Super Chickens!

I know, I'm being silly, there is nothing 'super' about my chickens.

But when I occasionally take a side trip to Google on the internet to look up eggs and raising chickens I see strange things. And I start to realize that my hen house is full of weird birds.

Like hens are supposed to molt in the fall and stop laying the rest of the winter, until the days lengthen.

The girls in my hen house slowed down in October. The Rhode Island Red hen that doesn't usually lay started laying. (I know it was her because her eggs are dark brown.) She gave me an egg a day for October and November then quit.

Meanwhile, the 3 Comets and 2 Barred Rocks molted and looked AWFUL. I pitied them - so I doctored their feed with minerals I usually save for the horses. Two pounds of horse feed doctored with a scoop of "Source" minerals.

The hens got in nice feathers, they looked shiny, so I gave them another dose. They get this mix with their regular oyster shells twice a week.

They started filling the nests up - I got 9 eggs in 2 days. Now I'm getting 4 eggs a day, in the middle of the winter, when they are supposed to be on vacation because there isn't enough daylight.

I don't have the heart to tell them to quit - even if they would listen. So I've got these eggs with extra thick shells that are more orange than an orange, or a carrot. According to some of the articles I've read, the food the hen eats has a tremendous affect on the Nutrients in the eggs (click here for more).

I gave a dozen to my parents. I figured if anyone needs to eat Super Eggs it's them.

I can't decide if it's in my best interest to fire up the incubator - to get more chickens, or to eat these eggs.

They make really good tasting cookies. Maybe that is a better use for them. Until the Holidays are over.

The saying goes "Make hay while the sun shines." Maybe I should eat the eggs while I'm getting them.