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Friday 29 March 2013

Easter and Eggs....


No not the chocolate variety...REAL eggs.... the days are getting longer and with the additional daylight the hens should now be gearing up to laying eggs.  I had to have stern words with them this week. As you can see above, they were resting on their laurels!  I got ONE egg on Wednesday. Of course ALL the hens said it was theirs!  I told them I expected increased production given a) it was Spring and b) the amount of food I was giving them and c) they were getting supplementary worms from the garden too! Bah!! Young hens will lay throughout the winter but after the first year, as the light declines, so does egg production. I could put a light in the hen house and they would continue to lay, but I think they deserve a bit of a rest and to stay "under the duvet" for winter, much like myself!

Here is the first egg of the season.....



Fortunately yesterday and today I did get two eggs each day so perhaps they have been listening!!

Meanwhile the hens have been enjoying the sunshine like the rest of us in Orkney. While most of the UK is still under cloud, snow and ice, and suffering lengthy power cuts and struggling to keep livestock alive, we've been getting lovely blue skies. Cold, but sunshine and NO wind. It really lifts the spirits.  Easter is upon us, and although I don't celebrate it as a religious festival I do celebrate it as a Spring festival.

Today is "Good Friday", and a public holiday in most of the UK, but not in Orkney! I have no idea why.... however on Monday there IS a public holiday (known as Easter Monday) which we share with the rest of the UK.  I'm enjoying a few days off work and a chance to potter in the garden.

Here are some crocus from earlier today. Such delicate flowers I marvel at their resilience to the wind.




So Happy Easter to those of you that celebrate it.  Meanwhile I shall continue my egg hunt!


15 comments:

  1. It definitely must be spring if you're getting eggs. Did it taste WONDERFUL??? I can only imagine.

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    1. Oh yes it was delicious! I am lucky with my fresh hen eggs and I shouldn't complain. But I do get cross when I feed 11 of them and not ONE egg!

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  2. Ah, crocus. So delightful, and a true sign of spring. Hopefully they will soon be popping up here.

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    1. I love crocus. They are so delicate! And a definite sign of Spring.

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  3. I'm amazed to hear that the U.K. is having nasty winter-like weather and you are not.

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    1. Very unusual for us to have better weather than the rest of the UK. But I'm not complaining ;-)

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  4. The first egg is a reason to celebrate, whatever you call the festival! Happy Easter to you and your chooks.

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    1. Yes it feels really Spring like once the hens start laying regularly again. And Happy Easter to you and your family too!

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  5. The first egg is a reason to celebrate, whatever you call the festival! Happy Easter to you and your chooks.

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    1. A belated thanks DB! I am awash with eggs now (of the chook variety, sadly not of the chocolate one!)

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  6. A very happy Easter to you too, Sian. Enjoy your sunshine and your fresh-laid eggs. I envy you both. :-)

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  7. What fun, we both have an 'eggs and crocus' Easter post!

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    1. LOL! Great minds think alike and all that!

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