Today is a 3 egg day !!!

[sarahkeast]

Hoorah. We got 8 ex-bats back in February, a scraggy looking lot. Housed and fed them well, and started getting a regular 1 egg a day [from Kelly] a month or so ago, with an occasional second egg

They are all feathered up now and look suprisingly chunky. They are also each wearing their own colour coded ankle bracelet, which I got to humour the kids, but is actually really useful and they all have random but identifiable names.

I have been letting them out of the run more often, had to chase them out the first few times, but now they love the lawn and unfortunately my shrubs, seedlings and fruit bushes, so that is a little less frequent now.

Over the Easter hols we have been working outside a lot and I noticed they are beginning to 'nest' more often, just hanging out in the nest boxes etc. Yesterday we had 3 eggs, but one had a thin shell that broke when I picked it up [dogs liked it] and today, 3 good fresh eggs. One has a very bumpy shell, not sure what that is about, looks like it has been dipped in glue and rolled in grit, but it is strong and sound.

Heres hoping that I no longer have to threaten them with becoming dog food; my border collie spends hours with her nose to the fence watching them and I swear several chooks come and hang out right next to her just for the torment !!!!

They are such fun to keep, for the kids and me. We all like to just watch them scratch around, very mellow.

Ex bats take a little more time and patience, but I highly recommend them.

[JulieSherris]

Yesterday we had 3 eggs, but one had a thin shell that broke when I picked it up [dogs liked it] and today, 3 good fresh eggs. One has a very bumpy shell, not sure what that is about, looks like it has been dipped in glue and rolled in grit, but it is strong and sound.

Sarah, the gritty egg is probably the extra shell left from the day before - it may have been left behind & then put on the next egg in the passage - hens innards are extremely clever!

It's good that your girls are well settled now - I was telling the granddaughter all about battery hens the other day & she promptly went out into the garden to tell our lot how lucky they were!!