First Scramble!

Last night we finally were able to partake in all that The Ladies have given us. We invited a couple friends over to the house and scrambled a baker's dozen of eggs (but with fourteen yolks, go figure).  This first picture shows The Rooster at the stove grating some cheddar cheese into the eggs. Just a little cheese and a little black pepper and we were ready to eat. Of course, we had to have bacon and biscuits.

This second picture shows what came out of the first egg (we think from Ringo). Imagine our surprise when we found two yolks! Every other egg after that was a bit anti-climactic. The yolks are a deep yellow and we've found a higher yolk to white ratio than what we've had before.

Finally, here's the table set with the eggs served on the plates. The best part of the whole experience is that in a week we can do it all again.

One Week=One Dozen

From this first picture, you can see the product of one week. We have a baker's dozen with the one still sitting in the nest, but the picture of a full carton is just so lovely. We've held off on eating until we had a full dozen, but I think there may be some omelets on the menu tonight! We'll post an update with pictures and reviews soon.

This second picture is The Rooster's attempt to catch one of the Ladies in the actual act of laying an egg. Here's Ringo sitting on the nest she's made out of the hay in the nesting box and looking like she really wants to be left alone. I guess you can't really blame her.

The movie below was taken at the same time as the picture and easily demonstrates that The Rooster was not the only one wanting to know how things were going. Mother Hen has been wanting to get a camera that captures sound along with video, but using the one we have now means The Rooster gets to add his own soundtrack. Enjoy!

Ovum Becomes Ove!

Apparently, one of the Australorps decided to get into the egg-laying business, meaning we now have two of the Ladies earning their keep. From the picture you can see the difference in color, the brown egg coming from an Australorp (e.g. John or Paul). We don't yet know if the difference in size is a breed characteristic or just to be expected with the first couple eggs; we're thinking the latter.

Labor Day!

One down... eleven to go.

In the United States, Labor Day represents a long weekend at the end of the summer and the last chance to wear seersucker for the season. However, Labor Day has taken on a much more ovular meaning. That's right... 

We have an egg!

Mother Hen and the Rooster travelled to Louisville to watch a friend swim/bike/run the Ironman (he finished!) and when we returned, there was a nice gift waiting in the nesting box. Here's a picture of Mother Hen pointing out the new find.

With one of the Ladies earning her keep, there's no telling when the other three will join in the fun. The nesting box has fresh hay and the Ladies are now eating Layer Food. Here's one more picture of Ringo, George, and Paul relaxing in the sun.

Out of the Coop

The Ladies continue to grow, both into their bodies and into their surroundings. The Mother Hen has begun letting them out in the late afternoon to peck around the yard and stretch their legs. This first picture shows John and Ringo roosting on the rail up to the back porch.

This second picture tried to capture the ladies in motion, but when they're out of the coop they rarely stand still for a picture.

With the video below, we tried to capture the whole process of the Ladies being out of the coop and then led back inside for the night. Highlights of the video include Ringo going after Big Sister and then Mother Hen leading the brood back into the coop with a little treat.

Chickens Everywhere

While in Asia, the Mother Hen and the Rooster realized how much we enjoy finding random pictures that somehow have a galline component to them. As such, we've decided to continue sharing random chicken-ness on the blog. 

For example, here's a picture of the Mother Hen in Dalton, Georgia (the Rooster's hometown). Who knew there was a hospital just for chickens? Not only that, the hospital is a part of a bigger association for the general improvement of all Georgia chickens!

We showed the Ladies this when we returned home, but regretfully had to inform them that we have yet to find a Tennessee Poultry Improvement Association or a Diagnostic Laboratory that would serve Nashville chickens.

It's been awhile...

Ever since we returned from Asia, things have been going a mile a minute, at least for us.  The Ladies' days still consist primarily of pecking around the ground, eating the scraps we deliver, and roosting for the night; they love figs and the peels from sweet potatoes and peaches.  We've moved beyond the chick feed and are now serving the Ladies "Grower and Finisher" feed; we're going for the former rather than the latter.  This will continue until they start producing eggs, at which point they will receive the "Layer" feed that has a higher calcium and protein content.

This picture is of a missionary we support.  We've known Rachel since we were all undergraduates at Vanderbilt.  She's been all over the world in the last few years but finally met John, the other human in the picture, and they are moving to Montana to engage in campus ministry.  Rachel told us she grew up with chickens and has a healthy fear of them, particularly roosters.  This was as close as she would get to the Ladies, even though we assured her they were all females, despite their names.