How can I tell who laid what?

[AmyBella]

My girls have been laying for a couple of weeks now and I would like to know which eggs are coming from which pullet. Someone is laying double yolkers, someone laid two eggs on Wednesday, and one of my girls was egg-bound with soft-shelled eggs and I would like to monitor her progress. I work during the day, so I'm not around to spy on them...

Short of booby trapping the nests or setting up surveillance cameras is there a way to tell? I only have 4 layers, soon to be 5.

 

[Elite Silkies]

There really isn't a way to tell unless you set up a camera. The only way to tell would be if you had different breeds.

 

[Uppity Peon]

I have heard of people putting food coloring into the cloaca of a hen to stain her next egg.

You can also isolate hens into animal crates for a day or two to see their eggs.

However the stress of either method may cause then not to lay.

 

[JewellFarm]

I've heard of several people using the food coloring method. I think that may be better than isolating them, jmo. Isolation would probably stress them out and stop egg production for a while.

 

[AmyBella]

Wow, food coloring... interesting! The last thing I want to do is stress my birds, so I probably won't try it unless it becomes imperetive that I know. What a great idea, though.

Maybe this weekend I will be able to keep an eye on the nest box...

 

[NellaBean]

I have 5 girls laying so far and for the most part can tell the eggs apart. Mine was a bit easier as they all started a few weeks apart, and it was obvious which one was starting because of comb appearance and behavior. Once I got used to the egg and which box they used, it was a lot easier to tell whose egg was whose. You probably need to spend some time in the coop on a day off and watch the girls to see. Now that I know, I can tell the biggest egg is from the smaller white girl, the mediume white egg from the biggest white girl, the tiny white egg is from the buttercup........the brown eggs I am getting are almost identical, however my Giant girl only lays in the lower box and my RIR girl only lays in the upper boxes. Once I get the eggs out of the boxes and put them together, it is hard to tell. From closely studying, the Giant's egg often has white specks and the RIR egg often is not a perfect "egg" shape (has some ridges). But I know who is laying depending on which egg is in which box. Such predictable girls......

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Maybe you could cut a pair of pantyhose in half and stuff one pantyhose leg over the chicken's behind. Then she'll drag her treasure around with her till you get back home.

No??????

What's wrong with you people???????

 

[AmyBella]

Quote:
Bwah!

This is totally my favorite idea so far. I'll make 'em custom panties... maybe with their names across the butt.

 

[Uppity Peon]

A chastity belt... I don't think the rooster would be really wild about that.

 

[Dixiedoodle]

I agree about spending time with the girls! I started taking a milk crate into the run and watching them.. I realized that one of the BR was more red, vocal and the rooster was paying attention to her.. I THOUGHT my first eggs were from her....then one day, I actually caught hergetting in the nest box--I waited around for about 5 min...she laid an egg that was identical to the ones I had been getting... Then I caught a RIR in the nest--her egg was darker than the BR...