Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[HallFamilyFarm]

I have to agree with NYREDS...EWWW!!!!!

Though we may be Sissies, at least our hands are clean!

Pelvic bone check has always worked for me. Started suing it when 4 fingers was the rule. Now two or more fingers. Guess my fingers got larger after 40+ years of checking for layers. My grandmother taught me how to use the pelvic bone/finger test in 1970 (+/-).

Quote:

Quote:

My Grandfather taught me to look for a variety of indicators to determine if a hen was laying: distance between the pubic bones beig one. In a hen that isn't laying or a pullet that hasn't started to lay the pubic bones will be nearly touching. In one that is producing regularly the pubic bones will be widely spaced with this space varying with the size of the bird. The relative softness of the abdomen is also an indicator. In a non-laying female the abdomen will be very firm while a hen in production will have a soft abdomen. Condition of the vent too is an indicator. A large moist vent indicates a bird in production while a small dry vent indicates one that is not. Tail condition can also be an indicator. If a hen has a perfectly formed tail she isn't spending much time in a nest. If her tail is rough with a number of broken feathers she's probably laying regularly. Combining these indicators should give a pretty good idea of who's laying & who's not. All without sticking your finger anywhere. I repeat, EWW! :-D

 

[Beekissed]

Gloves, people...gloves. I'm a nurse, so sticking my hands in gross places has sort of been my life. I guess it's only for those of us who go the extra mile to get what we want.

 

[fowlman01]

Gloves, people...gloves. I'm a nurse, so sticking my hands in gross places has sort of been my life. I guess it's only for those of us who go the extra mile to get what we want.

Nurses are always trying to stick things where they don't belong.....lol

Walt

 

[featherz]

Gloves, people...gloves. I'm a nurse, so sticking my hands in gross places has sort of been my life. I guess it's only for those of us who go the extra mile to get what we want.

X2 (from another nurse). I manage to always have gloves around and it makes life much easier.

 

[loanwizard]

For all y'all that say EWWWWW! Sissies

You can kill a chicken, but not finger it? You can shoot a coon? You can clean a chicken? Heck fire, for that you cut around the vent and stick your whole hand up in there and scrape it, and.... well.. you get the picture. Would you wipe you childs butt if necessary? Your parents?

Ahhhh.... some people amaze me.

Look in the kitchen at a fine restaurant once.... chicken vent is clean....

 

[fultzie]

silly question .we have german blood in our family ..and well ..my fingers are .well you know ..bigger than most ..so i know we dont stick our hole finger in there but .so ..this still wont hurt the bird will it ? ..just asking ..i started my flock in feb..i dont think i should be looking for eggs untill around july or aug...is that right ? ..all my birds are standard heavy breed sept the ee's got the frist one's at feb. 17 ..about 80 of them

 

[Beekissed]

Are your fingers bigger than an egg's circumference? If not, then they probably won't phase this chicken. Yeah...I know the egg is coming out and the finger is going in but the hen's vent it designed to expand and is even much looser than a human's anal orifice. Just be gentle, go easy and it's over in less than a second or two....the egg is generally right inside the entrance and you can feel the hardness of it.

Yes, don't expect eggs until then though, depending on the breed, you may see some earlier.

 

[fultzie]

oh ok..ty ..never never ever tryed this befor ..strange talking about this lol

 

[NYREDS]

Sissy.....

w.

That's Mr Sissy to you

 

[bruceh]

i think i saw this on video