I gathered these eggs last week, my first eggs from my new flock. I am now getting at least 2 dozen eggs a day from my old and new flock. My new flock consists mainly of Cuckoo Marans, but also a few Welsummers and Americaunas. ( They lay blue to green eggs) So I am getting baskets of pretty eggs, kind of looks like I get to gather Easter eggs all year round. I LOVE it!
Awhile back I posted about this little Cuckoo Maran. She is at least 3 years old now and I do not how how she manages, but she does.
As a new little chick she had curled up feet. I kept thinking she would die , but she did not. As she got older it was hard for her to get around the pen, or to perch...but I just could not cull ( kill ) her because she was so plucky. She just had to work very hard to do what came easy for the other hens, but she did not seem miserable. She touched my heart and I decided as long as she did well she could live, if she seemed to suffer I would remedy that.
Look at her curled up toes. She wobbles-falls, wobbles-falls, every where she needs to go. Well, she is still alive and doing very well...wobbling-falling everywhere,....
....And she is still regularly laying eggs. I don't think she read the poultry books that say she should be a very un-thrifty animal and not worth the effort and expense of keeping.Just goes to show we can't ALWAYS predict the outcome of some things in life and sometimes even the most pitiful creatures are sure worth a second glance and chance.
I gathered these eggs last week, my first eggs from my new flock. I am now getting at least 2 dozen eggs a day from my old and new flock. My new flock consists mainly of Cuckoo Marans, but also a few Welsummers and Americaunas. ( They lay blue to green eggs) So I am getting baskets of pretty eggs, kind of looks like I get to gather Easter eggs all year round. I LOVE it!
Awhile back I posted about this little Cuckoo Maran. She is at least 3 years old now and I do not how how she manages, but she does.
As a new little chick she had curled up feet. I kept thinking she would die , but she did not. As she got older it was hard for her to get around the pen, or to perch...but I just could not cull ( kill ) her because she was so plucky. She just had to work very hard to do what came easy for the other hens, but she did not seem miserable. She touched my heart and I decided as long as she did well she could live, if she seemed to suffer I would remedy that.
Look at her curled up toes. She wobbles-falls, wobbles-falls, every where she needs to go. Well, she is still alive and doing very well...wobbling-falling everywhere,....
....And she is still regularly laying eggs. I don't think she read the poultry books that say she should be a very un-thrifty animal and not worth the effort and expense of keeping.Just goes to show we can't ALWAYS predict the outcome of some things in life and sometimes even the most pitiful creatures are sure worth a second glance and chance.
24 comments:
Interesting. Apparently is she is healthy and happy or she wouldn't be laying all of those eggs.
What do you do with the extra eggs that you collect, Kathy?
What a sweet story and a good lesson about life.
Hope you have rested up from the weekend. Enjoy your day.
Aww....she is so sweet! I got my 3 Cuckoo Maran from HomemakerAng a few months ago, and I must say, they lay the biggest eggs of all my girls. They are rather skitzy, and tend to back off when I come out to the coop, but I love 'em!
Oh Kathy she is so sweet! I would have definitely kept her, eggs or not.
poor little feet - but you did the right thing - if they have a fighting spirit we have to give them a chance - I have a little wether who couldn't move his back legs for more than a week after he was born - but he'd drag himself around and find a doe to suckle from and we bottle feed him supplemental - he is still tiny but SUCH a sweetie - we all tend to have our crippled parts and times - good we are given more chances isn't it? sweet post and beautiful eggs!
what a nice story and there is a good lesson it it as well. You sure are getting some pretty eggs!
Why does "If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy post" show your blog about my birthday right after today's blog states "Just goes to show we can't ALWAYS predict the outcome of some things in life and sometimes even the most pitiful creatures are sure worth a second glance and chance."
Just having fun with ya sister!
Love,
Joni
Kathy, that is so true about both animals and people. We all have problems and shortcomings and struggles or things about us that aren't perfect. That does not mean we can not be productive or that we never experience happiness.
Lovely eggs! What fun that must be to gather them each day.
She is a blessing. Now if we could get the world to see it the same way about human life. I believe nature has a lot of lessons we can learn from and the eggs are just a bonus.
There are two stories here. That of the hen and yours. I hope I have a chance to meet you one day. Blessings...Mary
Kathy, this post reminded me of a video. I posted it on my Dancing With Daisy blog.
You can see it here if you are interested. Thank you for sharing this story.
