We Have Eggs!

   It was an exciting day when Madilynne went to feed the chickens and found an egg!  We were pretty close to doing a happy dance- ok, well one us might have!  LOL  We've waited so long for them to get mature enough to start laying that it was exciting!  We got the chicks in April and Madi found the first egg about two weeks ago. They have slowly started to lay.  At the moment we are getting about 7 small eggs a day.  It takes about two eggs to equal one large egg until they get a little bit older. 

 

I prefer to wash our eggs quickly in lukewarm water.  There is much debate over the proper way to clean them but for my own sanity and just plain cleanliness I prefer a gentle wash, dry, then into the fridge.  Jeremiah and Madi keep fresh straw in the nesting boxes so they really aren't dirty to begin with.  The eggs have a clear seal on them called bloom from the chicken and it keeps the shells sealed from germs and bacteria.

 

I tried to take several different pictures so I could show you the different shades of brown our eggs are.  I am thinking that the darker brown eggs may actually get a bit darker as they mature. 

 

Ryder told me that I was spending way to much time taking pictures of eggs.  :-)

 

He may have been a little bit correct but I thought that you may want to see a couple different pictures.

 

I took two pictures holding different eggs.  The smaller eggs are from the newest layers and the larger egg is from the early layers.

 

I thought that this photo may also show you the color differences.  The first egg is probably the lightest shell and the smaller on is on the darkest side. 

 

I didn't really think about it until now, but all the eggs are brown or tan.  We don't have any white egg layers.  It doesn't really matter to me but I do like the variations in color.  A couple different people told me that the brown eggs are more flavorful. I personally am not sure about that claim because I think they are all equally good. Oh well, maybe next time we will get some white layers!  Next time! What am I thinking?  I thought it was crazy to get 10 chicks to begin with!  HaHa! I do enjoy watching the hens.

 

Now to start finding some more good egg recipes.  Madi likes eggs so she has been eating a lot of them lately. Jeremiah enjoyed the Freezer Breakfast Burritos too!