Tuesday, June 7, 2011

First Eggs!

The girls are 4 1/2 months old now, and we just got our first eggs!!! I don't care how many times you've had new groups of chickens, getting your first eggs is thrilling! I squealed with delight as I admired the deep olive color of one of our eggs, and comment on how cute and little they are (the first ones are normally quite small.)

Out in the garden, we harvested our first batch of radishes.
These are the French Breakfast radish. You can let them grow longer and they will be long and thin. We like to pick ours earlier so they aren't as spicy. 

So what is going on at your backyard farm?

~marisa

20 comments:

  1. Congrats!!!
    How exciting.
    We had to sell ours, because we're moving :( JUST as they were about to start laying too. So sad.
    Once we get into a permanent house, we'll start up again!

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  2. Congratulations! One of my hens, the Silkie, laid the first egg on May 19th. It's so exciting, I know! Mine was a double-yolker :-)

    Do you have ham to go with those green eggs?!

    Brenda

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  3. Our two month old baby chickens aren't ready to lay just yet, but they are completely integrated into our existing flock, and should start to give us eggs sometime this summer. We can't wait!

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  4. What variety of chicken lays an olive color egg?

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  5. Hooray!!!!! I'm excited for your first eggs. I think this means we are maybe a week behind you. We're checking daily knowing that our Maude (Barred Rock) will be the first to lay!

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  6. Same as Dale. One of the best birthday presents I ever received was a dozen beautifully natural colored eggs from a friend with chickens.

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  7. Congratulations on the first eggs! I'm hoping to harvest broccoli in another week or so from the backyard garden. The spinach got a case of leaf miners- Yuck! Our plants are a bit behind the ones at our farm share but I'm glad for it because the broccoli we got in the first share seemed to be effected by the early heat wave we were having and I don't think we are going to be receiving anymore... but mine are doing just fine.

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  8. Oh yay! So wonderful!
    I can't wait for our chickens to start laying -- should be around the beginning of Sept!!

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  9. Yummy Radishes!!You always take such great photo's. I want to reach into my computer and pull some out. They would be great in my salad tonight. :) (wish we had some farm fresh hard boiled eggs to go in my salad too) We won't see fresh eggs until August.

    -Leah

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  10. Our chickens ought to start laying later this month! We're approaching butcher time for most of them, then we'll keep six for eggs.

    My peas are flowering, and the strawberries have started to form little yellow/green berries. We haven't picked anything yet, but at least most everything is up. Still waiting on the corn, beans, and some of the squash.

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  11. Wow so exciting! I can't wait for my new chicks to start laying! (which probably won't be until about august...).

    and i wish more were going on with our garden, although i haven't killed my broccoli or cauliflower so that is great! :)

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  12. Yay!!!How exciting!!!I am waiting patiently for our girls to lay their first eggs in a few weeks..
    Our state is in a drought right now so I am using soaker hoses to water each bed. Right now the green beans are getting their drink.. I am setting out more tomato plants in abou 15 minutes when it should cool down to around 95.
    I have green tomatoes, tiny banana peppers and lots of blooms on everything. WHOOHOO

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  13. Congratulations!

    We have tiny little bell peppers almost as long as my thumb!

    I think I am going to go pull up a radish to see if ours are ready (I doubt it, we planted them later than usual)!

    Our chickens are off-lay a little due to a hot week and a tighter grain ration (money is tight). They are liking the "extras" I have been treating them with, though.. grasses and weeds from the garden!

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  14. Isn't that wonderful! Congratulations!

    I picked strawberries this morning and have some watermelon and tomatoes on the vine. Not much else grows in this heat!

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  15. Contest....My blog Amish Stories is having its first ever contest this week. The First prize winner will win 2 tickets to tour the farm where the 1985 move "Witness" staring Harrison Ford and Kelly Mcgillis was made in Strasburg,Pa . This farm is now Amish owned, and the family has given permission for folks to tour their farm. This may be the last time anyone will be able to walk and see the same things that Harrison Ford and the other actors saw during the making of "Witness". The Witness tour should last about 2.5 hours. In addition to the Witness farm tour tickets, 1st prize winner will also receive 2 tickets for Jacobs choice. There will also be a 2nd place prize, which will be 2 tickets for the Amish Homestead. Please go to My blog www.AmishStorys.com for contest details, and more information on the prizes. Richard from the Amish settlement of Lebanon county.

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  16. Awesome! I have lettuce and that's about it so far, some of my broccoli flowered and the head was very little so not sure what happened there? Any ideas anyone? It's not been hot..??? Can't wait for our eggs to start. I think they're about 3-4 months now. Radishes look yummy!

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  17. My green beans are growing up the huge frame I built for them. I really hope they fill the frame! It's going to look wonderful.

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  18. Ours are nearly 3 months now, can't wait for the first egg!

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  19. I was so excited when my girls started laying but now that my 19 chickens are providing 14 eggs per day average I am a bit overwhelmed! What do you plan on doing with surplus eggs when you get there?

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  20. Teri, I have a friend that is going to try freezing eggs and bottling eggs for the winter. If it works out for her, I will be sharing on the blog. Have you thought of selling some eggs?

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