Spring & Eggs

This is Olive-- she's really not a very good egg layer, and the ones she does lay are so delicate and small they usually get broken by the others. Fortunately she makes up for it by being pretty and sweet.

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know I have chickens. The ladies are about two years old now and still highly entertaining.

During the winter they don't lay many eggs-- during the darkest, coldest month they don't lay any, and then only Flea seems to power through January and February like a champ (if you want chickens to have a lot of eggs, get a Maran-- she is by far our best layer).

Suddenly it got a bit warmer, the days got a bit lighter and the chickens kicked their egg laying into gear. Unfortunately, the humans in the household are still in hibernation mode and are not in the habit of egg retrieval, so this is what I found today:



M had collected a bunch last weekend, but one side was occupied by Muffin doing her thing, so he wasn't able to get them all (we could reach underneath I suppose, but it seems so rude!).

I know many people say eggs shouldn't be washed because they have a protective outer coating and that's probably true, but would you want to put this basket full of mud and worse in your fridge without at least a wipedown? I sure don't! They aren't as dirty in the summer when it isn't as muddy, but for now, I have some egg cleaning to do.

Incidentally, I LOVE eggs, and still have to restrict myself to eating them only a few days a week. Last summer a food allergy panel came back as being really high for eggs-- it's hard to know whether that was just a reflection of the large quantities I was eating, or a true allergy, but given my propensity for food sensitivities, I cut them out entirely for 6 months (which sucked) and now just try not to have them every single day (because I gladly would!).