As I got ready to leave for a belated Christmas party with “the girls” last weekend (our original date got snowed out), I was scrambling (excuse the pun) to collect our fresh eggs so I could bring a couple of dozen with me that they had requested.
Not all the hens are laying with the short days and frigid weather, but we can usually get a dozen together in a couple of days. However, the eggs were in high demand over the holidays, so we kept running out.
I was counting each egg and counting on the (other) “girls” (the hens) to give me enough that morning to complete the second dozen. I had two that still needed to be washed, so I washed those and set them on a towel to dry by the sink. Then I headed outside to the coop hoping for just that one more needed one!
It wasn’t there yet, so I went back through the house to take the dogs outside for a bit. Our weather has been crazy frigid, and they didn’t last long before their paws got cold. The Dadz got home early from work, and I then went back to the coop for one more try for that egg. I got it! The girls came through.
I brought it back into the house and set it by the sink, noticing that the other two eggs were gone. I thought I must have put them in the carton in the refrigerator already and forgotten I did it. As I stood there talking to Dadz, with Luke next to me, suddenly Dadz yelled “Luke!”. I turned around and the egg I had just set there was gone! Dadz had seen Luke steal it, and as I said “give it”, Luke dropped the egg, still completely intact, right into my hand!
It wasn’t even wet, but I wiped it off and went to put it into the carton in the refrigerator. That was when I discovered that I had not been forgetful, and the other two eggs were NOT there! I had not put them in there, and it didn’t take much detective work to figure out how they had disappeared from next to the sink while I was outside! Plus, apparently those first two were so good Luke still wanted a third. He has no shame in stealing it right in front of me either!
I then remembered the wet spot I had seen on the rug when passing through the house earlier. I thought that perhaps Luke had been lying there chewing on a ball, because he sometimes leaves a wet spot when he does that. I also worried someone had gotten sick, and since I saw Cricket licking the rug there, I thought that might be more likely. Now I knew that was the “scene of the crime”, and since there were no wet spots elsewhere, Luke must have carried the eggs intact to that rug (pretty good trick, I’d say!).
In case you’re worried, it is perfectly fine for dogs to eat whole, raw eggs, shell and all (especially when they’re so fresh, and organic!). I do give them each a raw egg some mornings, but I don’t usually include the shell (they are a good source of calcium), because I usually rinse the shells and crush them to give back to the chickens (they need that calcium too). The dogs always seem to like it when I do that, and now I know for sure that Luke loves his eggs!
I guess that makes him even more of a true farm dog now! Should I send him out to the coop to collect eggs maybe? He could apparently collect them without breaking them!
Yeah, probably not. 🙂
I haven’t given the Boys raw eggs yet. Heard a lot of good things about the shells too. That’s funny how Luke has become the egg bandit of your household.
Oh Luke! Rye stole quite a few things off the counter right in front of us over the holidays, too. I tried to tell my family you have to watch her like a hawk because unlike Barley who will wait until you’re not watching, Rye will jump up and steal things off your plate while you’re walking to the table, but she still found a few goodies for herself!
Rye is such a character!!
That was what surprised me so much here – while I know Luke is a shameless counter surfer, that was the first time he did something like that when I was right there!
BOL Mama’s Uncle Mike & Aunt April had a dog dat would do dat or he would just takes them right out of da chicken coop! Easter egg hunting was always fun wif him when her was little 😉
xoxo,
Matt (& Matilda)
Heehee, I bet Luke would take them right out of the coop too, if he had access to it!
Sounds like someone is part fox. 😉
He’s wily all right, that’s for sure. 🙂
Great story, love it!!
…Luke DOES know what’s good 😉 Very cool that he has such a gentle mouth and carries them without crushing them – and of course it’s awesome that you have your own organic egg “production”.
We absolutely love having our own eggs, and I think Luke’s pretty happy about it too! I’m going to have to let him keep the next one, just to see how he does it! 🙂
Oh Luke, you are such a great Egganator!
Who would have known that dogs like eggs?? Or is it just Luke who does? 😉
Cricket likes them in her breakfast, but I doubt she likes them enough to eat one, shell and all! 🙂
We live in the city. I’m not sure my dogs have seen an egg in its shell. They would probably think it is a tiny ball to toss around the living room.
That could be fun? LOL
Haha! Someone has been naughty. That’s funny… I don’t think Shiner would know what to do with an egg if she got her paws on one.
I wonder if Cricket would either. I don’t know if she got in on Luke’s thievery or not. Actually, I’d like to see how he does it too! LOL
Haha, mine love eggs and when I get duck eggs I come out of the coop and hand them all a egg. Mine will carry them around without breaking them. Norman would bury his in the garden and go back later to eat it. They really are egg sucking dogs
I love it!! We are thinking about getting ducks too, and I think Luke would be quite excited for the bigger eggs!
I don’t know if Cricket got any part of the ones he stole, so I’m going to have to try giving her a whole one and see what she does. 🙂