Richard enjoying the first of Jane Eyre’s eggs. Photo by Stephanie Reighart
Today I discovered a wonderful gift from my chicken Jane Eyre.
She’s begun laying!
She reached maturity in December, but what with the shorter days and colder weather, she took her time settling into the business of egg laying.
I don’t put a light on my chickens, so they slow down egg production in the winter. Chickens need about 12 to 14 hours of light a day to lay regularly. In December and January, we don’t get enough light for them to produce an egg a day, so it’s been more like one every other day or just a couple a week.
I figure, whatevs. I’m going to be up to my ears in eggs once I have four chickens laying an egg a day, so I’ll take my egg-break now, too.
Jane Eyre’s first two eggs! (They’re supposed to be green) By Stephanie Reighart
I always find it exciting when a chicken starts to lay. Now, she’s a grown up. Finally, the skiddish ball of fluff that I provided for, kept warm and watched grow is pulling her own weight — so to speak.
But the most exciting part about Jane Eyre laying eggs is, her’s are green!
While I’m not completely sure of Jane’s pedigree, she has the dominant genetic trait in the Araucana chicken breed that produces blue/green eggs.
Jane Eyre at three days old. Photo by Stephanie Reighart
Jane today. Photo by Stephanie Reighart
Jane started out as a tan/brown chick, but grew into a white/gray hen. Go figure. That’s another thing I love about the Araucana breed mix. They all look different. I have a red hen, a rusted orange hen with black feathers speckled throughout, a brown hen with orange feathers mixed in and Jane.
Like most early eggs, these were small and the shells were tough.
And I can’t wait for more!
The last bite of Jane’s first egg. By Stephanie Reighart
I’m glad to hear Jane is laying eggs now. My chickens have also recently been starting to lay eggs as well since the days are starting to get a little longer. I been have chickens owners on my blog http://www.kernschickenfarm.com/ tell me their hens are starting to lay as well. It just makes me happy knowing that I will be able to eat fresh eggs every morning. It def does pay off to raise your own chickens.