From July 1st to December 15th is 167 days, or 5 months 14 days, or exactly how long it took those Barred Rock layers to produce their first wee little eggs.
We've been in a real dry patch for eggs lately between the seasonal decrease (caused by day length), the older girls molting, and the overall colder temperatures. We've never used supplemental lighting in our coop before this year but after weeks without an egg the setup and experiment is worth it I think. With an egg or three per day from the older girls since the light went on I'm glad we did set one up.
Today we should be turning the corner on the shortage though. This pair of little "beginner" eggs should be the tip of the iceberg. 16 girls gearing up will mean a small pile of this little eggs now, and a dozen at least per day in the spring.
Ah...spring. On second thought, don't talk to me about spring right now I still have snow between my toes I think.
I just found a nest of new pullet eggs too, and they were from our barred rocks...weird coincidence!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great feeling though. The minis may not amount to much in an omelet but I love to see them each year. Today was especially good, 6 eggs in a single day is more than we've had since the girls started molting.
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