Mama, Where Do Eggs Come From?

My backyard. It's like watching a live show at the community theater. Anything can happen, and it will. Even Shakespeare can't compare, and we have some really good Shakespeare productions where I live.

The scarlet runner beans take center stage growing up and over poles forming a nice bean teepee even though the neighborhood deer have helped themselves to lunch a few times. Butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and predators come to visit. Worms eat food scraps and poop compost. Tomatoes turn orange and red. And the chickens scratch for bugs and worms, and help themselves to the strawberries before I can pick them.

There are things going on that I can't see, too, like the onions and potatoes growing underground. And once the hens started laying, I started to think about all those egg cells in their bodies, and it was no longer enough just to open up the nesting box and help myself to the finished product.

Endlessly fascinated, I needed to know more.

Of Coyotes, Chickens, and Cats

It felt like forever, and I was starting to lose patience. When I got my three hens, I was told they'd start laying in August probably. I thought perhaps though that these chicks could be on the exceptional side, as is my cat, Larry, and maybe they'd start producing eggs just a little early...maybe?

I am a good chicken owner. I make sure the girls have feed and water at all times. I toss in greens for variety. Sometimes a strawberry or two from the garden as well. Every worm I capture is theirs. I let them roam free under supervision when I'm working outside. And now I was ready to be rewarded for that.

But July ended, and then it was August, and still I was eggless. I started to call them "the slacker hens." Out loud and on Facebook even.