How I Store Eggs Shells For Future Reference

[Buckeye Amy]

I am currently breeding for egg color with a variety of chickens. I have kept the egg shells for reference when the new pullets begin to lay. I find it very easy to forget who I bred with who, the color of the chick when it hatched, etc, so this is how I keep it all straight! In addition to the carton storage I keep meticulous notes in a notebook where I record all my hatch details.

I use old egg cartons that are too messed up to reuse for sale. I number each cup 1 through 12 and write the corresponding number on the pointy end of each shell using a mechanical pencil. Any pertinent notes are also written on the shells and on a slip of paper I keep inside the carton.

These store really well and the shells are protected from being crushed or mixed up. I don't know if anyone else uses this method, or has a better one, but I thought I'd share!

 

[Debbie292d]

Sounds like a great idea you have there!

 

[Buckeye Amy]

Thank you, what a nice thing to say!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I like the meticulousness of it but you only have half the data until you can track the sires.

 

[Buckeye Amy]

Their info is recorded in my notes. There’s only so much room on 2/3 of an egg shell!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I get that but you can keep a paper or digital log and even photos of the shells without holding them and have all the data you currently track and much more.
Like you, I was tracking egg shell color. It was for one of the darkest shell breeds in the world. But it was clear to me that without knowing the entire progeny, my work was meaningless. The rooster provides half the DNA.

 

[Buckeye Amy]

You have to start somewhere.