a very good egg

Since placing the order for our mail-order baby chicks many many months ago, and then picking them up in a little box (all 27!) from outside the post office very early one July morning...

... we've been dreaming about the day we would go to the coop and find our very first egg. I cannot express how much we anticipated this day! 

Isn't it perfect? If I could gild this egg and keep it forever I would; I am so in love with this little miracle.

I'm going to anticipate the inevitable question -- which chicken laid it? In all honesty, I don't really know, but I suspect it was this Layla, because she's really, ahem, "blossomed" lately. Look at that comb and those wattles!

Standing in front of her (the saucy black tail feather) is Lou, who is also blossoming and looking more rooster-like every day. Next anticipated question -- is this a fertilized egg? Again, I dunno. As in, I haven't seen any "action" in the flock yet, but it doesn't really matter. The egg was alone in the nest and cold when I found it, so Momma had no intentions of seeing this one through to hatching. And that's a good thing. 

Seriously, I could just keep showing photos of this egg, but I'll refrain. Instead, I'll share a few egg facts! 

• first and foremost, please buy farm eggs from chickens that really get outside if you possibly can. It's better for them and it's better for you.
• at 50g, this one is officially a "medium" sized egg
• an egg with a red spot in it is NOT a fertilized egg (a popular idea). The blood spot is just a little tissue that got attached there as the egg was developing. Most eggs you buy are "candled"-- literally a light is shone through them to see if there's a spot. Commercial growers throw those away because of the ick factor -- consumers don't want them. But seriously, there's nothing wrong with them and it's such a waste!!
• ask your farm egg supplier if the eggs are washed. If not, they can be left unrefrigerated for a really long time, but they must be washed before you crack them or cook them. Or, play it safe and both refrigerate your eggs and wash them just before you use them.
• wash a farm egg in water that is warmer than the egg (colder water can actually get through the shell and bring bacteria with it.) Use dish soap if you want. 
• "cage free" and "free range" labels on eggs sold in grocery stores do not mean the nice things you imagine.  And if a carton says the chickens are fed "a vegetarian diet" that's just silly. Chickens are omnivores and they love to find a tasty bit of protein as they forage. There's no need to make them vegetarians. 
• and finally, a nice orangy-yellow yolk is often the sign of a well-fed free-ranging chicken... or it could mean the chicken was fed marigolds (at best) or dye (at worst) to make the yolks that desirable colour. 

Now the only question is, will there be another egg tomorrow???