🐣🐥Black Copper Marans and Whiting True Blues. Lots of videos🎥

[TexasBlues]

Never tried that test and with her already started it may not give you a positive. Locking her in a cage for a few days or a small make shift run of her own during the day would be the sure fire way... It seems I remember all your Marans pullets were laying a nice color.


Shame you got a mystery layer.

Yeah I’m liking the shade of the eggs I get from the 2 marans. I have 3 of their pullets getting pretty close to point of lay. 18 weeks old now. I’d be happy to send you some WTB eggs or WTB x BCM once they start laying in good numbers. Right now I only have 1 BCM and 2 wtb laying and one of those is the mystery layer. I think this next generation will be

 

[wrathsfarm]

My most recent started right between 19-20 weeks. So hopefully yours are super close.

I appreciate the offer, thanks. I think on it but at the moment trying to get the BBS Silver flock going and cull mine down for the season is at the top of the list for me.

 

[NatJ]

Never tried that test and with her already started it may not give you a positive.

If you mean checking her vent to see if she is laying, I find it's easier if I start by checking some that I know are not laying (roosters, broodies, anyone too young to lay), and then ones I do know are laying, and then the one that I am not sure about. That gives me a good reminder of what signs I am looking for (vent) and feeling for (bones below the vent.) A hen that just recently stopped laying, or is getting ready to start, can have confusing in-between traits, but I can usually be sure about most of a flock, with just a few maybes.

Given how fast it is to check butts (especially if you grab the birds off the roost at night, one after another), I prefer to do that before I bother caging any bird individually-- because if she is not laying, I can save several days of having her in a separate pen. A not-laying bird is usually the easiest for me to identify.

Locking her in a cage for a few days or a small make shift run of her own during the day would be the sure fire way...

I agree that is a surefire way to get her eggs, if she is laying.

 

[wrathsfarm]

If you mean checking her vent to see if she is laying, I find it's easier if I start by checking some that I know are not laying (roosters, broodies, anyone too young to lay), and then ones I do know are laying, and then the one that I am not sure about. That gives me a good reminder of what signs I am looking for (vent) and feeling for (bones below the vent.) A hen that just recently stopped laying, or is getting ready to start, can have confusing in-between traits, but I can usually be sure about most of a flock, with just a few maybes.

Given how fast it is to check butts (especially if you grab the birds off the roost at night, one after another), I prefer to do that before I bother caging any bird individually-- because if she is not laying, I can save several days of having her in a separate pen. A not-laying bird is usually the easiest for me to identify.


I agree that is a surefire way to get her eggs, if she is laying.

@TexasBlues says she's started laying but either stopped or is hiding eggs. I meant the vent check might only confirm what he already knew there.

If a hen stops laying let's say for example for 6 months-1 year, does the vent get smaller or shrink to where you could confirm that she's stopped laying?

I guess I'm trying to compare it to child birth, where there's proof positive a female has given birth at some point in her life..where as once a hen has started laying say a dozen eggs and never lays another, the vent check would confirm she at some point layed eggs?

 

[NatJ]

@TexasBlues says she's started laying but either stopped or is hiding eggs. I meant the vent check might only confirm what he already knew there.

If a hen stops laying let's say for example for 6 months-1 year, does the vent get smaller or shrink to where you could confirm that she's stopped laying?

I guess I'm trying to compare it to child birth, where there's proof positive a female has given birth at some point in her life..where as once a hen has started laying say a dozen eggs and never lays another, the vent check would confirm she at some point layed eggs?

That is the situation I meant. A hen who stops laying will go back to having a non-layer kind of vent and bone spacing. It can happen quite fast.

For a non-laying hen, I don't think I've found any difference between ones that never laid vs. ones that laid at some point in the distant past. They seem to pretty much fall in two distinct groups, laying now and not-laying now. The in-between stages appear to last just a few days (stopped laying) up to maybe a few weeks max (gearing up to lay, either the first time or later times.)

So I do think a vent check will make it clear whether she is still laying and must be hiding eggs, or whether she has stopped laying.

 

[wrathsfarm]

That is the situation I meant. A hen who stops laying will go back to having a non-layer kind of vent and bone spacing. It can happen quite fast.

For a non-laying hen, I don't think I've found any difference between ones that never laid vs. ones that laid at some point in the distant past. They seem to pretty much fall in two distinct groups, laying now and not-laying now. The in-between stages appear to last just a few days (stopped laying) up to maybe a few weeks max (gearing up to lay, either the first time or later times.)

So I do think a vent check will make it clear whether she is still laying and must be hiding eggs, or whether she has stopped laying.

This is great info, thanks.

 

[TexasBlues]

I’ll try to check them on the roost and see if she looks like a layer.
The chick that had curled toes wore the tape splint for about 36 hours or so and I took it off and bam! the toes look straight and the chick is running and scratching.
Here’s a pic of a juvenile male from the fibro Easter eggers. You can see why we call him pearl. His feathers have a glow to them. The other guy is pretty exotic looking too. Looks like he’s getting blue earlobes coming in.

 

[wrathsfarm]

I’ll try to check them on the roost and see if she looks like a layer.
The chick that had curled toes wore the tape splint for about 36 hours or so and I took it off and bam! the toes look straight and the chick is running and scratching.
Here’s a pic of a juvenile male from the fibro Easter eggers. You can see why we call him pearl. His feathers have a glow to them. The other guy is pretty exotic looking too. Looks like he’s getting blue earlobes coming in.
View attachment 3936215View attachment 3936216View attachment 3936217

Wow...yes I see it. Reminds me of Mother of Pearl paint that was all the rave back in the early muscle car days that had the purple/green/blue hue to it depending on which direction the sun was facing.

They're all beautiful.

 

[Debbie292d]

Broodys are the best. I wouldn't have done that first Easter hatch if I knew I was going to have 10, but you just don't know til you know.

But really having the 10 wasn't so bad. Space issue of course plays in but it's mostly hands off, open the door and let them go.

I'm not positive but I do think shrinkwrapping plays a part.

@Debbie292d is my go to with these questions. She always has thorough and easy to understand answers.

Super cute babies you got my friend, congrats.

Awe, thank you. I'm just an old goat with a lot of personal experience with animals and love to help so much! Chickens are my favorite pets!

 

[TexasBlues]

I’m getting some nice eggs from my other marans