Finally Laying Again

After a few months of no laying, Ester finally broke the dry streak. Since she started laying about three weeks ago, nearly everyone has followed suit. Ester, Ethel, Millicent, and Marigold are all laying fairly continously, but Ethel and Ester still lead the flock. Eartha, despite being atleast twice the age to start laying, has laid no eggs to date. Every once in awhile she will sing her egg song and visit the nesting boxes, but leaves them empty.

We have two nesting boxes in the main coop, and encased in the mesh wire of the extended run is another, smaller, more portable coop. It too has two nesting boxes, however, no one will use them. Re3cently we instead added two temporary boxes to the roof of the small coop. This gives a place for the smaller hens, like Ethel, Millicent, and Marigold, to lay in peace. Betty is too large to fly to the top of the coop and disturb them, although she tries.

Just in the past few weeks we've replaced the temporary boxes. They were nailed together out of wood and painted a deep gray. The chickens enjoy them very much, as they are much more peaceful than the coops.