There are seven hens in the Little Barn, one of which is an old bantam White Leghorn named Betsy Ross. She no longer lays eggs, but the others, the Ladies, are heading into their peak laying year. They hatched last spring, fully matured over the winter, and are now laying eggs in the nesting boxes, and in their favorite place, the rabbit hutch.

Despite the snow on the ground and the thermometer at zero this morning, now through the end of March will see the maximum egg production for the year. That’s because the length of daylight tells the hens it’s time to lay eggs, but that it’s not yet time to go broody. This weather is actually better than mid-summer, when sweltering heat depresses laying. Right now, the Ladies are cozy in their coop, and warm enough in the sunshine, to be able to crank out the eggs.

Yesterday I collected six from the six Ladies.

Yes, even Veronica laid an egg! She’s a Cuckoo Marans, a breed that is supposed to lay chocolate brown eggs. She doesn’t. In fact, the darkest egg of the lot belongs to Beulah. But, that’s okay. Veronica is a chatty, cheerful hen that likes visiting schools and meeting children. Any eggs from her are the icing on the cake.

Beatrix, who was showing signs of straining to lay an egg without success, now has all in gear and is producing her pretty greenish-tinged egg. (Beatrix’s egg is to the left, alongside Owly’s slightly bluer egg on the right.)

Twiggy lays the white egg. Being a Leghorn, she lays eggs six eggs a week, and sometimes even seven. The other girls lay from two to five eggs a week. After a winter of using eggs sparingly in cooking, I now have an abundance to work with. Egg Salad! Frittatas for dinner! Custard for dessert! Despite the freezing temperature outside, it’s feeling a lot more like spring in my kitchen. The eggs are just in time for programs I’ll be doing to promote The Farmstead Egg Guide and Cookbook. There will be samples of recipes at book signings! Keep an eye on my events page and let me know if you’ll be coming.

Pip and Caper are wethers, which means that they are neutered male goats. Unlike the does (female goats) that work very, very hard, first when pregnant (usually carrying twins or triplets) and then when producing milk, wethers don’t do much. Nothing at all, really.

Does, because they work so hard, need to be fed high-quality grains mixed just for their needs, and good hay, and delicious grasses, and treats like apples and carrots.

But wethers? Feed them too much and they get fat. Feed them the wrong things and they develop urinary calculi. They easily succumb to bloat (a build-up of gas in their rumens.) They can die from overeating.

The problem is that here at Little Pond Farm, Pip and Caper have one job, that of spreading joy and delight. They do that with their good nature, the mischievous glints in their eyes, and their antics. They are especially endearing when eating. It is ever so hard to limit their treats to only a few bites, and to make sure that those mouthfuls are good for them.

One thing that they can eat, in moderation, are peanuts. Shell and all. This is a big bag. They’re not going to eat all of them. The person they call That Man likes peanuts, too. They’re going to share.

Goats can be a tad, ahem… enthusiastic… about food, and so I’ve taught the boys manners. First of all, no shoving, no butting and no pushing the Goat Maid. To get treats they have to stand on their stumps (which the Goat Maid shovels off for them in the winter. They would shovel them if they could, they love their stumps, but there are limits to the boys’ ingenuity.)

They also know to take each treat gently, and that they have to chew and swallow before getting another.

However, funny faces, tail wagging, and burping are perfectly acceptable.

If you would like to contribute to the goat boys’ peanut addiction (and so that they don’t have to share with That Man) you can purchase a bag for them here. Each contribution will be welcomed with tail-wagging enthusiasm, and Pip and Caper will dictate (to the Goat Maid) a personal email thank-you note to each sender of their beloved peanuts. ♥

If you’d like to see goat munching and crunching in action, there’s a video of Pip and Caper smacking on green beans here.

♥ Your contributions keep the HenCam up and running and enable me to write my daily blog. I appreciate your support as much as the goats appreciate peanuts!