Be Ye Separate

The yokes on me!

Blessings!

   As most of you know, having farm animals makes for a place of constant activity of one kind or another:) If our goats aren't keeping us busy, then it's the chickens making life interesting:P

   We have a large pen and henhouse for our chickens. They are well kept and have plenty of room. But that's not good enough! They MUST have the run of the entire place in order to feel that they've contributed in some fashion or other. The have to visit the buck each day to make sure he's enjoying himself. Then then have to visit with Mr. Smith (our miniature horse) and help him eat the leftover grain he spilled that morning. The off to the Nigerian pen to let them know they haven't forgotten them and the Nubian pen to pretend they belong there. And last but not least, they must let he dog and cat know that they will go where no chicken has gone before! Causing the dog to have fits because she can't herd them all at the same time and the cat runs and hides in self defense because two of the chickens simply will not leave her tail alone!:P

   The chickens are only 4 months old. We have been blessed with early layers. Again I'm not complaining but...the ones that are laying aren't being very discreet about it! What I mean is...it's like a big easter egg hunt EVERY DAY! One of them seems bent on laying her egg in the feed bin that my daughter forgets to put the lid on. If it's not open when she's ready she will lay it right next to the bin...usually in a place that we have a very hard time reaching. Another lays her egg just inside the wheel of our camper. Yet another lays hers inside the duck nest (she doesn't have enough of her own?) while she is off her nest getting something to eat and drink. And still yet another lays hers inside the brooder! THIS one I send our Sarah in to get it. I cannot climb into the brooder by any stretch of my ridiculous imagination and the silly thing lays the egg all the way in the farthest corner from the door! And one lays just under the edge of the henhouse. At least 5 of them are laying inside the nest boxes IN the henhouse so we are thankful for that:)

   And now for the last 4 days, one of them is laying triple yokes! We are pretty sure we know which one it is but wow! Do I treat it like one egg? or three? This particular chicken lays HUGE eggs! They are bigger than our Muskovey eggs! And today...she gave us a quad yoked egg!

   You can see that the fourth yoke sort of broke when we cracked the egg. I've had double yokes quite often in our farming life but never triple or quad! And from the size of the egg, I worry that she might be taking on more than her fair share (if you know what I mean:s)

   Well, we've decided that we need to do something about the wandering hens. It's time to put a lid on the hen yard! We were going to put chicken wire over the whole thing but instead we've decided to put shade cloth up. It won't allow them to get caught in it if they try to fly out again and it will afford them a little shade around the pen during those very hot days.

   Okay, I've shared my funny for today:) Well, at least for now8^D

God be with thee!

Sister Lori

Oh My Stars

{ 16:56, Wednesday, July 18, 2007 } { Posted by cindy }

I have never seen more then a double yoked egg. That is amazing. Thank you for sharing I can't wait to show the children.

Blessings,

~~I have never seen it either. I had HEARD of triple yoke but never seen one of those either until she started laying them:) Maybe I should cut back on the lay feed?:P
God be with thee!
Sister Lori

Edited by SisterLori on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at 20:38

My goodness!

{ 17:08, Wednesday, July 18, 2007 } { Posted by Joanne }

I didn't think something like this existed!!! Thinking about contacting the Guinness Book of World Records?! LOL! I can't wait to show my husband the pic!
~Joanne~

~~Now there's a thought:P I must admit I've heard stories but I always thought they were just that until the story was mine!:P I wonder what she'll do tomorrow:s
God be with thee!
Sister Lori

Edited by SisterLori on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at 20:39

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{ 17:25, Wednesday, July 18, 2007 } { Posted by Rhen }

Don't you just love the smiles, aggravation and suprises that come with chickens. We do too!!
All for His glory, ~Rhen

~~I do love it. In fact, it is one of the things that makes it worth continuing on our plain path.
God be with thee!
Sister Lori

Edited by SisterLori on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at 20:40

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{ 21:02, Wednesday, July 18, 2007 } { Posted by meme21713 }

never heard of more than a double yoke..wow that is strange..lol..But this is a question me and another blogger is wondering. If you have a double yoke and it is fertile will there be 2 baby chicks if hatched? hummmm
Debbie

~~Actually, no. In our experience, the hens that commonly laid double yokes were technically sterile. Our neighbor (90) confirmed this for us this afternoon. He says that while he had his chicken/egg business he learned that chickens that are crossed with the wrong breed will become sterile much like certain ducks can.
Being a strong believer, he also says, BUT...with God, anything is possible:) So who really knows:P
God be with thee!
Sister Lori

Edited by SisterLori on Thursday, July 19, 2007 at 01:00