How to isolate hen to gather eggs for hatching

[Faraz1]

So what is the best way to collect eggs from a specific hen ? I have a silkie which js living in a coop along with my other buff sussex hens and i would like to hatch her eggs for incubating.

Now i have a suspicion that her eggs are the smallest of the lot, but is there a way to be sure or mark them ?

I have tried putting food coloring on her vent but it was a water soluble solution and didnt really stick or mark any eggs.

All ideas are appreciated.

 

[CKfarm22]

Possibly a camera? That’s what i use to see who’s laying and when.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Agree with using a coop cam. I have an older Ring doorbell that I sometime use. works well

 

[NatJ]

Can you put her in a dog crate or other pen, inside the run? Provide food, water, a nest, and of course protection from sun & rain.

If she is laying the eggs you think, then you will be able to let her back out after the first egg, because then you will know those eggs are hers.

 

[Faraz1]

Thanks for the suggestions. I don't think a camera is practical as i have 3 nesting boxes so not sure which one is being used by her.

I like the crate idea however not sure if it might just stress her instead which could cause her to stop laying.

 

[SueT]

I like to peek in on my hens many times a day. If I want a specific hen’s egg, I mark eggs already in the nest or remove them. Most of their eggs are very similar but not exactly the same. I listen for the egg song, and then, bingo, I have that hen’s egg.

 

[CKfarm22]

Thanks for the suggestions. I don't think a camera is practical as i have 3 nesting boxes so not sure which one is being used by her.

I like the crate idea however not sure if it might just stress her instead which could cause her to stop laying.

So put the camera up somewhere where you can see all 3 nesting boxes.

 

[NatJ]

I like the crate idea however not sure if it might just stress her instead which could cause her to stop laying.

Every hen is an individual, so I cannot be positive about your hen. But in general, putting a hen in a crate does not stress her enough to make her stop laying.

Depending on how many other hens you have, you could put each of them in a crate until you check what their eggs are, which means any stress would be on them rather than on the one you want to hatch eggs from. But that also means it will take you that much longer to be sure about who is laying the one kind of egg you think this hen lays.

I have tried putting food coloring on her vent but it was a water soluble solution and didnt really stick or mark any eggs.

I have also read of people using lipstick on a hen's vent, but I've never tried it myself.