As expected, Twiggy is the first of the pullets to lay an egg. White Leghorns mature more quickly than other breeds. Twiggy turned 17 weeks old last Friday, and this week her comb turned red and flopped over.

In anticipation of the Girls beginning to lay, I placed a wooden egg in each of the nesting boxes. That did the trick and this morning, Twiggy knew exactly where she should go and what to do. She hopped into a nesting box, circled once and sat down. Being a Leghorn, she does everything quickly. Other hens might spend an hour in the box. Not Twiggy. In short order she laid her egg and went right back outside.

The egg is on the smallish side, as first eggs are, but it looks perfect to me!

Someone has been rearranging the dirt in the corner of the Little Barn pen.

Misty says, That rabbit has been busy.

It’s getting rather deep.

Rabbits dig and burrow. It’s something that they love to do and one reason why my bunnies have been so content living outside. It’s also why the fence is buried 8-inches below ground. But, that’s not far enough down to keep an industrious rabbit in. Rocks are being added along the edge.

Don’t be fooled by that adorable innocent face.

Phoebe says that there are plenty of other places to tunnel. She’s contemplating her next move. I’ll be checking the perimeter daily.

All flocks have pecking orders. Hens raised together since chickhood begin to sort out everyone’s status from day one, but it’s not fully decided until they are mature. Right now, the Girls are teenagers. There’s a lot of running, chasing and testing of boundaries. I’ve managed their environment so that this doesn’t escalate to aggression and bloodshed. Most of the time the interactions are subtle, but I already know who will be the Top Hen.

When I let the Girls out for a bit of time on the lawn, look at who strides out in front.

Veronica.

While the other hens spread out to graze and hunt for yummy tidbits,

one hen would rather take a look at what I am doing. The Top Hen ruins a lot of photographs.

You don’t need a telephoto lens when trying to capture the Top Hen’s image,

but you might need a camera that can photograph objects moving at speed.

When confined in the pen, like a good Top Hen, Veronica is not a bully. But she does get first dibs on the kitchen scraps and rests where she wants on the roosts. Veronica is definitely the Top Hen of the young Girls,

but she is no fool. She leaves the Grand Old Dames, Twinkydink, Buffy and Betsy, alone.

Last week, Jasper and I were invited to the Maude Eaton Girl Scout Camp. I read Tillie Lays an Egg. I talked a lot about chicken poop (always a popular subject!) and chicken behavior. I taught the girls the word omnivore and Jasper illustrated its meaning by sharing their pizza and bananas. Then, they all got to pet her. Children are always surprised by how soft feathers are.

Afterwards, while I packed up, the girls made chicken cluck noisemakers out of plastic cups. What a great craft! I have a teacher’s page for educators. I’ve added the “clucker.”  I also have an annotated list of my favorite children’s books about chickens. Stuck inside on a rainy summer day? You’ll find plenty to keep your young ones busy  on those two pages.

Here is a photo of Jasper at camp. (For privacy reasons, I don’t have photos of the Scouts.)

I’ve already posted this on my FaceBook page (if you haven’t yet, do friend me!) It turns out that many of my readers were Girl Scouts and they had ideas for badges that Jasper could work towards (she is now an honorary Scout.) What about Creative Nesting? Scratching and Pecking? What do you think? I can just see her in her sash arrayed with badges…

(Please share my Teacher’s Page with educators. Let’s get more children to learn about chickens!)

The pullets at the nursing home are doing great! I checked in several times during the heat wave, and they weren’t suffering from stress during that hot and humid spell. Of course, the nursing home has an ice machine, and so a tub of ice was put into their run daily. The kitchen supplies the chickens with plenty of greens and cantaloupe. The hens vote that kale is their favorite. They also get the occasional outing onto the grass.

A shade tent has been set-up for the comfort of the elders and their visitors.

But on this extremely hot day, the residents watched from the window.

I have put together a packet of information that I can provide to facilities interested in bringing chickens into the lives of their elders. I am also available to do a one-hour enrichment program at nursing homes within driving distance of my home near Boston. Email me with contact information for the facility, and I’ll send the packet out.