June 25, 2010

Egg!


I am proud to announce our first egg! Laid yesterday morning by our lovely, 19 week old Delaware pullet.


I know you all are standing by with bated breath, absolutely overcome with curiosity to know where she laid it. In my thoughtfully and carefully constructed 3R nest boxes??? Not exactly.


I suppose that under them is better than somewhere outside. I did have a heads-up on this because the day before she had been in that spot, fussing about for the longest time. (Much to the amazement of several onlooking chickens...


... who must have known that something new and wonderful was taking place.)

Weighing in at 1.1 ounce, it is small, as first eggs are. To give you an idea for comparison ....


UPDATE: Just before I was about to hit the "publish post" button, Dan brought in her second egg, freshly laid this morning. It looks about the same size, but weighs in at 1.2 oz.

Of course I'm curious as to who'll start laying next. I'll know which breed by egg color. 19 weeks is a tad early, but then Delawares are known for their early maturing. Hopefully though, somebody will be kind enough to use my nest boxes. :)

Egg! text & photos copyright June 2010 by 

18 comments:

maggie said...

How exciting! Congrats!

Theresa said...

Congratulations! You gonna bronze that baby? ;)

Mother Moon said...

congrats.. I agree you should bronze it...

Mama Pea said...

Congratulations! There's not much like finding your very first, homestead-laid egg. Over the years, we've raised all manner of animules on our homestead, but even though chickens have not been my favorite, they would be the last I'd want to give up because of those incredible, edible EGGS!

Sara said...

That's just too cool! I love it!!!

Cute eggs. I just bought some pullet eggs at the farmers market!

Kathy said...

WooHoo!

Benita said...

I'm sorry, but I had the thought that they would ALL lay their egs under the boxes and you'll have to crawl under them to get the eggs.

Still, I hope it gives some of the other hens the right idea.

I assume you had these eggs for breakfast.

Michelle said...

I remember how exciting our first eggs were, so I know how you must feel! Our hens have really slacked off this year, so now I'm feeling the opposite -- frustrated!

Katrien said...

So good! What a triumph, for nature, for the hen, for 5 Acres!

Renee Nefe said...

congrats! that's great news. I do hope that your other chickens get the idea soon.

Pigs Don't Know said...

I am so jealous! We purchased our three chickens as 20-24 week old pullets (of course at a higher price). That was six weeks ago & still not a single egg! I swear we are doing everything else right. I'm beginning to think we got hoodwinked and they were just younger than stated - and being chicken virgins we didn't really know what a 20 week old hen should look like. I truly believe (as I have from day one!) that we will be getting eggs ANY DAY NOW! - Carrie

Robin said...

YEAH!!!! It's a very exciting feeling to get your first egg.

Life Looms Large said...

Yay!! Congratulations!!!

Sue

Woolly Bits said...

are they going to end up as the freshest breakfast treats ever?:)) and two from the one girl - you need to give her a good pat!

Razzberry Corner said...

Congrats, Leigh! I knew you'd be getting eggs soon! And soon the other pullets will follow her lead!

Leigh said...

Whew, our internet has been down due to lightening in the area. I've only had it one day out of five.

Maggie thanks!

Theresa, LOL. Not sure what I'd do with a bronzed egg except dust it!

Mother Moon, thanks. :)

Mama Pea, it really was a thrill. I have to admit the chickens are growing on me. I loved the chicks, then wasn't too sure once they started looking like chickens. They really are entertaining though, and now I can't imagine life without them.

Sara, I didn't know you could buy pullet eggs. How fun. We've had three now in three days, each one a tenth of an ounce heavier than the previous days. Really cute.

Kathy, thanks!

Benita, I won't deny that it didn't cross my mind too. Fortunately it isn't much trouble to get them. I'm just wondering what the others will do. Probably follow the leader.

We've decided to wait until we have four and then have two each for breakfast. :) One more to go!

Michelle, I've been thinking about that for us next year. Somehow it would be nice to have a few homestead hatched and raised pullets each year, to keep production up. Whether or not that actually happens remains to be seen!

Katrien, it's funny but the hen does feel triumphant. And she lets the world know it!

Renee, me too!

Carrie, that is frustrating. I would be clueless about how to tell the age of a young chicken. Surely someone out in blogland knows!

Robin, it is!

Thanks Sue!

Bettina, we can hardly wait. I'm surprised that we got three eggs in a row. Once we get a 4th, it'll be a special breakfast!

Lynn, thanks! I'll be interested in when the others start to lay. Says something about breed characteristics I think.

Geodyne said...

Woo hoo! Congratulations! There's nothing like that first egg.

Hens are funny in that they insist on choosing their own place for egg laying. I'm going to guess that she found "her" spot to be a nice, quiet, private corner.

Leigh said...

Geodyne, I think you're right. The Ameraucanas have started to lay now too, in the same spot!