Colored Eggs

Easter is almost here, and we're getting ready by dyeing eggs.

A few people asked questions about our eggs so here's a quick summary:
We have six hens and one rooster. Two hens are bantams and give small eggs, while the rest lay extra large ones. It makes measuring interesting. We get almost 3 dozen eggs per week, which is a little too much for us, but not quite enough to bother trying to sell at the farmer's market. We've been sharing with friends, but we're also going to start making more egg dishes. When we move to our own land, we'd like them to be free range, but right now they have a pretty good size run in the woods. All the grass is gone, but we give the grass clippings from the mower when we can and cracked corn every day.

So here they are before. I wasn't sure how the colors would work with some of the dark brown eggs. It just happens that all the bantam eggs are lighter rose and green colors, so most of what I dyed are the small lighter eggs.

And here's a few shots of the after. Mom, L and I made them using yellow onion skins and turmeric, and one bowl where we mixed the two dyes together. Find instructions on Martha and here. It didn't make a true red, but a nice burnt sienna kind of color, and the turmeric a rich gold, and mixed together marigold - my favorite. Notice the un-dyed eggs in the back, one brown and one green bantam.