Egg laying question

[sallyjayd]

My chicken are around a year old. with them being only 2 month apart.
I have what I think are
2 red sexlinks
1 barred rock
1 road island red (youngest)

is their a way I can tell who is laying what egg.
I get 3-4 eggs a day and one is a very large egg (very good tasting and BIG)

I have a feeling one of the oldest (Sexlink) is laying that good egg but my husband is convinced the RIR (because she is the biggest chicken)
would the bigger chicken lay a bigger eggs???
how can I prove who is laying it???

how often does each lay? I was thinking that all of these breeds are daily layers.

As you probaly can tell these are my first set of chickens.

 

[newchicksnducks]

I've heard the average cycle of the egg is somewhere around 27 hours. Once the egg laying time gets close to dusk, they hold off and start laying again the next morning, getting later each day till shortly before dusk, then waiting again till the next day...

Someone suggested putting food dye on the vent of the hens, different colors for different birds. Supposedly when the eg is laid, there should be a bit of coloring on the egg, allowing you to determin who laid which egg. I haven't tried this yet, but could be interesting.

 

[feathersnuggles]

Quote:
Yeah, but I've always wondered if the food coloring would come off as the hens pooped different colored poops! LOL.

 

[emys]

You'll have to watch closely one rainy Sunday and check the nest box after each hen. My biggest egg layer is a sex link, and she is only the third largest hen.

 

[underground chickenman]

I've got my money on the red sex-link too. Mine is my smallest chicken, but my biggest and most frequent egg layer. You won't know for sure, however, until you catch each one on the nest and see what's left right after she gets off.

UGCM

 

[feathersnuggles]

Watching for the nests, and who is sitting on them, is cheap and effective. Some people, who have more $$ than time, install a camera pointed to the nests, so they can see who sits on which nests and lays the eggs.

 

[sallyjayd]

How often should I check (how long does it take for they to lay an egg?) and what time do I need to start looking. Little red (the Road Island Red) is the last to lay so I go out at 8:30 am and most of the time they are all there and she is just laying on them.

does the food coloring work?? if so how do I apply it? straight or spay bottle with colored water. and will it hurt the chicken.

will they lay if I just make a morning of it and sit out with them?

 

[feathersnuggles]

Check when you hear the egg-song, for sure. Sometimes that means a hen has just laid an egg. Sometimes it just means that a hen wants access to a nest that another hen is in. She'll sing the egg song to get that hen to leave. The egg song is sorta: "bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk-bahGAHHHWK!"

If I miss the hen that just laid, I will check the feeder. My hens ALWAYS gorge on feed, right after they lay an egg. So, I am able to tell who laid, just by checking to see who is eating like a maniac.

I would also check when you hear the characteristic "egg-complaint" that happens before they lay. Mine sort of growl and make a complaint-sounding "Qwahhhhh-qwah-qwah-qwah" as they get close to laying an egg. I think they feel the egg inside, turning and moving into position to be laid.

About the food coloring, I think you'll just get different colored poops.

By the time the egg is laid (depending how much they poop before they lay), I'm not sure there will be anything still on the vent to color the egg. Just sayin. I haven't tried it, but if you do, be sure to use food-grade NON TOXIC food coloring.

You might want to see if anyone else has actually done that.