Egg colour.

[mick2me 3,033]

When I was a kid, I lived in the village of Bucknall Lincs.

I played in the local farmyard. One day I noticed a hen come out of a gap between baled in the haystack.

Reaching in I found an egg. Searching the haystack I found dozens of eggs I found something to put them in

and took them to the Farmers wife. She was not too pleased as most were rotten and I had demolished the haystack!

[LizzieM 9,508]

We had a dozen Guinea Fowl at a previous house. (They have white eggs). Never once did we eat one of their eggs as they would lay all over the garden, in flower beds, under trees, under the hedges. You just never knew how long the eggs had been lying there so we didn't risk it. I tell you what though, those birds were as good as a guard dog and kicked up a racket when anyone arrived in a car other than ours!!! Sadly the fox got them one by one.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

I had a pair of Guineas, no idea where they came from, but stayed here after being given some feed, they were great at keeping the ticks down.

They get very aggressive when they have hatchlings, VERY aggressive. The first spring the hen made a nest under the kiwi fruit vine, I've never seen a bird lay so many eggs over a week!!

She lost quite a few to snakes and rats, but hatched several of them, who betide anyone getting too close, I soon found out how sharp their claws are in one attack, drew blood!.

They lost that clutch, very poor parents, no idea whether it was preditors or just the cold mornings and heavy dew.

Next year I stole some eggs and incubated them myself, three hatched, all turned out to be females. Late that year the Mother got taken by a preditor whle sitting on eggs. Two of the chicks got in the way of one of my dogs, the other survived to have a clutch of eggs..Then she disappeared..We presume by coyotes.

We still have the old feller, he seems lonely most of the time and hangs around the chicken house.

[mick2me 3,033]

We still have the old feller, he seems lonely most of the time and hangs around the chicken house.

Billy No Mates?

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

He keeps Shep company, Shep guards the chicken house from racoons, skunks etc, nicks his food too.

[colly0410 1,181]

Yep, chickens and veggie gardens don't go together, they love tomatoes and virtually everything in the garden..They also eat about every known bug, except cockroaches!!

They will chase small frogs and lizards and devour them. They are better mousers than cats, in fact I've watched them fight over a mouse and pull a live mouse in half!!

They also like dog poop...No idea why.

[colly0410 1,181]

Oops sumats gone wrong, I meant to reply,

I was helping my late Father-in-law fit a kitchen at Belper when I found a dead mouse at back of old electric cooker, I went to put it in the bin & the farmers wife took it of me & threw it to the chickens, they went berserk over it as it was devoured, she asked if we wanted any eggs? err "no thanks" said us 2..

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

They will fight over a mouse...I wouldn't give them a dead mouse though, never know what the mouse had eaten or how it died..

[colly0410 1,181]

The dead mouse was across the 240 volts terminals so presume it had been electrocuted, don't know how long it'd been there though so didn't fancy the eggs..

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Ahhh, different then, most around my workshop die from rodent poisoning, I even keep the cat out of there for fear she may eat a fresh dead mouse. I doubt there's a lot of the poison, an anti coagulant, in a mouse to hurt a cat, but I err on the side of safety.

[colly0410 1,181]

Just had bacon, egg & beans & the egg was a double yoke, not seen one of those for years..

[benjamin1945 16,160]

Was given some 'Black Russian Tomatoes' yesterday,had never heard of em, had em for breakfeast this morning,lovely never tasted toms like it.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Double yolks normally come from young birds Steve, when they start laying, we get all sorts, eggs as big as a budgies sometimes too, once their metabalism settles down, eggs are of a regular size and usually single yolks.

Makes me wonder sometimes, I have a couple of birds that lay "jumbo" eggs, bit like a woman giving birth to a 12 pound baby..

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

I planted a couple of chocolate cherry plants this year, heirlooms. Trying to stay 100% heirlooms these days, Money Maker, Chocolate Cherry, Rutgens, Red Cherry...pretty large for a cherry, but nice taste! and Arkansas Tommy Toes, a real small cherry tomato that is really sweet.

There's a seed seller on line who specializes in heirloom tomatoes, it's amazing how many varieties there are!!

[mercurydancer 1,104]

Black Russian tomatoes! I'll be growing them next year. We were at a lovely garden and hall very close to Durham city centre called Crook Hall. Its directly below the railway station. Unless you were looking for the place you would never know its there, but it is a delight.

The greenhouses had a good variety of tomatoes including black Russian. I got talking to the gardener, a very knowledgable and entertaining man, and he gave us some seeds for next year, amongst some other seeds.

[NewBasfordlad 3,599]

I have grown Black Russian also known as Ethiopian Black and Black Cherry for a number of years. I love them with mature cheddar on toast as they have a great bite to them. Green Zebra are another favourite along with Sungold IMO the sweetest tom around and Tumbler for my hanging baskets.

Right now the freezer is well stocked with homemade tomato soup and tomato puree for spag-bol.

[Bubblewrap 3,815]

Just a further note on eggs.

In the mid 1990s I worked in a place that did hardboiled eggs(lots of them )

In a day(two shifts) the place could get through 1,000 cases(sometimes more) of 30 dozen eggs in a day (that's 360,000)

They would come in by the truck load of up to 1,200 cases packed tightly (NOT on pallets & a pig to unload)

The eggs were mainly imported from Poland & Germany & other parts of Europe.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Talking about double yolks, I've seen photos posted of eggs within eggs, never witnessed one yet, but apparently not uncommon!!

[Michael Booth 7,364]

Speaking of Black Russian, my friend has it in a glass, not an egg cup..lol

[colly0410 1,181]

Does a double yoke egg hatch into two chickens? Just a thought!

[catfan 14,793]

Twins !

[Blondie 1,392]

I have just planted a spaghetti tree............

[Michael Booth 7,364]

It's pasta joke now, Blondie.

[LizzieM 9,508]

# 72. Memories of Fyfe Robertson on an April 1st episode of the Tonight programme, standing there by a tree with spaghetti hanging from the boughs.

[benjamin1945 16,160]

Hows this for a clever cat.............my youngest son said that this morning one of his Cats bought him a Duck Egg in thru the window and put it on the kitchen table,without even cracking it.............