Wednesday, October 01, 2008

More casualties

Yesterday was our first five-egg day! Alas, only four made it to the frig. And today only two made it safely into cold storage. But it's not what you're thinking - we haven't had a broken egg in the henhouse since we modified the boxes (and one of them wasn't a "chocolate" egg from Welsie, although she did seem to be taking notes while this Rhodie did her job).

No, last night when Rick and I headed to the barn to do chores in the dark, Rick found a broken egg in the driveway. There was only one explanation; Brian had dropped one on the way back to the house. I was disappointed, not only in losing a precious* egg, but also in my son for not owning up to the accident.

*Perhaps only those of us who have waited impatiently for fluffy little chicks to grow up and lay their first eggs, like Pamela, can understand just how precious these fresh-from-the-chicken-with-a-name-and-personality eggs are. They are certainly more valuable than those so-called fresh eggs from the grocery store, especially if you figure in the hens' housing, feed, the time to care for them, etc.!
This morning I asked Brian if anything had happened yesterday when I sent him to check for eggs. The little fibber looked me in the eye and said, "No. Why? What do you mean?" So I told him we had found an egg on the driveway, and he continued to deny any knowledge of how it got there. I continued to gaze at him while he talked, and he finally looked up and off, saying, "Let me think. Oh yeah, now that I've thought about it, I remember; I did drop one." I told him I was disappointed in him, not because he accidently dropped an egg, but because he hadn't told me what happened the day before, and then lied about it when asked. He then allowed how there had been another casualty some other day down by the henhouse. Sigh.

This evening when I got home I checked the henhouse for eggs myself, and found one. I took it up to the house, setting it on the dog food bin in the garage while I went out to pick tomatoes. When I came back from the garden, the egg was gone. I asked Brian and Rick about it, and while both had seen it, neither claimed to have moved it. That left one possible culprit: Jackson. The garage door was open, and he is not above checking out higher surfaces for interesting tidbits. I'm guessing he knew the egg was a tasty treat from the two that Brian dropped and left on the ground. It's a good thing our hens aren't free-ranging!

That's it for now from . . .

7 comments:

Pamela said...

Oh dear. Three precious eggs lost!

So glad there are those who understand the fascination and pride over the first eggs--people around here think I'm pretty loony about it. (But then again, the people around here thought I was loony before the eggs.)

I can't wait until we get 5 in a day! (Truth is, I can't wait to get another one--husband says I'm going to wear this one out taking it out of the fridge to admire it.)

Kara said...

I want egggs! I think I got a bunch of duds! They certainly are eating enough! By the time mine are old enough, I think we might not have enough day light. Are you leaving lights on for your chickens to extend the perceived number of daylight hours?

Tammy said...

Sounds like fresh eggs are at a premium around your place! ;-) Too funny....you may have get an armoured truck to transport them. Tammy

Rayna said...

Remember, it can take up to 2 weeks for moved adult hens to resume laying from the stress of the move :) Egg-sucking dog alert! Be VERY careful...now that he's gotten the taste, he'll be VERY sneaky about it.

Anonymous said...

Don't feel bad about the dog. My cat has discovered that those weird, hard objects have tasty stuff inside. He likes to knock them off the counter, then eat the yolk when they splat.:(

A :-) said...

I'm just picturing Jackson . . . Hmmmm, what's that on my food bin?? It's on my bin, it must be mine!! It's a ball!! A funny shaped ball!! ::::paw whacking egg . . . splat!!::::: Hmmmm, not a ball. It's gooey. Oh, it's tasty!! It was on my food bin. It must be mine!!! ;-)

Michelle said...

Adrienne, there was no mess anywhere in the garage, so I think the sneaky, soft-mouthed thing carried off the egg to enjoy somewhere else!