CoopCam in Mashpee

It’s officially October. The air is crisp, the leaves are falling. A fine day to refresh my window boxes with fall plants and autumn decor. While out and about in my yard, the hens are busy doing hen things. I watch them from afar and am entertained by one foraging a worm and the others on the chase trying to grab the worm before its swallowed. The hen with the worm has to dodge and duck until it has a moment alone to gulp. Next, one will get a burst of energy and take off on a run and flight. They often jump onto the henhouse where the nest boxes jut out and perch there for a while. And then, it will be quiet.

I snuck into the coop and caught two hens in their nest boxes. Once the eggs are laid they come out and loudly cluck the announcement. Speaking of eggs, we are in full production with three or four fresh eggs a day. Thus far, we are keeping up with the usage, and/or are gifting the eggs

An update on the portable roost we recently added to the coop. It was too big and intrusive. It had to be cut down about four inches on each leg and it is now more esthetically pleasing.

So, in accordance with seasonal change; autumn wreaths on the door, pumpkins on the front stoop, the henhouse is sporting its fall decor. And, you know, it won’t be long before winter.

It was Thursday when we found the first egg. No egg on Friday. Today, Saturday Tropical Storm Danny is beating down on us. I let the hens out this morning as usual. Often on rainy days they hang out under the coop and stay dry. The rains were so steady and heavy that when I looked out, the coop had lots of big puddles and the girls were drenched. I watched them for a while and finally decided to put them in the henhouse until after the storm.

When it let up, I released the hens from the house, refreshed their feed tray and found a little egg in the nest box. With my small flock, I would be curious to know if it is the same hen or another that laid egg number two. Of course, the best part about all this rain for the hens are the big juicy worms they are easily foraging.

The hens were very noisy today. We were working in the yard and noticed that one, either Pretty Girl or Little Bit (they look alike and can only be told apart by their behaviour) was nesting a lot in the henhouse. After our yard work we went out for lunch. When I got back I brought some salad scraps out to the coop and behold, in the nest box was our first little egg. Very exciting. The egg is perfectly brown and egg shaped, but rather small. I compared it with a store bought egg and the size difference is about one half inch in both length and width.

There is no need to wash eggs. Eggshells have a natural outer coating that keeps bacteria out. Just wipe clean with a paper towel and store in refrigerator were they will stay fresh for up to four weeks. We will use this first egg within a few days. So, family and friends, get ready for fresh eggs coming your way!

The hens are going on thirteen weeks old. I will start the process of weaning them from Gro-Cal mash to Layer pellets. This will prepare them for egg production.