how do you guys keep track of who’s laying and when?

[froggyphore]

i see a lot of people on here have a pretty accurate and specific recent laying history for their individual hens, how do y’all keep track? when i have days off i go out and check on them fairly frequently but even then i don’t really know whos laying what aside from what breed, i certainly couldn’t say from memory the last time a specific lady layed. do y’all have cameras or something? lol. i want to make sure i have a grasp on whats going on but i don’t know how you guys manage! tyia

 

[MedicDog]

I've got a small mixed flock (different egg colours and sizes) so I use the Flockstar app to keep track. It's really easy to use and keep track once you know what egg belongs to who. You could have a rough guess or keep an eye on wattles and combs, the redder they are, the more likely they are laying.

I've put some Flockstar screenshots;

 

[aart]

I can match all my chickens to the eggs so it's easier for me to know which chicken is laying and when (and I had the time to stand around and visually confirm that). I have a mix of breeds that lay different colors, so that makes a big difference.

I had this scenario at one point....now it's like who the heck knows!
I just count daily egg numbers...I use a spread sheet to track all kinds of things.

 

[Sally PB]

The only way I can keep track is by checking for eggs often and writing down who laid what size (weight in grams) and about what time.

No technology, just a pen and notebook. Yeah, I'm old fashioned that way.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I can match all my chickens to the eggs so it's easier for me to know which chicken is laying and when (and I had the time to stand around and visually confirm that). I have a mix of breeds that lay different colors, so that makes a big difference.

 

[Nicrom]

Yes!! I too look forward to seeing how people do it! Good thread!

 

[quackingdom]

My ducks almost never lay in the coop and instead run to their nests when they're let out in the morning. So we watch them and see who goes where. We have to do that from time to time anyway so as to not miss any hidden nests.

The chickens often lay later in the day, but my hybrid layer chickens are very consistent and usually don't change nests, so all I have to do is catch the chicken in the nest once and I know who's laying there. And for the ones that lay in clutches and go broody, I can note when somebody new starts laying in a nest, and then I wait for them to go broody and can then attribute all those eggs to them.

It's not foolproof, of course. If I know four chickens lay in one nest, and one day I get three eggs, I won't know who didn't lay.

We usually don't know exactly who all is laying where, but we like to keep track as best as we can so we can get some idea which birds are the best layers and such.

 

[Smileybans]

I love the app idea. I bought a book for keeping track of how many eggs I get in a day. But it’s only for this year.
I know when my brahmas are laying because they aren’t quiet about it. I swear they’re louder than the roosters are. I also have pullets that lay different colored eggs so that makes it easy to tell who is laying. One of my OEs always lays an egg with dark green speckles on it. I know which one it is because she isn’t that quiet either.
It’s the silkies I can’t tell apart. They’re super quiet about laying and all their eggs look the same. The only way I know who is laying what egg is when one of them goes broody.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I don't. Flock in signature below. Most of my birds, unlike the Procul Harem song, lay "a browner shade of pale."

These do not lend themselves to ready identification.

I've stopped counting. I know I'll get at least a half flat each day, and if I ever let most of my flock age into adulthood, I'll be lucky if I *only* get a flat a day.

24 eggs in a day remains my record, and I've culled numerous layers since then, but have also doubled my flock size - just waiting for the new birds to start laying.

 

[froggyphore]

wow! thanks for all the detailed and varied responses everyone! i can definitely tell a few apart but my JGs all lay large pink eggs and are pretty quiet about so i don’t think theres much hope there lol. i also love the app idea, i’ll definitely be using that from now