The temperatures here are in the low 30s today. It’s snowing. It’s blowing. My fingers are so numb from working outside cleaning the chicken waterers, I can hardly feel them. But despite the cold, the snow and the wind, one courageous little chicken mustered up the courage to lay her first egg today.
Along with the daily collection of six eggs from the red, black and leghorn chickens I found a small, bluish-green surprise. It could only have been from one of the two Easter egg chickens.
Now the question is, which Easter egg chicken produced this winter surprise?
Was it Meredith?
Meredith
Or was it Dorothy?
Dorothy
The chickens aren’t talking. They’re wily that way.
P.S.
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Hi! I'm Robin Ripley author of Wisdom for Home Preservers, published by Taunton Press. I am also co-author of Grocery Gardening. Bumblebee is about my life in rural Maryland, my garden and my love of food, my little dogs and pet chickens. You can follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook. Thank you for visiting!
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Dorothy is lovely. What breed is she?
Hi Rick,
Actually, they call both Meredith and Dorothy Easter egg chickens! Go figure.
Robin
I was talking to a small chicken farmer recently. (He isn’t small and his chickens aren’t small but his farm is.) I told him I was interested, like most of the world it seems, in having a few chickens in my back yard. I think I have enough space and I know I have enough privacy. He said to me “fine idea…just don’t turn them into pets.” I smiled and thanked him, and as I walked away I though “well of course I would turn them into pets.” Meredith and Dorothy are quite beautiful. (PS: Loved your remark on Garden Rant … “I strongly suspect the reason there is such a dearth of good garden hardgoods is that gardeners are, by and large, cheap.” Made me laugh!
It’s a very pretty egg, regardless of who laid it!
.-= Carol´s last blog ..The Plant Purchase Personality Test =-.
I’ve seen a green chicken egg. It is really different looking. I wonder if it tastes differently from the white and brown eggs.
.-= Mr. McGregor’s Daughter´s last blog ..Is My Freudian Slip Showing? =-.
I’m curious too! Does it taste the same?
.-= Robin´s last blog ..Joy, My Wish for You, (and Spam) =-.
I don’t raise chickens but benefit from the bounty of a nearby neighbor who does. Each week, we visit to buy a dozen eggs in the same lovely colors and sizes as yours. A while back, we went to eat at a restaurant with friends who ordered eggs. The anemic yolks and rubbery whites neither looked nor tasted anything like the eggs raised by chickens with love.
The neighbors whose chickens we tend to when they need us lay eggs like that. Sometimes they look more blue and other times they have a slight greenish tint. We like to call them green so we can honestly say we eat green eggs and ham.
.-= Kylee from Our Little Acre´s last blog ..Procrastination Pays Off in Bulbs =-.
Love the blue/green egg! Our four hens are hanging in there with the cold so far but it’s brrrr cold out there!
Hi Robin! I have 5 Easter Egg chickens, along with some other types. But they are still young (about 2 months), they haven’t started laying yet. I can’t wait for their eggs! Meredith and Dorothy are so pretty! Our Easter Egg chickens are still developing their colors and feathers – I notice they are changing colors alot these days as they mature, but I think they will be darker like Meredith. I’m also in MD – it is nice to find a local MD blog online!
Hi Robin,
I’m still trying to talk my husband into a few chickens. He knows they will be named (of course) and be pets. Is there any other way! Your pictures are fantastic. I buy my eggs (all colors like yours) at our local co-op. And yes! they are totally different than what you get in a restaurant.
Hi Robin, what beauties those hens are! My daughter who raises chickens always called hers easter eggers. I thought she was making it up, but that must really be the name. Nice looking eggs. You could make a line of paints with those colors. 🙂
Frances
Hi Robin, what beauties those hens are! My daughter who raises chickens always called hers easter eggers. I thought she was making it up, but that must really be the name. Nice looking eggs. You could make a line of paints with those colors. 🙂
Frances
.-= Frances´s last blog ..How To-Bonsai In Hypertufa =-.
I am soooo envious – would love a garden big enough for chickens…you don’t know how good you’ve got it :0)
.-= Susan´s last blog ..return to fluff =-.
What a pretty blue egg!
.-= Shannon´s last blog ..Harvest Update =-.
Lovely Eggs! I believe that the original name for Easter Egg Chickens is Araucana Chickens and they originated in Chile. We also get “easter eggs” from a gent at my husband’s work. They taste the same – fresh!
What beautiful eggs! And lovely chickens!
By the glean in her eye, I say it was Meredith! H.
.-= Helen Yoest @ Gardening With Confidence´s last blog ..Making a Hypertufa Trough – Better Homes and Gardens =-.
i fondly remember as a youngster having chickens and eating the fresh eggs. mother preferred having the smaller chicken with feathers on their legs. it was a lot of fun just watching them. when i got on my own i eventually ended up with some. those pictures brought back some fond memories.
Ariconan chickens produce blueish green eggs. I did a tile job once for a woman who raised them. She gave me a dozan of the most beautiful eggs I have ever seen. Nell
The eggs are beautiful and so are “the girls”.
What beautiful Easter Eggers.
.-= Diana ´s last blog ..Curley Lays an Egg! =-.
[…] this. Baby has really, really big feet like T. Boone Chickens. And Baby looks like a cross between Dorothy and Meredith, the Easter egg chickens. We will never know who the birth mother is without DNA […]