Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Wednesday Wonderings

Our farm year ends January 31st.  January is definately not my favorite month.  I'm an agronomist by training not an accountant so my mind wonders off task quite easily.  So, while I continue to work on year end book work here are some of my passing thoughts.

Last week #1 son brought in this egg from the hen house.


It may not look big in #1's hand but check it out in the carton with other Extra Large eggs.


It was a double yoker.


All of our chickens are laying quite large eggs right now.  Usually in the winter the eggs get a little smaller but not this year.   We aren't sure why this is but the hens have been spending more time outside than they typically do in the winter and the hen house has been warmer that usual as well. 


All I know is that I feel really sorry for one of these hens because laying that egg had to hurt!

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4 comments:

  1. Katie OlthoffJanuary 11, 2012 at 3:08 PM

    Is it really painful for them to lay eggs? I imagine it is harder to lay one that big, but does it normally hurt them?

    And do you keep your eggs on the counter? Or wash and refridgerate them?

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  2. UnknownJanuary 11, 2012 at 4:19 PM

    Hi Katie! Thanks for taking time to read my blog. I don't know the answer to your question. More than once a hen has layed an egg while I have held it for one of the boys during show day at our county fair. When this has occured the hen hasn't clucked or been restless so my first thought is that the hens don't feel any pain. I'll have to investigate this question further. All I do know is that after laying an egg that big was there is a hen with one sore bottom!
    The boys collect the eggs once a day unless I need eggs for something and then I make the boys go out and squeeze the eggs out of the chickens. NO! Just kidding. The boys wash, package and refrigerate the eggs in the afternoon. Our chickens usually lay their eggs by 11 am.
    I have read that if you do not wash the eggs right away, the eggs can go without refrigeration for up to 10 days. This makes sense considering eggs have always been an important protein source and refrigeration hasn't been around that long.

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 11, 2012 at 5:04 PM

    Suzy,
    That is an awesome egg-bet the boys were excited to get that one! Nick had this blog on his computer, so I thought I'd peek around too:o)
    Did you get down to that show in Iowa City? If so--fill me in on the chickens. We need to get our order in soon, our goal is to downsize a bit from last year.
    Love the blog!
    Angie Boehm

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  4. EmilyJanuary 20, 2012 at 10:17 AM

    Holy moly, That is a big egg! I bet it was delicious!

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