A week of firsts

WE GOT OUR FIRST EGG TODAY!

I went out to open the coop this morning and to fill the feeder and check on the water. When I started chasing the chickens out of the nesting boxes, I happened to notice a small brown egg in one of the boxes. Most likely, it is a pullet egg. Young hens will sometimes lay a small, yolkless egg the first couple of times. I actually was a little surprised to see an egg so soon. The girls are 18 weeks old now, and it is just a little soon. They are supposed to start laying at 20 weeks. I guess we have fattened them up enough to start laying a little early.

Another first this week is Melanie rode Star! I have been threatening to sell her if she won't work with her. I came home from the store on Saturday and she came running out to proclaim her accomplishment. She said Star was good and didn't buck or try to stomp on her. I think we are making progress. I also think the addition of a large, male horse has upset the order of the pasture and put Star in her place. Honestly, I don't spend too much time alone with her since I got kicked. I find myself tensing up when she comes near and especially if she turns towards me. It is a reflex now and since horses can sense these things, I don't want to press my luck.

We will be harvesting our sweet potatoes this week as well. They are ready to be picked and stored. I have read that you need to dry them at 80 degrees for a couple of weeks and constantly turn them so they don't get moldy or rotten. I have no idea how we will accomplish that~ Hopefully, they will be ok with 75 degrees inside the house.

I apologize for not updating the blog lately, but honestly, there hasn't been much to write about. Things sort of settled down between August and September. I think the next few weeks will be more interesting as we have crops coming in for harvest and the egg laying should pick up. We have a nice pumpkin patch this year. I hope to expand the garden next year to increase the pumpkin patch as they have been my favorite thing to grow.

Start saving your egg cartons! I think by mid-October we will have more eggs than we know what to do with!