Meet Ollivander my new olive egg layer.

A couple weeks ago a woman posted on a local FB group that she had a hen to offer up for someone to have to butcher, because it was an egg eater. The hen was less than a year old, and an olive egg layer (which i have been wanting). So i wrote and offered to give the hen a home, rather than a death sentence. 

So we brought her home and introduced her to the rest of the flock. There are all kinds of articles online about the correct way to introduce new birds, but it's never been a problem for us. i just put her in the fenced area with the rest of the flock and they acted like they already knew each other. The rooster immediately introduced himself and did a little dance then went on his way. There may have been a small amount of pecking when they went up to roost that night, but i didn't hear anything out of the normal.  She seemed to be right at home.

We decided Olive was the perfect name for her because she lays such pretty olive colored eggs.  Then we changed it to Ollivander because we are reading Harry Potter right now. :) We still call her Olive though. :)  Olive's mama was a Cuckoo Maran (dark brown eggs) and her daddy was an Easter egger (bluish green eggs). The combination produces a hen that lays olive eggs. 

She loves to get out and free range with the other ladies. This is all of my laying hens right now, except for my Molted Java who is sitting on eggs and one other game hen. i have around a dozen other chicks that are around 12 weeks old, and a few more expected to hatch this week.

When i picked up the hen, the woman told me that she didn't eat her own eggs, she only ate the other chickens eggs. So i knew that would be a really easy problem to solve. i have two separate coops, so i just needed to keep her out of the main laying area until i've collected the eggs.  As it turns out, i've never had to separate her. Not only has she never even attempted to eat an egg, she is my most productive egg layer.  Her eggs are large and absolutely beautiful, each one a slightly different shade than the next.  We already adore her.  i'm not sure who is luckier, her or me. :)

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama