Fudge was yelling at the top of her lungs. “I LAID AN EGG. JUST NOW. IN THE NEST. CHECK IT OUT. HEY EVERYONE, CHECK OUT THE EGG I JUST LAID. NOW. HAS EVERYONE HEARD? IN THE NEST. THAT EGG IN THE NEST, THAT WAS ME. I DID THAT. DID YOU ALL HEAR ME? I LAID AN EGG!”
Moments later Ginger raised the volume another notch as she got off the adjoining nesting box. “WOW. WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT EGG. WHAT A BEAUTY. ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. BEST EGG EVER. MY GOODNESS I AMAZE MYSELF. A PERFECT EGG. AND THAT’S HOW IT’S DONE, LADIES.”
“Does it count if the egg doesn’t have a shell?” asked Butterscotch. Liquorice and Lamington glanced at each other and held back a cluck. “What about if it breaks as it falls from the roost? Should I let everyone know about that?” asked Chocolate. Now Liquorice and Lamington tried to avoid each other’s eyes as the urge to cluck become even stronger. “And does the shell need to be smooth?” At this, all four young sisters burst out laughing. Their giggles stopped when Smokey came out of a nesting box. “Check it out girls, that’s seven days in a row.” Smokey flicked back her Pom-Pom and gave them a wink before strutting out into the orchard. The four sisters all looked into the nest. Among three similar sized eggs, barely visible, was a tiny white egg. “Would our egg have to be bigger than Smokey’s before we let the others know?” asked Lamington. All four sisters burst out laughing again.
“Gather round everyone,” called Speckles. “May I have your attention please. Quiet please. That’s it. Settle down you four. All eyes on me, thank you. I’ve announcement to make. It’s with great pride I’d like to inform you all of that I just laid an egg. Thank you for your time. I really appreciate it. Help yourselves to the complimentary pellets and seeds and I’ll see you all at the same time tomorrow.” Red Chook began a round of clucking to acknowledge Speckles’ achievement before hopping onto the same nest.
Goldie started calling out before she was in the coop. “OUT OF THE WAY. MOVE OUT OF THE WAY. IT’S AN EMERGENCY. THIS EGG WANTS OUT, AND IT WANTS OUT NOW.” She dashed from nesting box to nesting box. She looked inside one, and then ran over to another. “SO MANY NESTS. WHY? WHY ARE THERE SO MANY NESTS? THIS ONE WILL HAVE TO DO.” Then silence fell over the coop. Pea Hen started waddling over to make sure Goldie was okay. By the time she got near the nest, Goldie flew out screaming. “EGG, EGG, EGG, EGG, EGG, EGG, EGG.” Pea Hen got such a fright that a strange, deep warbling noise came from her throat and a tiny white egg landed on the ground between her huge fluffy legs. “Oh! Dear me. Well, that’s another egg team. Umm, it’s close to the nest. OK then, right. I laid an egg guys. Over there, near the nesting boxes.”
“Such a fuss,” said Miracle heading to a nest. “I remember when laying an egg was the only excitement to be had. Ahh, the sweet innocence of youth. Yes, I remember it well.” She emerged from the nest about an hour later. “I remember other things too. I remember a farm crowed with hundreds of young, eager chickens like myself. I remember being selected along with three of my sisters to leave the only home I’d known, and I remember my trepidation turning to joy when I met the new humans. I remember long playful days in the sun, and I remember one tragic night…” A collective groan came from around the orchard. “But that’s a whole story of its own.”
The gate to yard opened and eleven chooks rushed out to peck at the bright green grass of the lawn. Goldie, who had been in the yard most of the day, flew back into the orchard and ran screaming to the safety of the giant prickly pear. Scattered among four nesting boxes were nine eggs of assorted colours and sizes. A new record for the coop and definitely something worth crowing about.
