Raising chickens

(Please click on the picture  for a full image)

Apparently, the business of raising egg-laying chickens is not all it’s cracked up to be.

Hens can be stubborn, recalcitrant and retentive. Traits which can seriously get in the way of their egg production.

I know for a fact that the chickens I speak of were coddled, cuddled and loved as babies. Except for the fact that several in the original group were later determined to be roosters and were subsequently wrested from the flock, those chickens who live next door have never been traumatized by anything.

Yet they refuse to lay.

There would be those among you who might suggest that the roosters should have been allowed to stay. You would not be among those of us who lived next door to the roosters.

These chickens have everything they need. A coop with a view. Good feed. Daily care. They were even blessed by our neighborhood minister who donned his most serious garb to let them know he meant business.

Still nothing. Or at least, almost nothing.

Now comes a last resort. Ceramic Nest Eggs. Ostensibly designed to encourage egg production.

Who knew that no chicken likes to be the first to lay? Now we learn that the sight of a ceramic egg assures her that all is well. Gets her in the mood. She can lay with no fear of reproachment.   Chickie see, chickie do. These so-called “Happy Hen Treats” are apparently a time-honored strategy.

We’ll see.

If worse comes to worst….and it may well….these little ceramic eggs, according to the package, can be a “great addition to a country themed home décor and can provide hours and hours of arts and craft fun.”

Oh, my. So many options. My fingers are crossed for the ones that can be poached or scrambled.