Late last August our first of two deliveries of chicks arrived. They have been growing well, and over the past two weeks they have started to lay their first eggs. These first eggs are called training eggs or, more technically, pullets. They are small; they need to be because the chickens are not fully grown. Over the next four weeks the egg size will gradually increase, and by six months old, the girls will be able to join the main flock in the field.
This past summer we moved the chicks to the big girl pasture at four-and-a-half months old, which turned out to be too soon. We now completely separate the chicks from the older birds since we feed them a higher protein feed that the big girls like to steal. The things we have to deal with to bring you great-tasting eggs!