Ohhhh...what a sweet old darlin! I'm sure you take extra good care of her too..she deserves it! Animals always give us so much more than we give them! Come say hi :D
Dear Kathy,
I don't have time to write a lot today, but I want you to know I'm thinking of you and always appreciate your thoughtful comments left at the Cabin!
I loved this post (actually I could spend hours here!)and the life lesson with it!
Have a wonderful day at Cedar Pond!
Thanks so much and blessings to you and love from the Cabin,
Claudia O.
I'm so glad that you have a big heart!
Do you sell your eggs? We sell a few of ours but mostly they go to family and friends...sometimes strangers.
I love that you have allowed her to live in the special way she was meant to live. She is a sweet little thing. Thanks for sharing her story, it made me smile. btw - Your bounty of eggs are beautiful.
Love this story and the fact you have such a beautiful homestead. You and your family have accomplished so much over the years; it's always a pleasure to stop in and see what's happening at Spot On.
I don't keep chickens but do buy eggs from the kids up the valley.
I love the little crippled chicken. She is so sweet and determined. I'm so glad you let her live. My daughter Denise had a sick horse at one time and after doing every thing she could for him. She told me that when he lost a certain spark she saw in his eye...she called it the life spark..she would know when to let him go. He lived quite a long while after that and sure enough, she knew when it was time to let him go.
Oh the poor thing. And all those eggs. You must give or sell them to friends...or bake a lot of cakes!!
I just love the photos of the Cuckoo Maran and the chicks. These are beautiful photos and the chickens are so pretty. I wish I had a place to keep chickens.
This is such a great life lesson! So glad your little Hen is giving you beautiful eggs and that she is able to make it in life!
Mary, she is healthy apart from her feet, and you're right, she would not lay all these eggs otherwise.
I give away a lot of eggs to friends and family. Some I sell.
Mildred, I am still resting up after my weekend!
Farmgirl Cyn,My Marans are not too skitzy and their eggs are chocolate brown. The Marans seem to be good at laying all year round and I have a few who want to go broody.
Susie, I can tell you would!
LindaSue, yes, her poor feet cause me to wince and I am assuming her back must be sore for the way she has to maneuver with those poor feet. However, she tries to protect her eggs from me gathering them...and I totally agree with you about us all having our poor crippled parts.
Jennifer, I am getting some nice eggs. One of my chickens even seems to be laying pink eggs!
Joni, I have no idea how the "linkdwithin' connects posts...maybe the tags connected them..ha ha! Love you sister!
Daisy, so very true! Your most recent blog caused me to weep , what a wonderful video....thank-you!
Wobegon Cottage,I totally agree with you!
Mary, thank-you so much. I have often thought I would love to have a cup of coffee with you , oh...and some of your delicious baking!
Julie, I know my animals give me so much more than I get from them. There is a lot in the Bible about being kind and caring towards the animals God has blessed us with, and if one would read the Bible there are so many verses that state this...and also give us a kind and commonsense view of God's creation!
Teeny Tiny Cabin, thank-you! High praise and a blessing.We did have a wonderful time here today .
Flower, sounds like you and I have the same outlet for our eggs. I might post about this later too, I have had some interesting experiences regarding selling my eggs.
Leslie, from reading your blog I KNOW she would be laying eggs for you had she been one of your chicks! You are a pretty tender-hearted lady and your animals show this.
Thistle Cove, Sandra~I am glad you buy your eggs from neighbors. There is a lot of labor and love in raising chickens ( at least from me and many I know) so for them to get a little money for this is wonderful!And thank-you!
Audrye, your daughter Denise is quite amazing, and I know she is very good to her animals. I remember the boxer she loved and lost....and I also know what you speak of when you mention "life-spark". I had a dog who was in pain and every day dragged himself around but was still full of life. Then one day the "spark" was gone and nothing but pain and the desire to hide away and die was there....
Noble Pig,YES to all of the things you wrote!
Brenda Kay,thank-you.It really does not take much space to keep a few hens, especially Bantams.Chickens are so worth the time and effort too....but some places do not allow the keeping of poultry..however, there are always local egg providers and they are worth finding and cultivating.
Shelley, thank-you. This afternoon she scolded me for taking her eggs, so she is still a spunky gal!
My chickens have not laid one egg in 2 months I ca't figure it out.
Such a good reminder and life lesson here. I needed that today. God bless you and yours.
Just in case someone sees this in their chick it is completely curable. It is from a B2 deficiency in the chick. You make tiny cardboard cut outs of their feet, tape their toes gently but securely to it and get more B2/riboflavin in their diet. That's it. And you can easily save your chicken from this same fate.
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