In the June school holidays the boys convinced me to get some Chickens. We bought 4 Black Chickens from our local produce store all 5 weeks old. We had had chickens about 2 years ago so we already a hutch fitted out with 6 laying cabins which we thought would make a perfect home.
The chickens however had other ideas and since they were about 12 weeks old have continued to fly over the 6 ft fence everyday to explore the backyard. So we soon gave up on the fence concept and left the gate open so they could come and go as they pleased.
Anyway after several months of waiting for eggs we had come to the conclusion that they must be laying them in the garden somewhere. They boys and I have repeatedly searched every bush and garden bed in search of the eggs with no luck.
They are a friendly bunch of chickens and regularly come up into the house looking for food. So last week when my Mother in Law mentioned there was one on the back table I didn't think anything of it.
Later that day we noticed there was an egg on the table. Hooray finally our first egg!!
What was even funnier, was that I had recently been cutting Burlap for a sewing project and got distracted. So I had left the Burlap in a pile on the table. They chicken obviously thought that was the perfect place for her first egg and laid it right on top of the Burlap!
Two days later she returned and laid another one. So we left it there thinking the others might get the hint, and sure enough two days later we were rewarded with another 2 eggs!
So if your looking for something to line you laying areas with, I highly recommend Burlap. It's a natural fibre, and nice and soft, making it the perfect lining.
We have now replaced the Burlap pile with a small container filled with some Burlap. This way slowly over time we can move them further away from the house. But for now we are enjoying free eggs delivered daily to our back door table!
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