A Tiny Green Egg

Had this cute little egg appear in the nesting boxes today!  I would have thought a random wild bird had snuck in to the chicken nesting area, but it was so perfectly shaped and just the right color of green.  Yep, it is what some call a “practice egg”- an egg from a new layer.  Their eggs start small, and increase in size as their laying time goes on.  The new layer- one of the pretty little white Americaunas which hatched last spring.  We had a number of beautiful young ladies hatch this spring, especially the white Americaunas from Muffy the blue ribbon Americauna rooster.

Around here, eggs come in a number of sizes and colors.  From tiny as the hens begin to lay, to extra-large ones which we cannot close the cartons over.  Officially, the standard only recognizes colors in white, brown and tinted, but we see speckles, pinks, and green, blue green and olive.  It all makes for a beautiful egg basket, though the actual nutrition of the egg is determined not by the color of the egg but by the quality of the feed we provide our hens.  (The color is determined by breed and has no effect on nutrition or flavor.)

Nevertheless, any chicken owner can understand the excitement when a hen begins to lay, and the joy of those silly little eggs.  Thought you all might enjoy the photos, and the little joys from here.  Have a great weekend!