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

[Auntiejessi3]

Me too, I have three brown egg layers, on is speckled, one is glossy and one is, well brown. That was pure luck though. All my others are blue, green and cream.
This year I’m getting a white and a dark brown (maybe a dark green too )

Chicken math has made a big change to how I keep track now A month after that post I started using the flockstar app, I'm still using it to this day. And the cameras help as well

 

[CraziChknLady]

I got my flats from Amazon. Cheap, likely Chinese, plastics. The "sellers" keep disappearing, but identical products keep popping up by others. Buy in packs, 6, 8, 10, 12... Expect they will cost you $2-3 each, so a pack will run you $18-36 depending on size.

They bleach well, take hot water well, drain for air drying (reasonably) well [I had to finish cleaning the holes out on a couple], they stack, and they've held up a couple years. If a neighbor forgets to bring one back, I'm only out a couple bucks.

I store mine stacked in the fridge, 4 high on a shelf. They will fit a duck egg, so birds laying extra large aren't a problem.

and you can't see it, but I marked mine with a black sharpie to create black bars on two sides. When I stack them, it makes a "stair" of black marks - helps ensure that they stay in order, oldest to newest. Have to do two sides because one flat will lay 6 across 5 deep, the next flat gets turned 90 degrees so 5 across 6 deep. Repeat repeat, repeat.

Once stacked 8 tall in a cooler and drove them 6 hours across state, didn't lose a single egg. (plastic "ice" blocks too). Big cooler, weighed more than I could easily handle alone once loaded. Got rid of it.

Hope that helps a little?

Oh yes that helps so much! I've got 31 hens so I know I'm probably going to get anywhere from 15-30 eggs a day. Sadly have to have a closed flock, so no selling. Just means I'm going to be baking and cooking a lot this spring/summer!

 

[Loving my girls]

Oh yes that helps so much! I've got 31 hens so I know I'm probably going to get anywhere from 15-30 eggs a day. Sadly have to have a closed flock, so no selling. Just means I'm going to be baking and cooking a lot this spring/summer!

Goodness, I have 8 hens six of which are laying.
I also have friends to give them too But 30 hens goodness I would be supplying half of the village with those

 

[CraziChknLady]

Goodness, I have 8 hens six of which are laying.
I also have friends to give them too But 30 hens goodness I would be supplying half of the village with those

Yeah chicken math hit me really hard ...I started back in May 2024 (after selling everything the previous Nov 2023 )
with 8. Didn't expect a very fertile rooster. First mama hatched out 15. At one point had 4-5 Mama's each with 1-3 chicks....and had 1 with 5. One mama had 1 so I bought 6 which she didn't take. And unexpected sale for a buy one get one free so I got 6....some were breeds that they didn't normally have. ( Plus having a cashier who didn't ring up correctly at all meant I technically got 2 lavender orp chicks free, bonus!) When I found a really really good deal on some swedish flower hens, which were one of my rare breeds I always wanted, I jumped on those.....my plan was to have a 3 flocks 5-10 in banty ( which I wouldn't normally have but turns out half of my original flock were and the main rooster was too big.), my main mixed flock of 5-10 maybe 15, then my Swedish Flower Hens...I was hoping for 1 roo, rest hens...but turns out I only got 4 hens. That was the plan. I had over 60 which I sold 16-20 and lost 5. As each batch grew I was going to go to sell them at the animal auction and keep whom I wanted....until Octish when sickness took over....which put a wrench in everything. Now sickness at bay, but still flares up with bad weather. Now just seeing who makes it through winter as we keep having temp fluctuations. Sorry story so long. It's been a rollercoaster.

 

[Bawkbok]

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;
View attachment 2731158

View attachment 2731159

This is really cool, had not seen that before. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Bawkbok]

I got my flats from Amazon. Cheap, likely Chinese, plastics. The "sellers" keep disappearing, but identical products keep popping up by others. Buy in packs, 6, 8, 10, 12... Expect they will cost you $2-3 each, so a pack will run you $18-36 depending on size.

They bleach well, take hot water well, drain for air drying (reasonably) well [I had to finish cleaning the holes out on a couple], they stack, and they've held up a couple years. If a neighbor forgets to bring one back, I'm only out a couple bucks.

I store mine stacked in the fridge, 4 high on a shelf. They will fit a duck egg, so birds laying extra large aren't a problem.

and you can't see it, but I marked mine with a black sharpie to create black bars on two sides. When I stack them, it makes a "stair" of black marks - helps ensure that they stay in order, oldest to newest. Have to do two sides because one flat will lay 6 across 5 deep, the next flat gets turned 90 degrees so 5 across 6 deep. Repeat repeat, repeat.

Once stacked 8 tall in a cooler and drove them 6 hours across state, didn't lose a single egg. (plastic "ice" blocks too). Big cooler, weighed more than I could easily handle alone once loaded. Got rid of it.

Hope that helps a little?

Well it's unfortunate we don't live closer to each other, i would be buying eggs from you instead of paying $8 at the store! With having only two laying hens (legal restrictions of the city) we barely have a dozen in a week so we still have to supplement with store eggs.