And the Winner Is...

Eleanor, our Rhode Island Red, at 4.5 months of age, shown here with her accomplishment. Scott and I had made a bet on which hen would lay first. Eleanor was my pick, and he chose Abigail. Now if only I could remember what we'd wagered so I could collect.

She made quite a ruckus--I could hear her squawking from the attic--and it was a very different call than anything we'd heard before. I had heard that chickens "announce" their eggs, so we figured that's what she was doing. Sure enough, we ran down and Scott found the egg.

We had some hint that this was coming--for the last several days, every time we bent down to pet her, she'd sort of squat down and lift her wings up a little in what we discovered is a "mating" posture. Apparently this is a sign that they're getting ready to lay.