they were VERY young and their bodies are still trying to figure the whole thing out.  They are also under a bit of stress.  The big girls still seem to resent their presence and don't always share treats or the nesting boxes very well.  Even if she doesn't have to lay an egg, Stella will strut around outside the run, creating a voluminous protest.  But, we soldier on and so do they.

Winnie enjoying the peace and quiet of the nesting box

It has been a week since Chirpy last laid a fully-developed egg.  I miss her tiny jade gems!!  I also miss the way Redder stands guard outside the nesting box and waits patiently for her to produce something.  I'm sure Chirpy would appreciate some privacy, but Redder rarely leaves her side.

Chirpy enjoying (?) Redder's company while she works on an egg

As we eagerly anticipate Chirpy's next egg, Redder continues to astound us with her growth spurt - body-wise and egg-wise.  She is taller than Ray and her eggs are actually larger than Ray's now!  On Tuesday, Redder graced us with her usual small egg.  On Wednesday she laid a monster - it bottomed out the egg scale which means it is a jumbo!!  On Thursday she laid 2 thin-shelled eggs and again today, Friday, she laid another jumbo.  I hope our girl doesn't burn herself out.  She's only 6 months old!! 
 

eggs, eggs & more eggs

I know I'm kind of a nerd girl, but I get very excited every time I collect eggs.  If I'm home during the day I check the nesting boxes several times to see the treasures within.  Today I collected 5 of them before noon - busy girls!!

Eggs fascinate me.  I think they're beautiful AND delicious.  Lately we've been enjoying various forms of a simple salad with mixed greens, warm vinaigrette dressing, bacon and a fried egg on top.  It's so satisfying to crack those fresh eggs into a pan and see the gorgeous yellow/orange yolks and viscous whites.  We know our girls are eating well and it shows!!

Eric is also eating well, as you can see!

If you've been following along, you may remember that Stella had some egg-laying issues a few months ago.  She was on antibiotics for a few days which meant we couldn't eat her eggs for a month.  I could NOT bring myself to throw out her beautiful eggs though.  So, I saved them and got a little crafty.  I used onion skins to make a natural dye and scavenged leaves and flowers from plants in the back yard.  I put the leaves and flowers on the surface of each egg, tied them up in old pantyhose then dyed them.  I love how they turned out.

so egg-citing!!

A few days ago I was beckoned to the backyard by Stella.  I could hear her cackles inside the house with the windows closed.  It's the sort of noise she makes when she wants to lay an egg and one of the other thoughtless chickens is in her favorite nesting box.  I was confused.  All the other hens were out roaming around looking for bugs and other treats, so I did some detective work to figure out what was stressing her out.  Food? Check.  Water? Check.  Oyster shells? Check.  Shades pulled down in the run? Check.  Stray sparrows evicted from the run?  Check.

After running through the litany of her common complaints, it occurred to me that I hadn't seen the babies for a while.  I looked under the straw bale holder, in the compost bin (a new special place to hang out) and behind the rain barrel.  Finally I peeked in the coop and saw Chirpy in a nesting box with Redder hovering nearby.  That was it!  Stella did not like Chirpy hanging out in there, so I told Chirpy, "Girl!  You are in such big trouble.  Quit messing around and get out of there!"  I tried to shoo her out but she settled back in and started organizing woodchips with her beak.  I told her that I could not be responsible for the trouble that might ensue and left her alone to deal with the wrath of Stella. 

hanging out in the nesting box

An hour or so later I went out and saw Chirpy and Redder outside the run.  Stella was remarkably calm.  When I checked the nesting box, I couldn't believe the lovely sight of a jade green egg nestled in the woodchips.  It was Chirpy's first egg!!   I squealed with delight but was also perplexed.  How did that happen?  Isn't she still a baby?!  Hens usually start laying when they're about 6 months old but our girls were just 20 weeks and 1 day old.  Obviously, our little Chirpy is an overachiever.

Chirpy's first egg!!

Not to be outdone, Redder laid her first sweet little milk chocolate brown egg a few days later.  I was stunned but happy to know that both of our little girls were now productive members of the flock.   The only downside is that Eric missed all the excitement of both of the babies' first eggs.  He was sweating his buns off, biking across Iowa in 100+ degree heat and missed the blessed events.

eggs from Ray, Stella, Winnie, Chirpy & Redder

our youngest chicken fan

Jillian, Sam & Angie

Jillian, my niece Angie's daughter, was quite taken with the chickens when she first met them a few months ago.  Even before they were formally introduced, she was obsessed with a video I had posted online.  It was a short clip from the day I brought the chicks home.

Jillian watched it over and over and over again.  2 months after I posted the video, she was still watching it.  Angie wrote, "We just had our nightly chicken viewing. Now as I scroll down looking for the video she says, "chickens where are you?" and after watching the video she says, "bye bye chickens - see you later."

More than 3 months after I had posted the video, Jillian was still charmed by the babies.  Angie sent me a note:  "I wish you had a play count on how many times this video has been watched. We have already watched several times and it's only 7:15 (in the morning!)."  

I would love to know how many times Jillian watched that clip over the past 4 months!!

Recently,  Jillian has shifted her attention from our chicks to her cousin Addison.  Granted, Addison is a beautiful baby, so I understand why poultry might pale in comparison.  Yet, I'm still a little sad that our chicks have lost their biggest fan.  

Here's the clip:

 Here's Addison:  

 I guess I can see why Jillian has moved on!