Determining What Hens Are Laying

[rickson]

I'm a new egg...got my coop up thanks to help on here, got 9 of my 10 pullets to about egg laying time....

I'm getting an egg here, 4 there, etc. All 9 of my hens are in the same coop/run, how do I determine which hens are laying? Should I start to separate them somehow and monitor them?

I need to get down to 4-5 hens for the winter based on square footage of my coop, I wasn't planning on so many of my chicks making it to maturity....and I only want to keep the best layers.

Thanks!!!!

 

[J.Pryce]

You can band them & then watch who are using the nests. I had problems finding bands, so I use different colored zip ties loosely on there legs & clip of the excess length.

 

[chick4chix]

I have read about people using different colored food coloring on the vent- then the egg from that colored hen will have a smear of that color on it. If all your hens are the same breed and it's hard to tell them apart- you can color code the top of their heads with the food coloring- too- its non-toxic and will wear off.