Turkey Tracks: January 17, 2010
Pearl’s First Egg
Pearl was born in early May. Rose Thomas hatched about 40 “blue egg” chickens in incubators. Among the batch were some pure Wheaten Americaunas, and Pearl was one of those. Rose gave her to me in late summer when we decided she was big enough to leave home. She was part of the young flock–including the Copper Black Marans from Georgia that Rose raised for both of us–I put together in late summer and early fall.
Pearl became the “low man on the totem pole” in the flock. She was the most timid and the last to meld with the group. She was very attached to me, and whenever I came outside–once I let the flock free range for the fall and winter–she found me and stayed right with me, talking away all the while. Here’s a picture of Pearl–she’s the tan chicken standing in front of the raspberries next to Rosie, a Copper Black Maran, and Pierre, the new, young rooster, also a CBM:
By early December Pearl was at least seven months old and had not yet layed an egg. Our two other Wheatens were molting, so we had had no pretty blue eggs for some months.
One early morning a day or so before Mike, Tami, and the four kiddos came for two weeks in mid-December, Pearl flew up from the ground and landed on my shoulder as I was standing in front of the coop. I picked her up, loved on her a bit, and put her down. Later that day she laid her first egg–on the mat in front of the back, kitchen door.
Here it is:
Pearl is laying regularly now, still comes to greet me in these cold mornings, and seems more comfortable with the whole flock.
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