Treasure in the Nesting Box

Well, it finally happened! After church this afternoon, I went out to check on the girls. I heard one in the house, which is unusual.  Normally, they enjoy hanging out under the house, or they escape the run to forage in the nearby woods. I peeked through the window and saw Mickey, named after Mickey Mantle. Yes, I know pullets are females, but tell a ten year-old boy that he can't name his favorite chicken after his favorite baseball player. Well, I didn't.

Anyway, I opened the door and what did I see, but Mickey strutting around with pride beside the nesting boxes. Then, I saw a tiny egg nestled in the nesting box that I introduced Mickey to a few days ago. I screamed with glee. I pray it didn't frighten Mickey into an egg strike. So, I carefully scooped up the treasure and showed it to my husband and LG. I wrapped it in paper towels just in case the first egg is more fragile than normal.

AB had spent the night with a friend. Once he arrived home, he was thrilled to hear the news. He spent the rest of the day checking on the nesting boxes.

After I tucked AB and LG into bed, I went to check to see if the girls had turned in for the night. For the last week, one chicken has been defiant and remained out every night. After putting the chicken I call Damien, in the house, I noticed there weren't any more eggs in the nesting boxes, but I saw something unusual under the roost. It looked like an odd light brown egg. I picked it up only to discover that it felt like a water balloon. I knew we were going to throw it away due to the location it was found, but I couldn't resist getting the children out of bed to look at it. Oh, the adventures of raising chickens. They weren't yet asleep, anyway. Inside, it looked like a regular egg. I am so excited about our egg treasures.

Now, I wish we had a few more chickens, maybe a dozen more.

It is all so amazing.