The First Layer: A Taste of What’s Ahead

In April, I posted an update welcoming chickens to the family. Unfortunately, shortly after that post, one of the Araucana roosters became unwell. We made the difficult decision to put him down. We hadn't actually intended to have the roosters, we had only had them a week or two, and we still hadn't named them, but even so, it was an emotional day for both of us. As we buried our unnamed rooster, said our goodbyes, and dealt with the surprising emotions that came with that, it was clear to me; I was going to make for one terrible farmer.

It was a difficult day, but it really made me realise how easy it was to become attached to these funny little dinosaurs. We were down to five chickens, and the unintended rooster, and they still needed names.

I had kind of taken the lead on the naming the sheep, so it was Anita's turn to name the chickens.

Since we were still quite uncertain about the future of the rooster, we held off naming him. Although it diverged from the astronomy theme, but Foxbait, the nickname I had given him, had kind of stuck.

When Celeste became unwell, we moved her into our laundry (or chicken hospital as it came known) where we could medicate her and keep her under a close eye. She lost quite a bit of weight, but eventually she turned a corner and it was a joy to see her regroup with her chicken friends. Although, she had some trouble navigating the pecking order at first.

Last week, we found our first egg, waiting for us in the nest box. Luna appeared to be a little older than the others, so we weren't surprised she was the first to lay. The following week, Celeste laid her first, and this week, Nova produced a beautiful blue egg.

We now have three of five chickens producing, so I think we're going to have to find opportunities to increase our egg consumption to match. It's a wonderful problem to have, I'm sure!