A few summers ago, we rebuilt the fence around the chicken yard, so for a few days, the hens ran free, and laid their eggs where ever they pleased. We found nests all around the house, in ivy, in tall grass, anywhere the ground cover provided a little privacy.
The coop where the hens roost up at night is small, so it’s not much trouble to keep it secure. The fence around the chicken yard is another matter, and I’ve grown weary of hens pushing under or finding a way over it. I wasn’t worried about losing eggs, the problem was the hens were much more persistent about getting out than getting back in. If we didn’t open the gates before evening, they’d start roosting up on rooftops, steps or low trees, from which I’d have to extract them by flashlight when I came home from work.
So we left the hens in the coop & built a mighty fence. It seemed like we collected more eggs than usual while the hens were cooped up, but I couldn’t be sure. When the fence was ready, I was relieved to see that it worked. With the hens confined to their yard all day, we kept getting “extra” eggs”.
So I decided I couldn’t wait for Easter & went on an egg hunt this weekend. It didn’t take long to find a clutch of eggs in one of the hens’ old haunts, the ivy by the back door. 18 eggs!
Will we ever know if it’s the only place they were laying?
Coo, coo, ca choo.
