We can’t be quite sure which of our hens are laying eggs. We’ve caught two of the Rhode Island Reds in what we think is the act, but which may only be a nesting instinct that prepares them for the act. The two most mature Reds we have are also the two smallest and the fact that our eggs – two on some days, one on others – are small is another piece of evidence.
From left: the little egg, the giant egg, and the Grade AA Extra Large
Only one of the buff Orpingtons looks like she’s ready to lay. She’s a bigger bird, and we expected that one morning we’d wake up to a bigger egg.
This morning, we did. It’s about twice the size of the other egg we collected, and even a bit larger than the official extra-large egg I compared it to. By the time our hen is full-grown, she’s going to be laying grapefruit.
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The guy I buy my eggs from sometimes has huge ones like that that often have double yolks…How exciting you finally have eggs!
You can usually tell who is laying by their combs and wattles. They grow and become red when they’re laying. It’s a nice trio of eggs.