Brrrrrrrr...

It's been a little while since our last update. The holidays and the extreme cold had us hibernating inside the house - trying to avoid having to venture outside at all costs. Keeping the coop warm has been a challenge. Many days we kept the girls inside as they didn't really like the cold and snow anyway. A water bowl with a warmer has definitely helped. All the girls started showing a bit of damage to their combs, so we tried to protect them with some petroleum jelly. They just loved being chased around in freezing temps (think it was 10 degrees that day) just so I could glop some Vaseline on their heads (yeah right!). We really should have video taped the entire endeavor. Even the eggs were freezing because we couldn't grab them till after we got home from work. BTW, a frozen egg looks like an Egg Slushy on the inside.

Elvis has been returned to the flock. They other girls still pick on her a bit and so she tends to stay off on her own. Away from trouble I guess. Egg production has increased despite the winter chill. Once we moved Elvis into the Hen Hospital, all the girls started laying and they have stayed that way with her back in the flock. We are getting 3 to 5 eggs everyday. In fact we have had 22 eggs since Sunday. I think it might be time to start thinking about selling them and not just giving eggs away to friends and family. I started keeping a daily journal on egg production and coop conditions. With feed and bedding costs, maybe we can get an idea as to what the price should be for a dozen eggs.