Sunshine & Oyster Cracker

Sunshine has been driven crazy by the two broody girls, Dolly and Autumn, my two Lavender Silkies, in the nesting boxes.  She is so fascinated by the two girls and what they are sitting upon.

I have witnessed  the girls after they have laid their eggs.  Usually, Tilly, Oyster Cracker, and Sunshine stand up after laying their egg and roll it around their feet with their beaks.  Somewhat perplexed and somewhat amazed, they seem to be intrigued with what just came out of their bodies.  Usually, I retrieve them when I see this, fearing that the eggs will break.  As I hold the eggs, they are always still warm to the touch.

I believe Sunshine, my Buff Orpington, is trying to make sense of the entire situation.  Over the past couple of weeks, she has been incredibly concerned with why the Silkies stay in the nesting boxes and why they are sometimes sitting on eggs.  She watches as I reach underneath each girl and retrieve their hoarded treasures.  Yesterday afternoon, I retrieved one of Oyster Cracker’s huge eggs from underneath Autumn.  In the egg’s end, I found a hole.

The hole was about the size of a pencil eraser.  It was perfectly round, the size of a beak.  The membrane encasing the yolk and albumen was still intact.  Thank goodness, who ever pecked that hole did not get a taste of the egg.  I have heard horror stories about chickens eating their own eggs.  I also did not feel like giving Autumn a bath.  Thank goodness she was not covered with sticky, slimy, wet egg in this hot and humid weather we have been having.

I have a high suspicion that Detective Sunshine is responsible for the egg with the hole.  Most likely this was a casualty as she investigated the chicken and the egg.

Photo Credit:  Tilly’s Nest