Party in the coop

The 125 watt infrared heat lamp bulb I've had in the girls roost box since October burned out on Monday night. I definitely didn't get the 4,000 hours promised by it's packaging, but that's neither here nor there. Since the light not only keeps the girls warm (and yes, I do know that they don't really need it here in Seattle except when it's really cold) but is also the reason we're consistently getting eggs this time of year, there was a sense of urgency to replacing it. I had an extra 250 watt bulg, but that seemed like it might be too warm in their little space.

So, Mike went to Lowe's on Tuesday afternoon - we were out of all other kinds of light bulbs too. He came home and said that he couldn't get a red one, they only had clear. So, Wednesday after work I went to the co-op to get another red one (where I'd gotten the original) and they were our of them as well. So I bought a clear one - after all, it shouldn't really matter, the red ones just remind of my girlhood as that's what my grandpa always used in the barn.

Since then it's been party time in the coop! The clear bulb gives off enough light that the girls can stay out in the run until all hours. The first night they were out and active until 8pm or so, Thursday night until 10pm and last night until 11:30pm - and then up way before dawn. So today I put in the 250 watt red bulb so that they would get some sleep at night. Plus, I just find it disturbing on some level that their biological clocks were knocked so off balance by all the light. Tonight they went to bed as usual about 45 minutes after dusk.

Prudence starts to lay!

So I was in NYC for the last 10 days. The first 6 for work and the last 4 playing tourist with my mother who had never been before. I'll try to post photos from the trip later.

While I was gone, Prudence started to lay! On Tuesday, I asked Mike how many eggs he'd been getting and he mentioned that he'd gotten 3 that day. I asked if he'd collected them the day before (not an out of line question for my forgetful husband) and he said yes, of course. Soooo, 2 laying hens do not equal 3 eggs. Turns out that she's been laying almost every day since. Her eggs are slightly larger than those of the bantams and seem to be getting bigger with each one. They are a nice warm reddish brown color.

So exciting! She's all grown up...

Still no photos of the new girls. We were busy all day on Saturday and even tho I was out and cleaned the coop, I didn't have a chance to take their photo. Then Sunday was cold and rainy. But the new girls are settling in and the old girls haven't stopped laying (another 6 eggs since last Thursday) - we're averaging just over an egg a day. Phyl and Agnes seem to be in sync, both laying about every 36 hours or so. Which is just fine with me. Hopefully they'll keep on that nice steady pace for the rest of the winter. Pru should start laying soon and Penny and Lucy in March.

I've determined breeds for the new girls. Lucy is a Black Langshan (first photo below) and Penny is a Partridge Chantecler. Both are going to be very big girls.

In other news, Jake and Sam both had big vet appointments last week. Jake got neutered and microchipped. Sam had his teeth cleaned. Both are doing well, we just took Jake's cone off tonight. Altho, it looks like Jake might have another minor ear infection. Mike will have to take him in and have that looked at. And then deal with ear drops while I'm gone next week. Bummer for him!

Oh, and our omelet last week was fabulous!

Here's a picture of the eggs that I've gotten so far this week (7 since getting home on Saturday). Yay! On the left are the ones laid by Agnes, on the right the ones laid by Phyllis. We're going to make an omelette with them tonight!

And now there's five

So, M says that I don't really want to get eggs because every time we start to get some I create chaos in the hen house. Not true. But I did create chaos again. I found 2 more pullets (12 weeks old) through Craig's List. They're both brown egg layers. Standard size, very pretty, exact breed unknown.

One is black, with feathered feet - I named her Lucy

The other is a rich brown with partridge coloring - I named her Penny

I'll post pics this weekend - right now it's too dark both day and night to get any due to all the rain.

Eggs!

12/31/07.
We're still getting eggs. It seems that both Agnes and most likely Phyll are laying (eggs seem too small and perfect to be Pru yet). Yay!

Christmas in Review

12/30/06.
We had fabulous skiing all week in Idaho, many days to enjoy. It was great to see both my brothers - the last time we were all together was my wedding 2 1/2 years ago. We have our differences, but underneath it all, we're still related and we still love each other. Here's our week in pictures...

An Egg!

I've been collecting posts and am just now having time to actually put them up.
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12/23/06.

Today we leave for Idaho for a week. Yesterday afternoon I cleaned the girls coop, filled their food, changed their water, all the things I need to do to be gone and make them easy for my neighbor Dwight to watch.

Then I went out to tuck them in later and Agnes had left me an egg. An egg! In December, after not laying for 3 months! So excited!

I took the egg to Dwight and let him know to be sure to check the nest box as maybe she would leave more! Then this morning I did one last check before we got on the road about 7 am. And there was another one - slightly different color, so maybe someone else is also laying???