Tag: chicken eggs

The Precious

~ Crystal Sands ~ 2 Comments

Day 285 of 365

Arwen has been laying eggs for a few weeks, but I had yet to figure out which egg she was laying–until today.

If you don’t remember Arwen, she was the baby chick who, this summer, would run under the fence into the big chicken yard and steal watermelon. I had never seen anything like it. I have seen smart chickens, but I haven’t seen such cool-headed, smart chickens, except for maybe Poe.

And that is who Arwen reminds me of–Poe. Poe was not only smart, she had this coolness about her. She was wicked curious about everything and had a way of making her needs and wants known without ever seeming demanding. My other super-smart hens, like Broody Hen, Ruby, and Juliet, can be really bossy. You’re just like, “ok, ok, whatever you need.” Poe was patient. You could tell she just really liked you, and if you could throw in some grapes, well, all the better.

In my time with Poe, I only saw her really down twice. Once was when she was dying, and the other time was after she had been mated for the first time. We had an aggressive rooster at that time. When I saw what happened, I could see Poe was devastated. She lay on the steps by the coop the whole rest of the afternoon, her body in a heap. I’m not gonna lie, seeing Poe like that made me have deep, deep, deep questions about everything I thought I knew–and everything “we” think “we” know–about chickens and animals in general. But I digress…

Arwen is like Poe, and like Poe, she really likes Ron. She hangs around Ron while he is working. Ron said today that she even hangs out with him while he chops wood. The loud bang of the ax keeps a lot of chickens away, but Arwen is curious–and not afraid. Ron said, this evening, she was out there with him all by herself for at least an hour, so he went and got a bowl of scratch just for her. He said she was there eating it forever. This made my heart happy. Arwen is special.

Earlier today, I saw Arwen in one of the nest boxes. I was so excited because I have only seen her in the nest boxes two other times, and she moved both times. I have been so anxious to know what egg she lays. I very respectfully reached under her to remove the other eggs, so I could know which one was hers. Then, I had a second thought that she might move if there were no eggs there, so I went back and very respectfully put one egg back. I made a note of what the egg looked like, so I could still know which one was Arwen’s.

As I left the coop, I saw Arwen checking out the egg, and she seemed satisfied. I was hopeful.

Sure enough, I went out there just a little bit later and found two eggs in the nest box! Arwen’s egg could have looked like anything. She is a true barnyard mix. She is part Easter Egger and part Welsummer though generations of mixes. Her egg could be olive, light olive, dark brown, light brown, and anything in between. I am so pleased to share that this beautiful medium brown egg with a million speckles in the photograph is Arwen’s egg. It’s so beautiful to me.

Arwen is the last baby Rooster will ever have. She is the daughter of Cora and the great granddaughter of Poe. How wonderful that, after such a quest to continue her line two years ago, I maybe have another Poe.

Arwen is the precious for all the reasons.

Chocolate Egg

~ Crystal Sands ~ 2 Comments

Day 205 of 365

Our power is flickering, as it is literally “a dark and stormy night.” But I have to share this quickly. I found a new, very dark egg in the nest boxes today. This is darker than the other egg, and it’s truly a chocolate egg. Isn’t it magnificent?

It must be this one is from Hector (our Black Copper Maran), as she should be laying the darkest egg out there, based on breed, which means the first lighter chocolate egg must be from Faure (our Blue Copper Maran). I cannot believe Hector lays such a gorgeous egg. This is the goal for the breed, a prized egg. I have to give a big thank you to Why Not Farms because Hector is from their breeding program, and she’s perfect in every way–not just in her eggs.

I also cannot believe that there are people in this world who read my blog almost every day and know exactly who Hector and Faure are. I love that other people know our chickens. They’re cool people.

You Can Dye Brown Eggs from Your Flock for Easter–and They Are Gorgeous

~ Crystal Sands ~ Leave a comment

When we got our first backyard chickens some years ago, I remember wondering the first time Easter rolled around if I would have to buy white-shelled eggs from the grocery store for making colorful eggs. I am happy to report I did not. If you are new to backyard chickens, you may be wondering how well it will work if you try dyeing your brown eggs for your Easter festivities. I am here to tell you that, not only can you do it, you will be so impressed with how beautiful the dyed eggs are!

One of my favorite things about dyeing the brown eggs is that they actually come out in rich, jewel-like colors. Pictured here, you can see how lovely the brown eggs are when they are dyed. We don’t even use an egg-coloring kit. We just use food coloring. Here’s how we do it:

Supplies:

water (and pot for boiling)
boiled eggs*
food coloring
vinegar
jars or bowls for holding hot water and dying the eggs
egg carton or cartons for holding eggs while they dry (we used a plastic carton someone had given us)

*If your eggs are fresh from your flock. Follow this recipe for the method my husband discovered for boiling and peeling fresh eggs.

Directions:

1. Bring your water to a boil.

2. Fill your jars or bowls with enough water to cover your eggs if possible (if not, you can just rotate your eggs).

3. Add one Tablespoon of vinegar per jar.

4. Add enough food coloring to each jar to achieve your desired color (10 or so drops per jar).

5. Let your eggs sit in the jars (rotating as necessary) until they reach your desired color.

6. Use your darker brown eggs in the darker colors and your lighter brown eggs or cream eggs in the lighter colors.

7. Remove the dyed eggs and let sit in egg carton until completed dried.

Please note you can also use natural dyes; this is something I have tried when we had some beet juice in the fridge. Good natural dyes are beets, blueberries, tumeric, coffee, and red onion skins.

And, if you happen to be a chicken owner with Easter Egger hens in your flock, you may not even need to dye your eggs at all! This year, we have enough Easter Eggers and Olive Eggers that we are just decorating our eggs with stickers but leaving them their original pastel colors. The eggs in various shades of green and blue-green are little works of art to me.

No matter which way you go, just know the lovely eggs from your backyard flock are just perfect for your Easter decorating plans!