So, what’s the big deal about the eggs in the pic to the left? Why bother to post an image of a nearly-full egg carton of eggs on a blog about layers? Well, because these are eggs from a 10-year old Easter-egger, Goldie, and a 7-year old Langshan, who earned the descriptive name of “Whah” for the peculiar little cluck she greets me with every morning.
Despite Interior Alaska being full on into the long, dark winter days, Goldie, after years! of not laying, started up again at the end of October, and she hasn’t stopped yet. As of this posting, she has laid close to two dozen eggs – (averaging about 4 a week) and Whah, although not quite as prolific, lays about 2 a week. Suddenly, after being eggless for a number of years, and resigning myself to buying fresh eggs at a local feed store (still way, way cheaper than keeping a backyard flock, but not quite as much fun), I have eggs again.
Of course, I don’t expect the egg-run to last. Goldie is, after all, quite the elderly hen, and perhaps this is her last hurrah before stepping off the mortal coil. None-the-less, it’s delightful to once again go out in the morning and find a pretty blue egg in the nest box. It makes me even think about going back to keeping layers, as right now my flock consists of old birds in retirement: Goldie, Whah, Old Hen (who is 12) and Gandalf, a roo of about 6.
For the moment, though, I have stopped expecting to see one of the oldsters keeled over when I visit the coop first thing in the AM, and now have been slipping into the habit of discovering one or two eggs.
It feels a little bit like a gift from Goldie for all of the years of keeping her and her flock mates safe, warm, and well fed. And who knows, maybe it will spur me into the decision to get a few new layer chicks this spring!
Alaska Backyard Chickens 