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.

Watermelon Hits the Spot

The Poultry Palace hens had their first taste of watermelon this week.

It didn't take them long to figure out an ice cold watermelon 

hits the spot on a hot summer day.

I could tell Princess wanted the whole thing for herself.

But she let Queenie have some

and Duchess, too.

Queenie received a nip from Princess for daring to eat alone.

Together the three of them ate, and ate, and ate, 

until all that was left

was a watermelon smile on the lawn.

We've Had Some Rain

The Houston area has experienced terrible flooding this week. 

We escaped the worst of it here in Needville.

Queenie drinking water from a puddle in the yard.

The rain was heavy, starting on Sunday evening and continuing into Monday.

What we were left with when it stopped were a few puddles in the backyard that will take several days to dry out.

The garden got a good soaking, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but could cause the tomatoes to split.

All the fresh water coming down the river will mess up the fishing in Matagorda for at least a couple of weeks.

But, these are just minor inconveniences, I know. 

Some people have puddles in their homes.

Some people's cars got a soaking from the high water.

And some people will never fish again because they lost their lives.

We have nothing to complain about.

What we have is every reason to thank God for keeping us safe and to ask Him to comfort those who have lost so much. 

They're Getting Good at This

It's another three egg day.

Brought to you by...

The Royal Flock of Poultry Palace: Duchess of Yolk, Princess Lay-a, and Queen of Eggland.

Nice work girls!

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.

Greetings from the Flock

The royal flock of Poultry Palace...

Queen of Eggland...

Princess Lay-a...

and Duchess of Yolk...

wishes everyone a happy weekend!

Happy Friday From the Flock

Sometimes I wonder what our chickens are thinking and saying to each other...

Princess (left), Duchess (back), Queenie (front)

Princess: Is she taking our picture again?
Duchess: You know she is. I told you to take more time preening this morning.
Queenie: (moving closer to the camera) Well, I just had a dust bath and I'm looking quite lovely, if I do say so myself.

That might not be their thoughts exactly, but I'm sure they would want to wish you a happy Friday...if they could. See you next week.

It's a Hen's Life

Three weeks into chicken keeping and all is well.

We let the girls out of the palace on a regular basis. 

For now we supervise their outings. This might not protect them 100% from predators, but it makes us feel better.

Scratching and pecking goes on for a half hour or so, and then with no prodding from me...

the girls return to their living quarters, bellies full of weeds and bugs.

All that's left to do is preen and rest. Such is a hen's life at Poultry Palace and Gardens.

Happiness Is

...spending a sunny afternoon on Matagorda Beach. This was Friday, a glorious day to be outdoors, not a cloud in the sky.

...walking barefoot on the beach in January — a rare and wonderful thing this time of year.

...watching the waves crash on the jetty. Their power and rhythm were mesmerizing.

...returning home to chickens in the backyard. Sometimes you escape to find happiness and sometimes it's just outside your back door.

Wishing you many happy moments this week! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Introducing the Royal Flock

Here they are—our three hens!



Naming the girls turned out to be easy after we decided to call our coop Poultry Palace. It seemed obvious to us that a chicken living in a palace needed to have a royal title. There should be a queen, of course, and how about a princess, and maybe a duchess, too. And then the puns just came without even trying. We couldn't help ourselves. Laugh with us or forgives us, whichever applies.

Now, on to the introductions...

This is her royal highness the Queen of Eggland. We call her Queenie for short. She's a Golden Laced Wyandotte, a brown egg layer. She was my pick for our flock. I think her feather pattern is stunning—so regal. She had to be the queen, though we're not sure she's the one ruling the roost.

Here's a picture of me holding Queenie, so you can get a sense of her size. She and our other two hens are approximately four months old. They still have a lot of growing to do. It will another two months before they start laying eggs.

Our Rhode Island Red is named Princess Lay-a. We hope she lives up to her name and lays lots of beautiful brown eggs. We call her Princess or Prissy. In typical princess fashion, she has a knack of getting her own way and we think she's calling the shots in the palace. John picked her for her beautiful coloring and classic good looks.

And then there's the Duchess of Yolk, the sweetest hen in the flock. We call her Duchess or Duchie. She's a Barred Plymouth Rock and lays brown eggs, too.

This sweet hen has a way of stealing your heart. She is very friendly (or maybe very hungry) and will readily eat out of your hand. She doesn't mind being touched and is the easiest to photograph. I believe Duchess is the one that will become our pet chicken.

And so ends the introductions (if you know what I mean). I'll be back next week with more from Poultry Palace and Gardens.