Three eggs in two days. One on Wednesday, and two yesterday. The first was by the hen that has been laying already, The second egg was larger and rounder, and the color was a smidge darker. One of the Golden Comets, but which one?

The eggs were also found in a corner of the coop that was popular with my first flock, a little area next to the door. After finding egg number three in a bucket that the cover had fallen over, I put the cover down on all of them. The next day they laid elsewhere. So I flipped back the cover - since the bucket is black, maybe it's dark enough for them already. I'm already thinking of a couple of refinements I could make by adding pieces of wood. We'll see how the time goes... as seen in my other blog, I'm a tad busy at the moment.

As for which of the Comets is laying, unfortunately, the choices are down to two. One of the Comets had been acting strange the last few days, preferring to roost in a place other than the coop, and developing a scaly white crust on its comb. It was dead on the floor of the coop this morning. I'm doing a little research on what the malady may have been. This thread on the Backyard Chickens board names favus as the culprit, but most of what I've found focuses on the cases found in humans.

Although now that I think about it, my assumption could be wrong. Perhaps a Comet was the first layer, and this larger, rounder egg is from the Australorp. I assumed the latter was laying first because the breed is known for being prolific layers. I guess I'll have to wait until the third hen starts to lay and see what the egg looks like before the final verdict comes down.

Puppy update: Ripley is starting to show more herding instincts, now toward the goats. When the two kids are away from the others (out of the barnyard when the others are in, out of the stall when the others are in there eating), she will go over to them and gently paw and mouth them until they go where she thinks they should be.

Ripley was also upset with me this morning. I had a doctor's appointment, so my daughter was going to let the chickens out this morning. Usually I go out and feed her, then say, "Let's go to the barn." So this morning I want out and fed her. She started heading for the barn, but I got in the car and left. Talk about confused...