Eggs, by Primrose

Our smallest hen lays eggs the color of unbleached flour. primrose egg

She is the only chicken in our flock whose name we can remember.

primrose the hen

Which is kinda funny, since our flock isn’t even a year old yet.

And we see them (and chat with them) every day.  Why we’ve forgotten all the other’s names, I cannot say.  Maybe because there was never a general consensus on all of the names thrown out there (when our hens were chicks, Nora and Meisha were coming up with new names on a daily basis).  Maybe because we see the hens as a flock rather than as individuals.  And yet, some personalities are definitely distinct, like the buff-red one (is Margaret a good name?) that rushes up and pecks our toes, or the two white ones (leghorns) who are unabashed, intrepid, and  enterprising (in their case, I do agree with Mr. Tweedy; chickens are organized).   Well, I cannot explain it. I just toss names out into the crowd whenever I visit.  Hello, Beatrice!  Hello Beulah!  Gertrude, Jessamine, Agnes.  Oh, there you are, Primrose!

 

Primrose the dappled hen

Maybe we remember Primrose’s name because she is our favorite.

I was afraid, when we first brought her home with the other chicks that outsized her by twice, that she just wouldn’t make it.  That she’d be crushed or pecked or crowded out of food and warmth.  But she is quick and plucky when she needs to be, and very smart  about staying below radar the rest of the time.  Always there, fending for herself,  but never in trouble.

Plus she is, frankly, beautiful.  Dappled!  I love the  speckles in her glowing white feathers; her blue-gray legs go perfectly with her outfit.

small hen Primrose

 

small hen primrose

We weren’t expecting her to lay eggs

as soon as the other hens did, because she (according to the info at the feed store) is a “novelty” chicken, said to be more ornamental than practical.  She isn’t supposed to lay any more than once a week, if that.

Primrose has exceeded our expectations, and turned the feed store’s limits on its head.  So much for stereotypes and quotas.  We get an egg from her almost every day, and for her size, her eggs are big enough (though you can definitely see the difference when compared to the larger hen’s eggs—such cute little eggs!).

small egg

meisha's flower nestegg in flower nest(Isn’t this little nest perfect for Primrose’s little egg?  It is actually a flower sculpture that my daughter Meisha made to symbolize potential –clay in the potter’s hand.  I think that’s apt.)

Primrose's first egg