After no egg yesterday, a surprise today. Two eggs in the cubbyhole where Eve has been laying. One was the brown that we've seen since Eve started up, the other was a lighter brown and was smaller. So it looks like one of the other Reds has geared up. Some detective work will be in order to learn who it is.

Tonight I decided that, since two of the Reds now lay in that corner by the door, I was going to make it more egg friendly. I've tried to keep straw in that corner, but it gets thinned out fast by the general population. So I took a scrap piece of 1 x 4 and nailed it against the door beam, then slid the tile brick that holds the water can an inch or two toward it to form a nice little retreat about 8" by 18" or so. Then I filled it with fresh straw, proud of my handiwork.

Tonight when I went to lock the chooks up, the coop was almost empty. The four Reds were up on perches, and only two chicks were accounted for.

You probably see where this is going. The other ten chicks - who will all be 8 weeks old tomorrow - were crammed into that little space as if it were designed specifically for them.

Maybe that's supposed to be the charm of these things - their inexplicable behavior.