Nuggo – Nest Cafe ~ Cafe Nido

It’s time for Korean Chicken Tender’s March 2023 egg count!

The daylight has gotten longer and there’s been an uptick in egg laying. My number 1 ranked hen, Nuggo, emerged from her summer-fall-winter-long henopause and started laying her trademark asymmetrical, lopsided eggs. This heavyset alpha female’s eggs are a treat with their rich yolks and fragile cream-colored shells.

Same as in my last egg count, I currently raise 6 layer hens. They eat organic feed and garden greens, range freely on pasture, and slurp up tasty slugs seeking solace from the spring rains.

Here’s our monthly Egg Count thus far for 2023:

Month (2023)	Laying Hens	Eggs per Day (avg)	Eggs per Week	Dozens per Week	Eggs per Month	Dozens per Month	Feed Cost	Cost per Dozen
Jan	6	2.7	19.4	1.6	83	6.9	$ 30.00	$ 4.30
Feb	6	3.8	27.7	2.3	107	8.9	$ 30.00	$ 3.33
Mar	6	4.5	32.2	2.7	138	11.5	$ 30.00	$ 2.58

Observations:

– The cost per dozen of our organic, pasture-raised eggs dropped from over $4 in Jan to $3 in Feb to now $2.58 in March!
– Hubba hubba Nuggo resumed laying, which increased the egg count.
– When I didn’t see Nuggo roaming around with the other hens one morning, I thought she had died standing erect on her roost bar. (When the time comes, I believe she will die no less a noble death). I was shocked to discover her in a nest box. That day she did a full egg laying simulation with no actual egg. The egg appeared a few days later.

Bottom left is Nuggo’s cream-white egg – note the calcium deposit, pointed tip, and lopsided-ness compared to the other eggs. It is nonetheless a treat to eat!

Nuggo is my largest hen, an Ameraucana or Easter Egger queen on henopause. She is rotund. Her thick neck, hips and feet waddle from side to side when she walks. She prefers processed chicken feed over digging for live bugs and unabashedly gorges on young layer-hen mash (aka baby chick food).

Nuggo’s derriere, as of late, has been dirty. Crusty, in fact. A crusty bum with caked-on remnants of yesterday’s mash. This may be an indicator of digestive or dietary problems and is unsanitary. Something has to be done.

My helper and I hatched a plan. Catch Nuggo, hold her gently, and moisten her bum with a wet wipe. We repeated this but alas the crust did not wipe off. It was caked onto soft fruffles and wiping them vigorously could cause feathers to be plucked out.

We hatched another plan: Place her gently in a warm bath, use soap-free Summer’s Eve to rinse the affected area (soap-free is key, to avoid removing the necessary natural oils from the feathers). I used scissors to trim off a few crusty feathers for which there was no hope. We were inspired by how dog groomers begin by shaving the fur around the canine’s bum.

This multi-pronged rinse and shave procedure worked! It’s been four days and Nuggo’s bum is streak-free and squeaky clean. Her rear is like a clean clamshell of feathers. Today, she approached me and softly pecked my shoes as I watched the garden. I sense an intimacy that wasn’t there before. The bum bath brought us closer and her tush feels fresher.

Tag: Nuggo

March Egg Count

Nuggo Bum