Eggies!

This morning when I let the birds out, Starboard made a beeline for the stack of dog crates over by the studio. Oh, ho, ho, I chortled, because we have had to BUY eggs all winter, and let me tell you it's annoying to buy eggs when you are feeding 13 birds! I sneaked this picture. You can just see her, the brown lump in the second floor. I dared not come closer, for she is a canny beast! So canny, in fact, that she did not tip me off by singing an egg song when she hopped down to joined the others for breakfast.
Good thing I was watching.

After checking to be sure she wasn't looking, I went to collect MY breakfast.
And what did I find? NINETEEN eggs! Oh, what a sneaky bird! Some were obviously oldest--pale, and grubby. I left two of those, as bait, and once inside I opened one of the most dubious looking--it's fine, sweet smelling and clear. Most folks don't realize that a clean eggs from a healthy bird will keep at least two weeks without refrigeration, even in hot weather. Think about it: a hen lays roughly one egg a day. She will plop out those eggs for as long as it takes to get a clutch size she likes--usually 8-12 eggs (apparently, Starboard, flush from her first success as a mom, was going for broke with 19!). It stands to reason that the first eggs can't spoil before the last one is laid, or the clutch would be doomed.
Chickens also tend to lay eggs communally; that is, more than one hen will use the same nest. That's why we sometimes get a lot of variation amongst one clutch of biddies. Because our birds are uncaged all day and have a roughly three acre range, one of our tactics for actually finding any eggs at all takes advantage of this habit. We set up several high, dry, and hay-filled spaces for the ladies to nest in. The dog crates Starboard is using are one, and there are a few rusty old parrot cages, courtesy of my parrot-crazed sister, which we've set up in quiet corners with a roof and maybe a burlap sack for privacy, and a temptingly thick bed of hay.
It helps if the ladies never see you take the eggs: only a few seem willing to knowingly accept the food-for-eggs bargain. Fiddler, a pretty little Ameraucana and one of the most affectionate chickens we've had, was one. Given the chance, she'd come inside and lay her lovely sage-green egg on my pillow.
And so at last, the long barren winter is over and the spring egg laying season is upon us! I can't wait to see Ginger's eggs. If her mostly-likely mom, Audrey, is any indication, she'll be laying great big rosy brown 3x's. But now--if you'll excuse me--it's way past time for me to make a homegrown omelet. I think...broccoli, cherry tomato, and the Wainwright's excellent sharp cheddar.