How to mark eggs under a broody

[hoosierhens101]

I have a broody hen with 8 eggs. She is in a favorite nesting box so other hens are "adding" to the nest. I marked the eight eggs with a pencil but they are really hard to quickly read in the dim light. Is there something else that won't harm the eggs that is easier to see?

 

[Davethebirdman]

I have a broody hen with 8 eggs. She is in a favorite nesting box so other hens are "adding" to the nest. I marked the eight eggs with a pencil but they are really hard to quickly read in the dim light. Is there something else that won't harm the eggs that is easier to see?

Magic marker

 

[BDutch]

Magic marker

Are you sure this doesn't harm the chicks. A shell is permeable and I am afraid the chemicals in markers can go through the shell.
I always had white eggs to hatch before and didn’t have problems reading the pencil marks. But Thursday I’m collecting dark brown eggs to hatch under a broody. Is there another non-toxic marker/pen to write on eggs?

 

[BDutch]

I found this info about marking eggs in another thread.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ter-hatch-along.1444337/page-93#post-24135591

]@EggSighted4Life: All pencil rubs off to me unless it's a grease pencil.. but sharpie or any other crayola non toxic marker if you like is good.. avoid red.. NOT because red attracts pecking.. actually anything out of the ordinary attracts pecking and blood when discovered how delicious and rich it is creates a frenzy of excitement that attracts others attention who may join in and have havoc ensue.. Their combs are red, their wattles, etc.. the reason I avoid red marker is simply because during hatching as the shell gets pipped and starts to fall away it *can* look like a blood vessel was pipped causing undue alarm. So I use black, blue, green.. whatever is available and easy to see at a quick glance.. to it the whole quick glance thing.. under a broody.. I mark the egg with a band in each direction all the way around the egg. You might try different "band" styles.. like 3 bands in the same direction.. top, middle, bottom.. respectively.. if ya catch the general drift. The marker quickly evaporates without clogging pores.. I've hatched hundreds of chicks using them without issue YET.. but pencil under a broody, and issues ensued including collecting the wrong egg and not realizing until the next day when I went to put them in the fridge.. it was too late for that embryo.. and my hard lesson is one I'm sharing so you don't ever have to face that sort of easily avoidable accident! ]

 

[Imse]

Can you move the brooding hen?
We made a own compartment for our broody hedemora last week. We had the same problem, she did not say no to more eggs

So we dived a part of the coop for her, took the hen and nesting box and moved it all. We have individual, moveable nesting boxes just for this kind of situations...

We have moved broody hen and eggs without nesting box before, at night. But you need to wear gloves and be sure, she will peck at you.

All in all, I find it better to divide a part of the coop for the broody hen, rather than trying to find the non marked eggs, under a hen that for nothing in the world wants you to take her eggs

 

[JaeG]

I've used permanent marker many times on eggs and it's never caused any harm. The shell is designed for water to move out of it, not for things to be absorbed into it.

If you can draw a big ring around the middle of each egg it makes it very easy to quickly identify any that shouldn't be under the hen, even in dim light. It doesn't matter which side she's got the eggs lying on, you'll still see the rings.

 

[Davethebirdman]

Are you sure this doesn't harm the chicks. A shell is permeable and I am afraid the chemicals in markers can go through the shell.
I always had white eggs to hatch before and didn’t have problems reading the pencil marks. But Thursday I’m collecting dark brown eggs to hatch under a broody. Is there another non-toxic marker/pen to write on eggs?

Draw one tiny dot
Use a crayon if you are conserned.

 

[BDutch]

Draw one tiny dot
Use a crayon if you are conserned.

I realised that I don’t have to mark the dark brown eggs. All of my chickens lay white eggs. So if there is an intruder laying an extra egg under the broody, there will be no problem to distinguish the bought eggs from my own.

PS I probably have more problems to candle the eggs in 8-10 days.

 

[Mvan42]

I have even used pencil...

 

[cluckcluckhens]

In 2019 we had a broody Hen so we left her alone. I checked on her daily. Over the years our senior girls used to do this allot but we took her collection of eggs. Well, by surprise she hatched four out of five and one did not make it.

We used a ink pen to mark the eggs. We had eggs for three different days. We started with an X, O, ------ and so on, on the eggs. One we put an O with a line through the O. Girls kept laying their eggs. I checked on her a couple of times a day. Too bad one of the eggs wasn't her breed. We need to see if she does this, this summer with fewer eggs. I really like to get another of her breed, GLW. She turns 9 in the fall.

Every time I check her and the eggs I pet her, talked to her. At first she will not want anyone bothering her. I do wish I did this when she was younger but, we took her eggs she collected.