The Great Egg Hunt

Time to Redefine our Lives in Oregon

The Great Egg Hunt

November 13, 2016

Written by tamisdanes

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I have some devastating news…….

A Symphony in Eggs

Last Sunday, I used the last of the eggs…..we are egg-less!! This is traaaaaaagiccccc!! We have not been without eggs from our hens since they started laying four years ago. How did this happen??

November 2015

There are a number of factors working here that could possibly be affecting our lack of eggs….

most of my hens are over three years old
the hours of daylight has decreased by about six hours from the height of our lighted hours. Conservatively, during the summer, we have light in the Pacific NW from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. This time of year, light shines upon us from about 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m (and that will shorten.) Light drastically affects egg production.
the hen house and free range acres are in a different location this year….more rustic, less domestic…maybe they have more of a wild-hen mindset this year?? LOL
they are laying somewhere other than their nesting boxes (highly likely, for some, but I don’t think it would be 100% across the flock)
the predator that attacked the hen house this summer, knows that the eggs are there and takes the opportunity to grab them when the hen’s door is open for the day??
they miss me!!! Hahahaha!! Since the puppy was born, I haven’t spent much time with them….Tony has taken over the hen house duties for a couple of months.

Those are some beautiful girls!!

The fact is, I have about 4 birds that are 2 yrs or younger. Even with the lack of light, I should be getting at least 1 or 2 eggs every other day….so, we have an egg mystery….

What dug this hole?? Is this a den??

I removed the shading, and then sharpened this photo to try and get the interior of the hole to show.

….coupled with the mystery of this dug out hole!! What dug up this hornet’s nest?? Did they make a den out of this hole? We set up our field camera to see if something comes and goes from this hole….unfortunately, the camera is apparently malfunctioning because it took no pictures over the three days it was set up…it would have taken something, even movement from the wind, if it were working properly.

imag0319

Oh well….everyone needs a good mystery, but when you mess with my eggs….you’ve gone too far!!! So I think step one will be to add a few hours of artificial light to the hen house to stimulate egg laying and see if that helps. The Holidays are upon us…..I have no eggs….it is baking season!! UGGGHHH…..that light is going in today…..I just cannot bring myself to buy a carton of eggs. Oh no…..I think I’ve become an “egg-snob!!”