So we LOVE our multi-shades of brown eggs. We do not have any hens that lay blue or green but hopefully one day we will! Along with the deep red-brown eggs from a certain chicken Alex has his eye on, the Maran. We are not sizing eggs right now, but I feel like we get from medium to XL eggs. A handful of times we have had XXL eggs with double yolks. Those are always fun to crack open for a surprise!
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We have been using our egg dishes more that we received as a wedding gift :)
Alex custom built the coop with 15 laying boxes, plenty for them to choose from. They really have their favorites though, and sometimes there will be a stray egg in the middle of the floor or in the yard. Many times I find 4 or 5 eggs in one box. These must be the most cozy, or smell right for egg laying.
Here is a comparison. One of our regular eggs next to an egg from our bantam hen. They are the cutest tiniest eggs. We use 2 or 3 in a recipe to equal one regular or large sized egg. The bantam has been on strike for the past month and a half since she was broody(wanting to hatch eggs). We let her have a couple but in the end due to leaving the nest and coming back to the wrong box we lost the developing chicks. She seems to be out of her funk now but has not laid an egg yet. I have been reading that most breads now have had the broodiness bread out of them. Bantams are still a broody hen and can be good hatchers. We will give her another chance I am sure soon.
My daily chores now have a routine. I get up, make sure the human chickadees are fed/watching a movie, then complete the first turn for the eggs in the incubator, check on the almost 3 week old home hatched chicks, then head downstairs. I check on the adolescent 18 that are about to enter the coop/run with the other ladies and gentlemen, then I head out to the coop. I always try to fill water and food first, and lay out scraps, before I open the door. They are very very eager to be out and exploring. They sometimes fly out the door! Then I enter the coop to do morning cleaning. I scrape out nesting boxes and floor messes.
Then the hunt begins! EGGS! I remember when they started laying, it was so darn exciting! You were never sure how many new hens would lay each day. Now we get maximum about 18 eggs a day. There were a few nice warm days in the fall we had 20. Most days I check minimum of 3 times. The hens and rooster out there make quite a mess of their food and water so keeping that full and as clean as possible is very necessary or they won't lay. I just love collecting all day to see this beautiful brown bounty!
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