BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Beer can]

I'm a nurse, so I've had my finger up a lot of butts, so this procedure comes more natural to me than to most.  Go out at night, slip on a glove, insert the tip of a finger into the rectum of the hen and palpate the next day's egg through the rectal wall.  Do that enough nights in a row to insure you have a daily layer or every other day layer, mark any that don't have an egg in the chute more than two days in a row and get them out of the flock. 

Best if done during peak laying season so you get an accurate reading of who is laying when laying should be at its best.  Doesn't hurt the hen in the least and, other than trap nests, it's the best way to determine 100% if a hen is actually laying for you. 

Been doing it that way for years now....I'm pretty serious about laying production.     Don't like feeding slackers and don't like killing a good hen by mistake, so it's a good solution for me. 

Nope...only going in to the first joint of the finger and it's all gently done, so no mess or stress involved for either party.     When dealing with chickens, medical gloves are good friends to have for various functions...dusting a bird, butchering, rectal exams as described, most likely used in doing a capon surgery, for slathering up the legs with castor oil as a mite treatment/preventative, etc. 

REALLY love my gloves. 

Works for me, George.  I figure if they aren't laying every day or every other day when all birds should be laying at their peak, then they most likely won't be laying well at other times of the year either....and that has proven true for me time and again.  There shouldn't be anything during that time to delay an egg unless it's illness or hormone issues, both of which I cull for, so that gets those birds out of the flock as well. 

Short sighted?  Maybe to you.  To me it's a practical solution to a problem of deciding who to cull or tag for culling without investing in a trap nest setup and trapping those poor birds in a box each day for who knows how long so I can get "accurate" counts for a whole year on each bird.  I'm just not set up for that, nor will I ever be, so I have to use methods that work.  Also, my free rangers will often not lay if confined to a pen and will pace nervously for days until they are returned to the flock, then will resume laying...can't imagine what being confined to a trap nest would to the poor things. 

Unless you've actually applied the method and seen that it doesn't work, you have no hands on experience about it at all, but just more theory.  Lot's of theory.  I have hands on experience with it over years of use and find it shows me which are the best layers each and every time.  Since I don't often cull at the time I tag, but much later in the fall, the birds have all spring and summer in which to prove their laying or lack thereof.  Each time that happens, I'm not a bit surprised that those tagged birds pretty much are crappy layers the rest of the year as well.  If they are still crappy layers in spring, summer and  fall, there's really no reason to feed them all winter to get that full year's worth of evaluation.  For me it's held true year after year...a crappy layer in March/April will continue to be a crappy layer all the way to fall culling. 

I give up. Too hard to look it up on this cell phone .if somebody's doing egg palpation on this thread, maybe they can explain it to the rest of us.
Best,
Karen

 

[3riverschick]

Beekissed,
Do you have to worry about breaking the egg inside the chicken when you checked with a rectal exam. just curious,
Karen

 

[Kusanar]

Beekissed,
Do you have to worry about breaking the egg inside the chicken when you checked with a rectal exam. just curious,
Karen

Not Bee, but I would assume with them that far down the oviduct that they should be pretty well formed, probably don't poke them harder than you would a water balloon though.

 

[NanaKat]

Before I set my breed pens, I begin checking for egg laying.

Like BeeKissed, I have checked with gloves doing the rectal exam....For large fowl, use my index finger only to the first knuckle. For my Bantam hens, I use my pinky finger.
The hens are not uncomfortable because the pressure is very gentle. The egg is ready for laying and so far, I have never broken an egg.
As a precaution, I dip my gloved fingers in a 10% Oxine solution between hens. Oxine is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral.

Another way to identify a laying hen instead of trap nesting is to use food coloring in the vent...a drop is plenty. When I have a trio or quad and want to know who is laying what egg, I apply a different color to each hen in the morning. When she lays her egg, the color is streaked on the egg.
Once I know the shape and shell color shade for each hen, I no longer need the food coloring.
This helps when one or two hens are laying or eggs are not fertile or vital during incubation.

My last tip, a hen that is laying will have a moist, pliable vent while one that is not laying will have a shrunken dryer vent.

When culling for laying, it is best to check the girls when peak laying is occurring.
Not good during molt or while a hen is brooding chicks or when you have moved your hens to new pens, given them a new rooster, or your weather is too hot or too cold.
Many things can affect laying...telling them to get busy or become soup, just won't do it.

 

[Beer can]

Many things can affect laying...telling them to get busy or become soup, just won't do it.

Every time I cull a bunch I end up with more eggs

 

[Turk Raphael]

It would be fine to gather eggs from a hen that is almost a year though right?
Here in WA the hens egg laying is just starting to pick up.

On a different note do any of you guys practice trapnesting? About half of our hens are laying and I don't have the time to sit out there all day and watch to see who lays. Do you guys have any recommendations as to how to find out? or your experience using trapnests?

While it won't help in deciding which bird is laying what egg, experience will teach you to distinguish layers and non-layers by the appearance and 'feel' of each bird's vent and surrounding area.

EDIT: Sorry...I posted before catching up on the thread.

 

[South OH Chicks]

I would consider using a game camera and banding the legs with different colored bands.

 

[NanaKat]

Just had to post a few baby photos....since it is spring....

Cochin and Wyandotte and ducklings

 

[Kassaundra]

Just had to post a few baby photos....since it is spring....

Cochin and Wyandotte and ducklings

Adorable. I won't hatch again for a month or two, have to change living arrangements first. But when I do it will be from Fm roo and hens. Excited to see how dark the chicks will end up being.

 

[Gorman Farm]

Tomorrow is hatch day here for the incubator and I"m sitting here drinking coffee listening to eggs peeping inside the bator,
Can't wait.........