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| Barred Rock |
I shoved the Barred Rock away and covered the mess with straw. I didn't see any egg shell, so its possible she was just eating her own vomit. Yes, chickens are gross. I've read that egg-eating is a hard habit to break once it gets started, so I sincerely hope that she wasn't eating an egg. My entering the coop created a stir, so the Golden Comet went and hid herself behind a bike wheel and the Silky came over to see what everyone else was doing. Oh well, maybe the Silky will lay later, I thought. I went outside and most of the flock followed.
We still haven't built a run, so the chickens just get some supervised time outside in the morning and late afternoon. We back to a long stretch of woods with a stream and many trees that are good for wildlife. I've seen raccoons, foxes, cats, hawks, and evidence of snakes in the short time we've been here. A few minutes of scanning the skies and you're bound to see half a dozen bird types and probably one of the hawks that live nearby. Incredible for a nature lover, dangerous for a chicken.
The chickens have shown a reassuring degree of self preservation. Canadian geese making a racket, no reaction. The shadow of a hawk? One of the chickens will spread her wings wide, lean her head back and call out an alarm and all of the other chickens rush back into the coop- legs splayed wide in a wobbly run or else flying low to the ground. The alarm chicken will then rush after them, wings outstretched. A hawk passes overhead about every fifteen minutes, so outside time usually ends itself naturally in this way.
Back in the coop this morning, I found that the Golden Comet had already finished laying her egg and moved on to other things. The straw in the coop is starting to look wet and gross, so I brought out the second bale we bought and started tossing handfuls of dry straw from the nesting areas (where the chickens don't hang out as much) into the sleeping/food areas. I picked up a double handful that had been pushed out of the nesting boxes and tossed it back inside. Thud. I had accidentally picked up and tossed a giant pink egg that was probably laid by the Silky I'd seen scratching around earlier. I really hope there aren't more well hidden eggs lying around or being eaten.
The egg was only slightly cracked, so I brought it back in for breakfast. The yolk was dark orange and so thick it just broke up into chunks when I tried to scramble it. Random googling suggests the chunkiness of the yolk could be due to the egg freezing or its just extra fresh and healthy. The egg white was also watery- not runny, but more liquid than I'm used to. The best explanation I can find for this is that its a sign the chicken is old (as is the fact that the eggs are larger). The other two eggs we've eaten looked pretty normal- the yolks were darker than usual and the whites a little firmer around the yolk, but not really anything you'd notice unless you make a point of examining your eggs. This egg was noticeably different from anything I've seen before.
Being adventurous, I scrambled it as best I could and had a taste. It was... gamey? meaty? a note of sour? a bit like goat? It wasn't necessarily a bad taste, but I'm not a huge fan of meat and if you're used to your egg being largely taste free, this was definitely...different. Searching for "gamey chicken eggs" yielded mostly articles about duck eggs (our eggs are duck sized) and eggs from other birds. I did find, however, one blog post mentioning that Silky eggs in particular are gamey (and therefore best used for facials...). The first egg we ate was incorporated into an omelet with store bought eggs, the second made into a béchamel sauce. Both dishes were delicious, but don't tell us much about the individual eggs. Neither of the first two eggs came from a Silky. I can't find the "Silkies lay gamey eggs" claim anywhere else, but we do have two more Silky eggs in the fridge, so we will see.
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| Silky |
Meanwhile, the same blog claims "even touching a Silkie Chicken will bring about good health to a woman’s reproductive system". As pet-able as they look, the Silkies have so far been some of our least interactive chickens. Still, I'm sure my mom will be glad to know.
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