Crime and Punishment

We have a mystery to solve.
A crime has been committed.
*Someone* has eaten an egg.
A chicken, that is, has eaten an egg, which is a very serious crime in the chicken-keeping world.

There was a lot of commotion in the coop this morning, the girls were very noisy, but I had stalls to clean and I thought "Hey, I do enough policing with my own kids, I don't need to police every single scuffle in the coop, too, right?" So I did not go check on the girls right away. But the noise continued, so I sighed, put down my mucking fork, and went to investigate.

Suspect #1:

BUTTERCUP

When I walked into the coop, I was horrified to see Buttercup with an eggshell in her mouth. Literally, caught red-handed (red-beaked?). 

Strange thing was, she was on the steps in the coop, and I could tell that the egg white and yolk from the broken egg was also on the stairs. 

Hmmm, how on earth would a chicken carry an egg up 3 stairs? 

Pretty impressive, or more likely, pretty impossible.

So there's a chance that although Buttercup was the one holding the broken eggshell, *maybe* she didn't actually break the egg first. Maybe she joined in the feast after someone else committed the egg-breaking crime? Very possible. 

I also think it's possible that the egg actually belonged to Buttercup. She's the only chicken that hasn't laid an egg yet. So it's possible that while she was hanging out on the stairs, she didn't realize that she was about to lay an egg, and oops, laid her first egg right there on the steps. And maybe *someone else* may have seen the egg on the stairs, pecked at it, and broke it. And then, as chickens do, if they see someone else pecking at something food-like, they all join in. 

Buttercup, I'm just not sure about you. Very suspicious, but not necessarily guilty beyond a doubt. 

Not laying any eggs. And possibly breaking other hen's eggs. 

You are on thin ice, chicken. Thin ice. 

Suspect #2:

DAFFODIL

So, *IF* Buttercup didn't actually break the egg, then who else could have done it?

For a good hour, I had Buttercup pinned as the guilty one, no doubt in my mind. 

Until I saw Daffodil. 

Hmmm, Daffodil, your face was just a little bit dirtier today than usual. 

Not necessarily yellow (not obviously yolk-y), but definitely a little wetter and dirtier than usual. 

Could we literally have an "egg on the face" situation here? 

I didn't notice Daffodil at the crime scene, because I really was only focused on Buttercup with the eggshell in her mouth. I didn't think to look around because I thought I had caught the Buttercup in the act of the crime. 

But now, I'm not so sure. 

Did Ms. Daffodil commit the crime with her beak in the coop? (Clue gamers, anyone?) And then frame Buttercup, who was only trying to defend her very first egg?

Or best case scenario.... Maybe Buttercup laid the egg on the steps by accident, it fell down the stairs on its own, and it broke on impact. And then the chickens found it broken and, unfortunately, ate it. But at least this way, the chickens didn't peck open the egg.

We shall see. Time will tell.

I will be keeping a VERY close eye on my coop in the next few days.

And it goes without saying... Suspect #3: All the other chickens at Glen Hill Farm.

Everyone better be on their best behavior, ladies.

Because guess what happens to chickens who eat eggs.

SOUP.

Yup, it is very hard to rehabilitate an egg-eater.

And to make it worse, if one chicken is an egg-eater, the other chickens learn to eat eggs, too.

So, that is why egg-eaters turn into chicken soup.

(Don't I sound so tough? I'm really not!)

I'm not so sure I can actually follow through with that kind of corporal punishment!

Because I guess I'm a "farmer" not a real-life farmer!!!

Please say some prayers that it was a one time incident.