Egg Count

Sometimes I think the birds are just laughing at me, whispering behind their feathers and clucking in laughter at the fact that I come down every day to get the eggs and that some days there are just a whole lot less than there should be.  That somehow it's all just a big joke to them, to see if they can't trick me and see if I miss an egg or forget to look in some of the random places they put them.

Today was not one of those days though.  Today, we ended up with 10-eggs, out of 6 chickens (1 egg each) & 2 guinea's (2 eggs each).  I was pleased to say the least, but because the guinea's have been locked out of the pen for 2 or 3-days, they apparently were "holding" the eggs until they could get back inside to lay them because they both laid 2 today.  Which normally would cause me concern for my hens, but since it's my husband's guineas I'm not overly worried.  From what I've read, guineas are originally from Africa, so this combined with the fact that they really don't seem to be overly domesticated... I'm not concerned for them like I would be for my chickens. 

Nothing really changes with the chickens.  They all laid like they should have, even with having been put into the rabbit cages to contain them while I chased those confounded guinea birds around the barn.  Rarely is there something truly wrong with them in fact.  They are always sweet tempered, never try to hurt me, won't peck at my hands even if I have treats for them.  Chicken Ann has taught them to peck bugs & worms from her fingers, but I never let them do that with me, and that behavior has continued even now. I don't even allow them to peck at the pail we use for the table scraps.  I wanted to see if they would do it if given the opportunity.  They won't.  The only thing truly out of the "norm" with moms Isa's is there is one chicken, who is confused and continues to lay her egg on the ground. 

If you were to ask someone online, The Chicken Chick for example, she would say that the chicken laying her egg on the ground has had a recent stressful event (probably when I cleaned the pen & put clean saw dust down) and that because of this event she has become confused.  I don't really care one way or the other, as long as she is laying her egg inside the pen and not out, I really don't give a crap.

I suspect that perhaps there is one hen who was laying her eggs up in the hay loft, but I have no way to confirm this suspicion, because the area she would have been laying her eggs in is "off limits".  The floor is unstable and if an adult (or even a child) climbs out onto that area of the loft they run a very high risk of falling through the floor.  Since there is approximately 10-feet between the ground floor & the second floor, I personally would not want to for a fall.