The Gems (so-called because I named them all after pretty rocks) hatched on April 24. They are now 19 weeks old. They are old enough to start laying eggs.

My ten old girls (those in the HenCam coop) provide only one or two eggs a day. Mostly, it’s Betsy and a Polish laying. These are tiny eggs. Not enough to make a custard with. I’m hankering for custard.

Some breeds lay at 18 weeks, some not until 22. If your chicks hatched late spring or summer, they’ll be affected by the shorter daylight hours of fall and winter, and won’t lay until February or March. But my Gems are ready. I’m ready. Right now I’d rather have a dark-brown egg from my Welsummer Jasper than a golden egg.

Steve hung the nesting boxes last week. I waited to install them in the barn because the Gems first needed to learn how to roost. Given a choice, a pullet will chose a nesting box over a roosting bar, but you don’t want her sleeping and pooping in there, dirtying eggs and the bottoms of the hens who do use the boxes for laying. Once your pullets’ bedtime routine is established, but before they begin to lay, is the time to introduce the boxes.

I like metal nesting boxes because wooden ones can harbor mites. These boxes have removable bottoms for ease of cleaning and a bar in the front so the girls can hop up and look in. Incredibly, right when I was about to go on-line and buy nesting boxes, I won these on a giveaway from a blog I’ve been following for quite sometime! Pam is a farm woman in Georgia and her talented husband, called Farm Man crafts all sorts of things, from boats to soap molds. He builds these boxes and sells them on-line. As a general rule, you need one box for every five hens, so the girls could use another. I have too many nesting boxes in the HenCam barn, so I might move one over.

Chickens innately want to lay in a safe, semi-dark place. But their idea of a good place is not necessarily yours! If they’re free-ranging, they’ll find a nook in a stone wall or a hiding place under a bush. So, when your girls begin to lay you might want to keep them from wandering. Keep them near the coop and install inviting nesting boxes. Attach the boxes about a foot off the ground (although they can be higher if they’re near a roost so they’re easy to access.) A chicken might be surprised the first time or two an egg comes out. It’s not unusual to find an egg on the floor. But soon enough, the hen will want to find a nest to lay in. They especially like to lay where there are already eggs. That’s why I’ve put a wooden egg in each of the nesting boxes. Chickens are quite gullible.

Sadly, there is one Gem that won’t be laying eggs. One of the cochins in the chick order was weak from the start. She was half the size of the others and walked with a stiff gait, as if her feet or joints hurt, though an external examination showed nothing wrong. I named her Little Blue Sapphire. Her feathers were a gorgeous slate grey. She ate. She grew. But she never looked comfortable. She’d walk a few steps and sit down. I didn’t become too attached. A hen that’s not vigorous has something very wrong with her. Two days ago her legs were no longer able to hold her up, and yesterday they stopped working. Little Blue couldn’t even bend them under herself to sit up. Steve euthanized her. It was the right thing to do.

I know that I have new readers because of the Country Living Magazine contest. I could have left this news out. Writing about death is not a way to win votes. But, this is not one of those “cute animal of the day” blogs. When you have chickens, you have losses. And yet the experience, the whole of it, is worth it. I’ve heard from many of you who have told me that watching the HenCam and reading about my animals is what you turn to when you need some sanity in your workday. Some of you have been with me for years and have seen real heartbreak, and yet stay with me because the life going on here in my backyard is joyful. Chickens live in the moment, and that moment is always tinged by curiosity and optimism. Visit with them awhile and some of that will rub off on you.

I’m optimistic. I’m looking forward to eggs.

I’m a finalist for the Country Living Magazine Blue Ribbon Blogger Awards! I’m tickled pink (isn’t that a great phrase, and isn’t it great that I have a reason to use it?) HenBlog is one of three blogs in the pet category. That’s right! Pet. What’s amazing is that my friend, Melissa’s blog Tilly’s Nest, is also a finalist. Who would have thought that two blogs about chickens would be in the running?

