I used to have a chicken that defied the odds. I always assumed, as a mature farmer (of course), that I wouldn't take to any of my farm animals as ‘pets'. They're here to work and they serve a purpose and that was that. But my Helen hen broke the mold.
I've had very few chickens in my farming days that have managed to break through my calloused heart and Helen was the queen of them all. After she was taken by an owl a few months ago, I swore that I would never love again. I sulked around the farm for weeks, pumping my clenched fists up at the sky, and cursing the owls, hawks, and eagles that lingered.
Months have passed since Helen and her chicks were taken at dawn by that silent-hunter and still, I find my heart calloused towards my chicken flock – though this time for different reasons.
It's not because they're not Helen. Though, of course, there is that (Helen was the bessssst, man).
My animosity stems from this: I'm ball-parking it here, but I would guess that our chicken flock is currently around 40 layers. Would you care to take a stab at how many eggs I've been averaging a day in these short, cold days?
2.
2 eggs.
2 eggs from 40+ hens.
I know it's cold-ish. I know the days are short. I know it's “natural”. But in all my years of chicken raising, I've never seen such a tremendous slump in egg production! Ever. What up ladies?!
In great haste last week, I optimistically grabbed my egg basket before trotting out into the cold, crisp air to check the nesting boxes. Surely, because the chickens would know Thanksgiving was coming and there were cream puffs to make, they would once again fill my basket with one of the greatest treasures in the world – fresh eggs.
They didn't. That day, I didn't even get one egg.
Because I'm a radically mature adult, I smiled, thanked them for the joy they bring to the farm, and bounced back down to the kitchen to go about my tasks.
NOT.
Rather, I kicked and screamed and whined like a four-year-old (trust me, I know how four-year-olds whine).
What do you want from me, chickens? I give you food! Good food! I give you fresh water every day! I give you herbs. I give you vinegar. I give you scraps. I let you roam the land. I let you dig. You have all the fresh air you could hope for. There's new bedding. There are clean nesting boxes. Hell, I even kill all the males that give you trouble. What?! What do you want from me?!
After my tantrum, I came in and sat by the fire. I placed my head into my hands, leaned over my knees, and I wept. Literally.
I'm sorry, Shaye. Little dramatic, don't-ya-think?
Yes, I do think. But yet I still found myself silently weeping while the tears dripped down to the tip of my nose and collected in a small puddle on the hearth. In my misery and anger, I prayed. I kept returning to the idea that my provisions, every day, come from the Lord. Daily bread is His to give to me. I asked for forgiveness and thanked him for our bountiful provisions.
I got up. Brushed myself off. Wiped my cheeks. Apologized to my family for throwing such a tantrum. And walked back outside to work.
And that's where I found this:
Quite literally, the most beautiful nest of eggs I've ever seen.
I know, as a writer, it's my job to put words to the parts of life that need them.
And yet… there are none.
And Amen.
Season
In the same boat here too we have about 60 and getting 1-2 eggs a day I want to scream!! It happens every year I should be used to it by now. Everything has a season right?
Hannah Beecher
Oh, dear Shaye. All I can say is, I hope those eggs you found are good–you might want to candle them before you crack them open! our hens, too, have had a total cessation of work for the last few weeks, despite our continued care and shelter and feeding–and they’re in moveable sheds so they can’t be running off to hide the eggs where we wouldn’t think to look! I’m considering retrofitting some solar walkway lights to extend the day for one set of hens and seeing who starts laying again first…
Lin
Where were they Shaye? Where did you find the most beautiful next of eggs?
Lin
P.S. Isn’t God patient and faithful?!
Cary Bradley
Well, you saved yourself, my dear. I was just about to lecture about on the seventh day, He rested. 🙂
Penny
Bless you …You impart a vibe that lifts and transcends…I pray for you and your farm. Be well dear heart we love you.
Hilary Barry
Woa! One big ol’ dose of humility, please!
I’m sad to say that my 24 chickens have hardly been laying for the last month. It was zero for weeks and now it’s up to two or three a day. I figure it’s because of the cold.
