Today one of the chicks laid an egg. The egg was small and didn’t have enough calcium deposited on it for the shell to be hard, but it was the first egg.
The egg was laid next to the chicks roost, so it looks like it caught the hen by surprised … I suppose I can’t really call them chicks anymore, the babies have grown up.
When the chicks arrived, they were 8 weeks old … it is now another 12 weeks since then, so they are about 20 weeks of age. That’s just about spot on for development from chick to pullet.
The cock has grown into a magnificent young rooster and he struts around the coop just like he is supposed to. His development has been good, developing his comb and wattles early and then his height and greater size.
The hens are all gorgeous young chickens indeed.
I expect that the first hen to lay will be a bit inconsistent in her laying initially but her body and behaviour will adjust to the new stage of her life.
Our older chickens, the White Leghorns are now pretty much off lay, they seem to have reached the end of their laying life, so it’s retirement for them. I intend to allow the chickens a graceful and peaceful retirement. Although the hens will not produce many eggs in their retirement, they will provide the pullets with the wisdom of their age.
I now just need to find a new home for the new rooster.
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