How can i tell which hens are laying the eggs

I have 3 hens, 2 sussex and 1 silkie. I know that the silkie isnt laying but the sussex are. I know my black and white one has laid a few eggs because I was there when she laid one. But how can I tell if my red sussex is laying them too? So far we have 3 eggs, 2 of them are smaller with speckles on them. Another one is larger with no speckles. Could this mean that the speckled ones belong to one hen and the non speckled belong to the other?

Personally i would go out and check my nesting boxes every 30mins or so - that way you know who is in the nesting box, hence who is laying what and when.

CT

FunkyFaith said:

I have 3 hens, 2 sussex and 1 silkie. I know that the silkie isnt laying but the sussex are. I know my black and white one has laid a few eggs because I was there when she laid one. But how can I tell if my red sussex is laying them too? So far we have 3 eggs, 2 of them are smaller with speckles on them. Another one is larger with no speckles. Could this mean that the speckled ones belong to one hen and the non speckled belong to the other?

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Generally, yes. A hen and her eggs are almost always unique to each other. In other words, it will almost always be the same color and shape. This includes small bumps, or wrinkles, or speckles, or even 2-tone (I have a cochin hen who lays an egg that is brown on one end that fades to cream color on the other end). Ocasionally but rarely a hen will regularly switch colors.. i've known Easter Eggers to switch back and forth from a olive color to a mint green every other day,, or other birds to add speckles to an egg that is usually not,,, but even these changes will almost always have a routine pattern to them,, like adding speckles to an egg every 6th day,

CTKen said:

Personally i would go out and check my nesting boxes every 30mins or so - that way you know who is in the nesting box, hence who is laying what and when.

CT

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And yes,, by far the best way to tell is check every 30 mins or so,, quietly so as not to disturb your girls,, sometimes you can even catch them in the act,,, a chicken may sit/lay in a nest for quite some before she is ready to lay,, right before she does though she will stand/squat and drop the egg,, making it important to have soft nesting materials in your nest

Signs of onset of lay---I've found the pelvic points to be the most accurate.
Squatting:
If you touch their back they will hunker down on the ground, then shake their tail feathers when they get back up.
This shows they are sexually mature and egg laying is close at hand.

Combs and Wattles:
Plump, shiny red - usually means laying.
Shriveled, dryish looking and pale - usually means not laying.
Tho I have found that the combs and wattles can look full and red one minute then pale back out the next due to exertion or excitement, can drive ya nuts when waiting for a pullet to lay!

2 bony points(pelvic bones) on either side of vent:
Less than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means not laying.
More than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means laying.

Note the use of the word "usually". Chickens are individuals, and often do not care about set rules that they are supposed to conform to.

Free Feather said:

Note the use of the word "usually". Chickens are individuals, and often do not care about set rules that they are supposed to conform to.

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Exactly why I used the word 'usually'.

Those aren't really 'rules', but observations made by many.

aart said:

Exactly why I used the word 'usually'.

Those aren't really 'rules', but observations made by many.

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Yeah, I was referring to your comment.