Lulu Lays Large Eggs

Lulu started laying eggs again after she finished molting a couple months ago.  We can tell when she's going to lay because she eats crushed egg shells.  I bought oyster shell to make sure the chickens got enough calcium to lay eggs with strong shells.  Lulu never was interested in the oyster shell and her eggs sometimes had weak shells.  I was afraid of her breaking an egg inside herself and having troubles so I keep a dish of crushed egg shells by her food to provide her with calcium.  Lulu usually eats them the day before she lays.


Here is Lulu's nesting box set in the corner of the closet.  When we travelled to my mom's birthday, we took it with us and set it on the floor in the back of the van.  When Lulu needed to lay an egg she would jump off the seat and settle in her nesting box.  She usually didn't like to lay while the van was moving so she would sit there and wait until we stopped the van for a meal or a break.  We had a blanket on the seat that hung down almost to the floor.  Lulu would pull the blanket over herself when she was in the nesting box so we couldn't see her.  I guess she likes her privacy.

Here is Lulu in her nesting box.  Note the awful wallpaper behind her.  When we moved here several years ago, the house was mostly panelling and loud wallpaper.  I've been stripping paper and painting every winter and was going to do the kitchen this winter until I broke the bone in my foot.  Oh well, next year.

Lulu sings her egg song before she climbs into the box.  Most chickens sing when they are finished but she likes to announce that she's going to lay.  She'll announce she's coming into the house even before she climbs the stairs.  Once in the house, she lets us know she's on her way to her nesting box.



She is very nosy and has been known to get out of the nesting box to check on what I'm doing if I happen to be in the kitchen out of her sight.  She'll squawk a bit, eat a bit and head back into the box to finish her job.  After she lays her egg, she'll often go back in again after awhile as if she is going to lay a second egg.  We're not sure why she does this, but she goes back more times than she doesn't.  We call it "Lulu laying her phantom or invisible eggs again."

Once Lulu started laying again, she was laying about 3 to 5 eggs a week.  While we were gone for those 10 days, Lulu laid an egg every second day.  Then we returned home she stopped completely for over 2 weeks and just started laying again on Monday.  It is as if she didn't have time to lay once she got home as she needed to take many dustbaths and to check out the whole yards.  She had much area to cover - places to scratch, things to eat - a very busy girl!

Lulu's eggs are very large.  They don't fit in an egg carton made for extra-large eggs.  Here are three of her eggs and an extra-large store bought egg.  Sometimes the other chickens would lay large egg that were double yolks, but Lulu's haven't been.  They are just super-duper sized eggs.

Once she lays her egg, she comes looking for treats.  I usually give her some unsalted peanuts which she just gobbles up.  If I don't give her peanuts, she'll stand by the fridge hoping something will jump out for her.  She has me well trained, doesn't she?  ;)