The judges will be picking the winner next week, but YOU can vote for the Reader’s Choice Award. I would so appreciate it if you vote for HenBlog. (You can vote once per day.) I’ve been writing this blog, without a break, for six years and it’s your response to my work that keeps me going. Besides, Agatha is ready for her turn in the spotlight. Do you think Country Living would welcome a chicken at the awards ceremony in New York City?

UPDATE: Survey Monkey (where you vote) has a glitch and isn’t allowing anyone to vote more than once. If you “clear your cookies” it will work. If you’re like me, and the only cookies you know how to make disappear are the ones in your pantry, then there’s no fix. I’ve emailed the Country Living web editor, and will let you know if she can resolve the problem. I appreciate everyone’s vote, and will let you know if the situation changes.

Please vote! And remember to vote every day!

Some people relax in August. I’m told that the last month of summer is for slowing down and putting your feet up. My feet didn’t get any rest at all. They took me the proverbial far and wide. They walked with my husband and sons in Maine. Next, I flew to San Francisco with my oldest son to settle him into his freshman year at college,

where my feet took me to Golden Gate Park and stumbled upon an historic carousel. It not only had horses, but also dogs, mules, a chicken and goats!

I came home in time to batten down the hatches for Irene (who swept past here to wreck havoc in Vermont). Then it was on to Washington DC.

My youngest son and husband are space geeks. We spent a day and a half at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, where we touched a moon rock. A real one. How amazing is that? We walked to the Spy Museum, where I discovered that spies can use eggs to send secret messages. Write on a hard-boiled egg shell with special, invisible ink, and the message will be revealed when you peel the egg! Unfortunately, the museum didn’t provide the formula.

We also went to the National Zoo, where I thought about adding other birds to my menagerie. What about a mouse-eating heron?

Or the elusive and lethal Cassowary? (Which, by the way, is probably a dinosaur. Read about it in Sy Montgomery’s book, Birdology.)

I think I’ll stick with chickens.

My feet have walked me to so many places in August. They need a break and I’m hoping to  stay put in September, but I have a feeling I’ll be rested and up and walking far and wide before the end of the month.

It rained and it blew and it rained some more. Water poured off the roof, leaves came down and the pond filled to the brim. The chickens were annoyed to be kept inside. The goats were mollified with hay.

But, we never lost power and didn’t sustain any dramatic damage.

The weather the rest of this week is supposed to be gorgeous up and down the Eastern Seaboard. That’s great, because we’re heading down to Washington DC to take our youngest son to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and go on a tour of the Capitol. It’s been a long-planned for trip. We’re amazed and relieved that DC was spared. I’ve a feeling that DC won’t have the usual summer crowds as nearby communities of several hundred thousand people don’t yet have power. It’s our civic duty to help the economy by visiting!

A pet-sitter will be here taking care of the menagerie. I’ll catch up with everyone next week!

Last night, while watching The Weather Channel, IT Guy typed some code into his laptop, and now you can see the wind speed here at Little Pond Farm (along with the temperature that we’ve always had on the top right of the HenCam screen). That is, you’ll be able to keep tabs on our weather until the power goes out.

Today is the lull before the storm. The animals are acting 100 % normally. Obviously, I can’t rely on them to let me know that a hurricane is brewing.

The animals are relaxing on this hot, humid day, but we humans are busy. I’ll be bringing in those dog beds and the furniture from this deck off my office and that will concern Lily. She hates change, almost as much as she hates seeing me pack a suitcase. She’s an aware, smart dog. Unlike Scooter. As long as there’s a lap to sit in, Scooter is content. He was quite satisfied last night, keeping us company, while we watched reports of impending disaster.

Today I’ll be filling the chickens’ waterers and also a large bucket in the barn. The storm will last less than a day here, but if the power goes out, the well’s pump stops, and we won’t have water. There will, however, be plenty of water coming down out of the sky. If we get the 5 inches predicted, the pond will overflow. The Beast and her minions will have new territory to explore. That will make them quite happy.