The Daily Egg Returns to Sweetgrass Ranch

In the fall, when daylight becomes scarce, our three Indian Runner ducks stop laying eggs. We could extend the season by providing artificial light, but I've found it best to make winter a time of rest and rebuilding for the girls.

Come spring, as days lengthen, the ducks again begin to lay. I found the first egg of 2012, a pastel pink one made by a duck named Esmerelda, this morning. The other two Sweetgrass ducks, Coco and Blue, lay pastel green eggs.

Duck eggs are slightly larger than chicken eggs and have a higher protein content. They are sought after by bakers -- mostly for the moist, delicious cakes they help produce -- and Asian chefs.

In the past, I've sold duck eggs to a Vietnamese restaurant and to individuals who have children who are allergic to chicken eggs.

Plucking a newly laid duck egg from the nest box, feeling the warmth, always feels a little like touching God to me. It's a marvelous experience, one I'm grateful to experience often.

Sometime in the near future, I hope to add chickens, three Buttercup hens, to our small home flock. Until then, here's a snapshot of Sweetgrass Ranch's first daily egg for 2012:

The Daily Egg, Courtesy of a Duck Named Esmerelda, Returns to Sweetgrass Ranch