Heart attack
Nice story )
Self Reliant
🙂 I can’t wait to be “outraged” by the chickens on our new place!
Steph
I think we all have those “but there’s no eggs” moments. Otherwise it wouldn’t resonate with so many 😉
Karen
Love the dramatics.. I can relate.
So I should just go ahead and have a fit? I can do that. 🙂
Tara
This brought the BIGGEST smile to my face…along with a tear or two! So what you’re saying is I need a good tantrum and then a humbling prayer session and I might get some eggs?? Totally worth a shot!????
Miley
My girls are free range and I NEVER know where I will find a clutch of eggs!! Silly girls – but it is always fun when I do find them!
Damaris
God is soo good!
Betty
When our production dropped like that we discovered two squirrels were raiding the hen house every day. After our dog did a little hunting, we began getting eggs again. Might want to keep your eyes out for those unwanted “Pets” since it doesn’t really look like that nest holds enough to account for 40 hens, even in the winter.
Amy Burrows
Love this post! I was shaking my fists at my layers this week, because they’ve never not laid well and this year I’ve seen a incredible decline. But I remind myself they are aging, the weather has been weird! But I needed this reminder that God provides in His good time. Thanks for keeping it real!
Farmer McGregor
Hello Shaye,
Just discovered your blog — and love it!
Concerning your non-productive hens: Protein intake has a huge effect on egg output.
What do you feed them? The picture of the hanging feeder looks like it contains green plant material.
Keep in mind that — despite the silly printing on grocery store egg cartons — chickens are NOT vegetarians.
In a natural environment, 70 percent or more of their diet would be MEAT in the form of bugs, worms, small critters (mice, etc.) and carrion.
Large quantities of cheap grain are a product of modern industrial (fossil energy powered) agriculture, not a natural diet for hens.
They get by on it, but they still require some essential meat-based amino acids (top of the list: Methionine) to maintain good production and a healthy body.
Quoting you: “I give you herbs. I give you vinegar. I give you scraps. I let you roam the land. I let you dig.”
None of these contribute to egg production unless the scraps are all animal foods and the digging yields substantial volumes of worms and bugs.
Not that you could do this, but if you fed them nothing but hamburger for a week you would see production soar.
Also, of course, length of daylight hours directly influences the hormones that stimulate egg production.
Few birds lay eggs during the winter when there is little or no food for their young.
Blessings on you. Keep up the great writing.
–Greg
Veronica
I don’t have chickens anymore, but when I did I always prepared for the lean months by freezing eggs when they were plentiful. I figured that my normally dutiful girls deserved a little time off and their frozen eggs were still better than anything I could get at the store. I also had a hen that I was particularly fond of. She would follow me up and down the rows of the garden as I weeded pecking out the choicest bugs and eventually following me right up to the sliding glass door of the house. My kids were insistent that she should be able to come in, HA! One daughter even said that she would purchase chicken diapers so that the hen could come in the house. I didn’t even know that chicken diapers existed…I’m pretty sure that they shouldn’t.
Cheryl
I have 8 chickens and get 2 to 5 eggs a day…I’m surprised my girls are laying at all, really. And while some eggs are found in their favorite place, I have to egg hunt frequently, which is fun. I also freeze my summer eggs so that I can make mayo during the winter.
Jeni kelsch
Yep.
Darla
Shaye, if you haven’t already, read you kids Along Came a Dog by Meindert DeJong. Any kid who does chicken chores or farmer who loves their chickens will thoroughly enjoy it!!!
Joan Sorita
I wanted to share that I started with four chickens and I have my favorite name abagale. Now we have 11 new chicks and to me that is a lot. I can not imagine 40 hens. Love the story.
Eva A. Wright
Sorry about the poor Helen. I feel the same way about my Americana hen Lavern. She was the best. but she kept getting through the fence and one day I knew, I heard the neighbor’s gun pop and poor Lavern never came home. In the winter I give them a heat lamp and supplement with crushed egg salad (boiled eggs- crushed shell and all in the food processor) to help with more eggs.