Hurrah!!! We got our first egg yesterday! Our chickens are just about 6 months old now and I've been waiting eagerly for the first one. This is my first experience with actually raising livestock and I'm so excited!!!! My husband had to put in the nest boxes he'd been putting off installing. I can't wait to get another one so I can have my first egg sandwich! Sorry to be so scattered, but I'm so thrilled! annette

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), September 28, 2000

Answers

Congratulations! Having gotten my first eggs just two years ago, I know how exciting that can be! I hope you enjoy your chickens as much as I have enjoyed mine, and the delicious, fresh eggs as well!

-- Laura Jensen (lauraj@seedlaw.com), September 28, 2000.

Congratulations Annette! I remember my first egg - it was laid on my birthday. It is so egg-citing. Oh, and by the way, chickens are notorious for thumbing their noses (so to speak) at beautiful husband- built nestboxes and picking their own spots to lay them! But that's okay, the eggs are sooooo good no matter where they choose to lay them. Did you just jump up and down when you found it? What type chickens are they?

-- Katie (ktthegardener@yahoo.com), September 28, 2000.

Hi Annette,

Good for you. There's nothing like the taste of a fresh egg. I started selling my eggs to co-workers just for fun and now I have steady customers. My bosses kids refuse to eat store bought eggs again. They don't like the smell.

Have Fun,

(:raig

-- Craig Miller (CMiller@ssd.com), September 29, 2000.

How neat! It's amazing how exciting we homesteaders can get over something so simple, but those eggs are wonderful. What type of chickens do you have? We're to the point where we need to put a lot of ours in the freezer, but we sure enjoy them. They come running to see what kind of "treats" I'm bringing everytime I go out the door! Enjoy them! Jan

-- Jan (Janice12@aol.com), September 29, 2000.

They are buff orpintions and so far I've gotten 1 a day. My kids (1,4, and 6) are convinced that they are going to hatch. I've had to explain, over and over that the eggs that will hatch won't come till spring. And yes, they're laid on the ground of the pen. But that's ok, my 6 year old loves to climb in and get it! annette

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), September 29, 2000.

Annette, We have Buff Orps. also, we have had Barred Rocks for the three previous years, but I like the Buffs better, they are more gentle with children and don't peck at you as hard as some other types. We have had good luck using cedar shavings in the nest boxes, used to use pine shavings but the chickens ate too much of them. They do not seem to eat the cedar ones at all, and the cedar should keep away any mites or other "feather critters"! These Buffs. are a year and a half old and laying as well as when they first started, some folks have complained about them droppingn production after 9 months or so, but I havn't found this to be true. I feed whole corn, laying mash crumbles, free choice grit and oyster shell, and most importantly, a 5 gallon bucket full (packed down well) of pasture greens that I cut (with a hand trimmer) every day. They seem to like red clover best, but I cut a mixture of a little of everything from our hayfield. I really think this makes a big difference for both their health and the taste of their eggs! I cannot let them run loose as I have a dog that I cannot break of killing chickens and it would be too hard for me to find their eggs if they ran loose. They have a huge chicken house with lots of windows so being "cooped" up doesn't seem to affect them. Lots of luck with your new egg makers!

-- Annie Miller (ann.miller@1st.net), September 29, 2000.

Annette, You could put a 5 gallon bucket it the pen, with a brick or something beside it on each side to keep it from rolling around. Put a little hay or shaveings in there and they will get used to laying in a nest. That should work good until you get the real nest up in there. Aren't chickens fun? I really like mine.And store bought eggs are the pits now. Just can't eat them anymore. Well, have fun.

-- Bonnie (josabo1@juno.com), September 29, 2000.

Annette, How exciting. I haven't made the leap to having our own chickens but they will be the first livestock we get. I think this coming spring we will be ready for them. I just think chickens are great fun and they give you a prize too. I will never forget the first time I watched a chicken lay an egg. I was visiting a friend's Uncle's farm in Georgia and I offered to go out and collect the eggs before breakfast. One of the chickens was at eye level when she started sqawking and I looked at her to see what was the matter and out popped an egg. I was so pleased that I had been able to watch up close and personal. (And I was in my early twenties at the time. I guess it doesn't take much to please me. LOL) Keep us posted on your chicken adventures.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), October 02, 2000.

I know this a bit late, but I know how you feel. I'm a first time chicken owner. I eagerly awaited my first egg, it came a week before Christmas. I was soooo excited, my husband thought I had flip my lid. I called up my mom, sister and dad. I probably over did it a bit. Well today is my first day of receiving more than one, 4 to be exact. I'm not calling anybody, just telling you and the Countryside readers.

-- Pam (psanford@terraworld.net), January 03, 2001.