Lily is my biggest pullet. She's a Black Australorp and weighs right around 8 pounds at 22 weeks of age. Today I found her on top of the nest boxes trying to wedge herself into a corner. She scratched at the top of the box and I knew what she was up to. I picked her up and put her inside a nest and left the coop. A few minutes later I peeked in to see if she had stayed in the nest and she had.My mom snapped this picture of me holding Lily this morning. This is the bird that hated people when she was a baby. I had read that pullets become very friendly when they mature and begin laying. This must be true. Lily comes over to be picked up now. But she doesn't like coffee! Look at the size of the shanks on this girl! She is so big that she sometimes sprains her hocks when she jumps down from the roost. I worry about her size and whether or not it will lead to problems, but hopefully she'll grow out of it.
She layed this pretty, speckled, dark little egg. Such a small egg from such a big bird. I hope she continues to lay dark eggs, it sure is pretty! Good job Lily!
Woohoo! Good for Lily! Would you say that is a medium, large, or extra large egg? It's a beauty.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you there, too! Thanks to your mom.
Ruth, I would say it's a small egg. There's nothing for scale in the photo, but it really is a little egg. I figgered it was time to allow one little photo of me too. I was having my morning coffee.
ReplyDeleteIt looks to me like you're offering Lily a drink of that coffee! Cute picture! The egg looks really pretty on that plate. Way to go, Lily!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw that top picture, I thought maybe Lily was sick and you were offering her something to make her feel better, like chicken soup or something. Wait....that just wouldn't be right, would it? :-)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the egg!! Wow, she is one big girl. As fanatical as I am about weighing each and every egg I get, you'd think I'd know how much my hens weigh, but I don't. 22 lbs seems like a lot, though!
That is a big hen! Some of my hens are becoming a little friendlier, but they tend to be big chickens.
ReplyDeleteSusan, the chickens don't like coffee but boy do they like sun tea! I learned not to take my glass of tea with me when I go into the chicken run! I get mobbed!
ReplyDeleteDanni, yes, you must try weighing some of your chickens. It's a lot of fun to try to get them to stand still on a digital scale! Yesterday I gave the girls some outdated cottage cheese. They enjoyed it very much but now they all look like they have hair gel on their heads!
Don, I was surprised at how the really bashful pullets started coming around when they got closer to laying age. Lily walks right up to us now and doesn't mind being picked up. Yeah, mine are all big chickens too!
I thought I would never be able to touch my SLW, Henrietta, but as soon as she got close to laying, she started squatting and letting me pet her. Sometimes I just have to walk near her and call to her and she squats!
ReplyDeleteMy black minorcan walaked right up to me today and I picked her up and held her for ten minutes! She usually runs like crazy when I come around. She almost acts like a pet!
ReplyDeleteI really like this blog.
ReplyDeleteAnd I see you have "my" coffee cup in the photo.
That's the one I use everyday...
ha.
Amy, I love the photo of the egg at the bottom. It's simple and beautiful. I was wondering what you set it on but someone else mentioned a plate. Well, you picked the perfect plate. You do have an artistic eye. Frame that one and hang it on the wall!
ReplyDeleteSandy, thank you! And what a coinkydink on the coffee cup!
ReplyDeleteKathie, my step son made that plate in art class. He used real leaves to make the cut out leaves. It's a really pretty piece, just perfect for holding a pretty egg!