BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Beekissed]

Hey...I haven't killed a good layer since trying that method, so I'm sticking with it.

 

[stryker]

Bee knows how to identify the slackers!!!!!!!   Though her technique may not be for the faint of heart, lol lol lol  

Dare I even ask?

 

[Beekissed]

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.

 

[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.

That would probably be about the easiest way....Asked my twelve yr old girl who dreams of becoming a veterinarian if she could handle it. She said "I'm not sticking my arm up a cow's butt, but I could probably do that if you pay me"...

 

[stryker]

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.

Now that is dedication!

 

[Beekissed]

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.

 

[Kassaundra]

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.

Paramedic here, so a chicken butt doesn't even break the top ten of nasty, smelly or disgusting things I deal with.

 

[Beekissed]

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.

 

[gjensen]

Even the best layers can temporarily drop out of production for a variety of reasons. A variety of things can interrupt the laying cycle.I would be very cautious about judging a bird over a single weeks production. That is not a very informed view. That is to say that a week or two is not enough information to evaluate a pullet or hen. I hope that the general audience does not come to believe that a layer can be adequately judged in such a short time frame.

That was the idea behind trap nests. They did not count eggs over a week or two weeks. It is not definitive enough. The old laying trials did not evaluate pullets over a couple weeks. They made informed decisions by evaluating over the entire pullet year. It was not a couple weeks that they were concerned with. They understood that it was not enough to make informed comparisons. Otherwise, the laying trials would have only lasted a month.

If one trap nested a couple dozen birds over an entire cycle, the records would note some random hits and misses. Some interruptions etc. Possibly by birds near or at the top.

 

[AnthNDacula]

So does this hen need to be kissed first or does she like a surprise?