Egg Tally for July

Queen of Eggland

Thank you, Queenie, for giving us 20 eggs last month. You will never win an egg laying contest in this flock, but you're the clear winner when it comes to beauty. That's why you're number one in my book and the queen of Poultry Palace.

Princess Lay-a

Well done, Princess. You laid 27 eggs in July. Even though the heat set you back a bit, you didn't let it it knock you off your game completely. I'm very happy with your results. And, I'd be even happier if you would learn to stay off the back porch and out of my geraniums.

Duchess of Yolk

Settle down, Duchess. There's no need to ruffle your feathers. You are Hen of the Month once again with a total of 28 eggs. You also laid the largest egg. It's not the biggest you've ever laid, but it's a respectable 1.87 ounces. When the weather cools off, I'll be expecting you to reach the 2 ounce mark...no pressure, though.

That makes a grand total of 71 eggs for July—just one egg shy of six dozen. Not too shabby, girls, not too shabby.

How Many Eggs in June?

The grand total of eggs collected from the Royal Hens of Poultry Palace in June was 78.

Egg collecting is a favorite pastime of the toddler set. Just ask Myles.

That's six less than in May and is to be expected during the hot summer months.

I'm not sure how, but not a single egg was broken in the process. 

Queenie gave us 24 eggs. Princess and Duchess are tied at 27 each.

The quicker we get there the more fun it will be. Rose was a joyful helper.

It all comes down to the largest egg laid to break the tie.

Queenie is out of the running, but for the record her largest egg in June weighed 1.73 ounces.
Princess Lay-a's largest egg was 1.80 ounces. And, Duchess beat them both with an egg weighing 1.94 ounces.

Congratulations, Duchess of Yolk, you win the Hen of the Month award for June! Extra mealworms coming your way.

Egg Totals for May

We are proud to announce that the hens of Poultry Palace worked together in May to produce a total of 84 eggs!

That's just two less than April, which considering the stress of heat, humidity, and rain (oh, so much rain) is excellent.

Here's the breakdown:

Queenie—25 eggs

Doesn't she look proud! 

Princess—29 eggs

She is an amazing hen.

Her laying streak ended in May at 74 eggs laid without missing a day.

She then promptly laid a 1.9 ounce egg, the largest egg so far.

Duchess—30 eggs

She wins Hen of the Month for laying the most eggs.

Bowing to Overwhelming Applause

Way to go, ladies! You deserve a standing ovation for your performance.

Egg Totals for April

We are loving the fresh eggs from our hens!

In April the Royal Flock of Poultry Palace gave us 86 eggs, which is seven dozen plus two. That's a perfect amount for the two of us—we aren't having to buy eggs at the store and we don't have a large excess in the fridge. We love to share eggs with our friends and family, so if the eggs start to accumulate, we give them away. We gave away one dozen last month.

We have gotten much better at recognizing which egg belongs to which chicken, so I'm confident in the individual totals for April.

Queen of Eggland—Golden Laced Wyandotte

Queenie laid 27 eggs in 30 days. Her largest egg weighed 1.73 ounces. Last week she skipped two days, which makes me wonder if the warmer temperatures are affecting her production. Even so, her lay rate is still very good.

Duchess of Yolk—Plymouth Barred Rock

Duchess laid 29 eggs in 30 days. Her largest egg weighed 1.94 ounces. We are predicting that she will be the first of our hens to lay a two ounce egg. She is an excellent layer.

Princess Lay-a—Rhode Island Red

Princess is Hen of Month for April, laying 30 eggs in 30 days. And what's even more remarkable is that she has laid an egg every day for the last 59 days! We thought her streak might be coming to end last week when for two days in a row, her eggs were not as dark as normal and had an unusual (for her) rough texture. She pulled out of it though and her eggs are back to normal. Her largest egg in April weighed 1.87 ounces. 

That brings the total number of eggs for the year to 166 (13.8 dozen). Getting fresh eggs from our own hens is a beautiful thing!

Egg Totals for February and March

It's a well known fact that we spoil our chickens, but they are spoiling us, too...with eggs. They have become eggceptional layers. We're keeping records of egg production for the flock and for each hen individually. I plan to post the monthly totals here.

Queenie was the only hen to lay eggs in February. Her first egg came on February 26. She laid a total of three eggs that month.

Our Golden Laced Wyandotte, Queen of Eggland

For the month of March, which has 31 days, she laid 29 eggs.

Our Rhode Island Red, Princess Lay-a

Princess laid her first egg on March 1. She's been a champ from the start, laying 30 eggs in 31 days.

Our Barred Plymouth Rock, Duchess of Yolk

Duchess didn't lay her first egg until March 11. In the 21 days of March that she was producing eggs, she laid 18.

In summary...

February — 3 eggs
Queenie (3)

March — 77 eggs
Queenie (29), Princess (30), Duchess (18)

Year to Date (through March) — 80 eggs

See, I told you we're being spoiled!