Give Credit Where Credit's Due

We have a second egg layer in the flock! We know this because we collected two eggs on Tuesday.

The new egg is in the middle. On either side are the eggs from our first laying hen. There's just enough difference in color and size for us to tell them apart.

We were expecting Queenie to start laying soon, so we assumed the new egg belonged to her.

Queen of Eggland

I wanted to be sure though, so on Wednesday I put myself on egg watch. I kept a close eye on the coop and sure enough, Queenie went in the nest box. An hour later she emerged.

I felt certain I would find an egg in the nest. And I did...but it wasn't the egg I was expecting to find. Her egg looked exactly like the eggs we've been getting since the beginning.

What? You don't mean?? Oops! We were sure Princess Lay-a was responsible for all those eggs. We've been giving credit to the wrong bird.

How could you not know?

No wonder Queenie's giving me the evil eye. It looks like we owe Queen of Eggland an apology...and maybe a few extra mealworms to make amends.

Let the record show that Queenie was the first of the Poultry Palace flock to lay eggs.

We're now assuming Princess Lay-a is the second egg layer, but you see how well that worked out the first time, so I think we should just wait until we can catch whoever it is in the act.

My beak is sealed.

I'm sure Queenie knows, but she's not telling.