Seven Hens-A-Laying

It's official! We have all seven of our hens laying eggs! Woohoo!
This morning, Buttercup, our chicken on probation, who we threatened to re-name "Soup" (see Crime and Punishment posting) laid her first verified egg. AND she did NOT eat it. Phew! I think I was even happier than she was! Buttercup is a Buff Orpington so her eggs are brown.

And an update for those of you have inquired about the egg-eating situation in our coop (and thanks so much for actually being interested instead of thinking I'm a crazy person)...
I am thrilled to report, that all our hens have been on their best behavior. There has been no more broken/eaten eggs at all. Thank goodness! (I also swoop in to collect the eggs pretty much as soon as they pop out of the chicken which helps, too.)

Another happy update: After my Cowboys In Training post, I have to say that all my boys have stepped it up a bit, and have each helped a little more over the past few days. (And I should set the record straight, that even though Jonathan doesn't muck stalls, he does do many, many other farm-related jobs! As well as his real job. Certainly, couldn't do this without him! Thanks, sweetie!)

Today, I'll quickly go over a few chicken-related questions that lots of kids (and grown-ups) have asked us:

#1. Do we need a rooster for our hens to lay eggs?
#2. Will our eggs ever hatch into chicks?

Answer to question #1:  No, we don't need a rooster for our hens to start laying eggs. Actually, in our town, we're not allowed to have roosters. (So, that's another reason that I am so happy that all our chickens are laying eggs. That means they are all hens. Roosters don't lay eggs.) Chickens will lay eggs regardless if there are roosters around. The act of hens laying eggs is more comparable to women getting their periods, as opposed to having a baby. Women are going to get their periods no matter if there are men around. (Sorry guys, didn't mean to upset you with all this period talk.) And the hens have to have reached a certain age (around 5 months) before they start laying eggs.
Update: Thank you to Easy Keeper Farm who pointed out that hens laying eggs is actually more like women ovulating than women getting their periods. Of course it is! I just lumped that whole egg adventure into one thing, focusing on the exiting part, I guess! LOL!

On a similar, yet random note...Did you know that cows can't give milk unless they've had a baby? True fact. Makes sense now that you think about it, right?

Answer to question #2: No, our eggs will never hatch into baby chicks. Since we don't have a rooster, our hens' eggs will never be fertilized, and so they will never grow chicks inside. If you don't know what fertilized means or how that happens, just ask your mom or dad. They will be thrilled that I brought this subject up for you guys to start an open and honest conversation. :)  (I'm cracking myself up over here. Sorry about that.)

But actually, now that this blog has gone public (thanks a lot, Jonathan, not sure I was quite ready for that), but if you do have any questions, or if you want to learn more about a particular animal on our farm, please let me know in the comments or send me an email. I'm feeling some writer's block now that it's more than just Jonathan and my kids reading this! Pressure's on! Yikes.

Good morning, Jessie girl.

Good morning, Meghan & Aisling.

Cooper pretending to be a horse. 

 Jessie explaining to Cooper that he is still a dog.

Cooper trying his best to neigh.

Can you tell which egg had a double yolk?

The green one or the white one?

Chickens love pumpkins! 

And it helps make their yolks even darker.

Peek-a-boo!                  

 A man and his mower. 

Thanks for all your help, Jonathan!