There aren't a lot of chickens left in the barn anymore. There are about 20 plus a rooster and their egg laying capacity has reduced as they go into moult. We will let them do so naturally and leave them til the spring instead of using artificial light to induce them to lay. They are a mix of hens one and two years old which means, especially with the older birds, the quality of eggs deteriorates and they don't lay as frequently.
I had a pair of Americaunas, the hen laid beautiful turquoise eggs and she had the colouring of a pheasant almost. Every shade of copper, tan and gold. Then there was in incident with the mink. Of all the hens in the barn at the time, what does the mink kill first? The Americauna hen of course. Sigh. I hate mink. After the last incident when the mink killed about 15 or more hens, it became too disheartening to keep on trying with poultry in some ways. There will always be a few hens for eggs, but not on the previous scale.
This drawing was done from a photo I took of some of the eggs that the Americauna hen laid. Unfortunately the photo didn't show the delicate turquoise colouring. It was a mix of white, turquoise and brown eggs, perhaps I'll do a coloured version of it one day. Its a good candidate for oil painting,something else that I need to get moving on. The bowl is one of my favourites too. I can't resist buying interesting bowls when I see them and this one is perfect for serving as it has that lovely little thumb hole for a good, secure grip.
3 comments:
It's amazing how good eggs are as subjects for drawings and paintings - I see them all over the place.
I'd love to see an oil painting of your turquoise eggs
Yes, I think I will have a go at this one in oils, but it will have to wait til the weekend as I'm off to Montreal today - and hopefully some more sketching adventures. :o)
Oh dear, such a sad story about the mink and the hens. Why do animals have to kill each other (and one could say why do humans too, but I won't)? My DH and I love watching animal documentaries but we never seem to get to see a whole programme because there is always that moment of reality after the cute and beautiful family scene when they cut away to a predator moving in. We take one look at each other and change channels. Anyway I think you are very brave the way you cope with the realities of nature on your farm. Lovely drawing of eggs and bowl. I'd like to see the oil painting eventually.
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