The chicks are laying!

Hip hip hooray!  Our chicks are finally laying eggs!  We had one tiny, little egg show up mid-September.  I think it was the most exciting thing that happened all fall, including moving and getting knocked-up; we'd been waiting soooo long.

We weren't sure who it was at first, but we finally figured out it was little Peppa.  After a few weeks Sizzles, (my beautiful brown and gold chick) started laying, then a month or two later Sandy (tan) and Leafy (black and white) finally caught up, although they're still not terribly consistent.

It's been fun to watch this amazing miracle of nature.  First we could watch the chicks combs change, and predict who was going to start laying.  Then when they did, almost all of the chicks pecked holes in their first eggs. I could picture them in their little box, looking at this weird thing that just happened, and pecking it to figure it out.

It's been such an exciting adventure.  The kids still get so excited every day when they find the eggs.  It's a fun job for them to bring them in. The kids keep track of who has laid that day, and who hasn't, and what time they normally lay.

This was one of the first times Peppa laid an egg.  We set up chairs and just stared at the coop while we waited for her to come out.  It's weird when the eggs are still warm, but the kids love it.

This is what Jack does when you tell him to put them by his face for a picture.  Wacky.

We can tell who's eggs are who's because they're all different.  Peppa's are tiny, light, and long.  Leafy's eggs are slightly blue (she's an "easter egger"). Sizzles and Sandy's are big and brown, but Sandy's have a slightly smoky color.  Once we got a huge egg, it was so big it didn't fit in the carton.  I felt really bad for tiny Sizzles, who'd laid it.  Once we finally cracked it, it was a double yolk.

We were all a little nervous to eat the first eggs, and they do taste a little different than store eggs, but we're used to it now.  I don't ever worry about Salmonella or any other germs that factory chickens carry.  In fact I think they provide the good kind of bacteria that makes kids tough.  The yolks are much more orange, but they're much healthier than regular, store eggs.  Truly pastured eggs compared to regular eggs have:

1/3 less cholesterol

1/4 less saturated fat

2/3 more vitamin A

2 times more omega-3 fatty acids

3 times more vitamin E

7 times more beta carotene

4 to 6 times as much vitamin D

We love our chickens and I think it's one of the best things I've done as a mom.