[Jacob-list] Night Lights for Sheep

[Susan L. Nielsen]

Edd says:

> Someone told me long ago that hens only have so many eggs to lay in their
> life.  

That may be true, but most hens will play out for other reasons
before their allottment of eggs runs down. Necropsy one (or, if
you prefer, "harvest" her) and you will usually find her plumbing
to be full of egg yolks. The first ones near the exit are large,
and then they decrease in size, all the way up until they are
smaller than we can recognize.  Those yolks, by the way, make
excellent custards. ;-D

The hens we have found to be yolk-less are ones who have shown
evidence of ills other than extended egg-laying. Most generally,
a hen is in prime production for only a couple of years, whether
or not she lays off for the winter. After that, eggs will become
less frequent (though often larger!), but are still coming down
the line.

How you manage aging in your flock depends, of course, on your
philosophy of the barnyard. There are lots of reasons a small
holder keeps hens beyond their prime production years. I try to
be kind but practical about it. Won't go into it all here, since
it has...

...nothin' to do with sheep!

Susan
--
Susan Nielsen, Shambles Workshops      |"...Gently down the  
Beavercreek, OR, USA                   |stream..."
snielsen at orednet.org                   |           -- Anon.