How to tell which hens are laying well?

[gckiddhouse]

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Now I will have to pop that bubble. My only pullet that does not have damage to her back is my best layer!! I think she is just really good at dodging the roo. Her eggs are all fertile, though, just like the rest.

Are all your hens the same breed??? If so, I like the one way door idea. You could go out 3xs a day and let them out and examine the eggs. Take notes, weigh them, etc.

Our hens are all different. Their eggs are all different colors and shapes. We have been keeping very meticulous notes from the beginning on when each hen lays, how much her egg weighs and what time of day she lays it. We always know which egg came from which hen.

We have become familiar with their patterns, i.e. our Cal. White lays for 7 days and then takes one day off. Our RIR lays for 4 days and takes one off. The speckled susses only lays 2 days and takes one off. Her eggs are almost round like a golf ball. The EEs lay long thin eggs, our sex link lays and egg that is pointy, etc... you get the idea.

Can you separate them into smaller groups until you figure out some of their laying characteristics.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Hi!

Har, we don't have a rooster. So that shoots the rooster method.

gckiddhouse, we have multiple breeds, but multiples of each breed. And even the hens of the same breed lay different eggs. For example, one of my hatchery Delawares lays an elongated pink egg, and the other one a standard large brown egg. I frankly don't have enough time to stand out in the hen house for 8 hours a day every day to figure out who lays what when. I have a full time job and a two year old. How on Earth are you doing this? Are you Superwoman/Man?

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I have heard that you can take food coloring and put it in their vent first thing in the morning. The egg should get some color on it from the hen laying it. A different color for each hen (you will have to make some of your own colors like orange or purple).

I have a few problems with that method though.....I don't like putting anything in where it doesn't normally supposed to go. And how does it stay in there if they go poo?
As you can tell I have never used this method. I'm the idiot that spends all day sitting on the roosting pole with a notebook and pen watching the nest boxes (yes, mine free range during the day). Along with colored zip ties if the hen isn't already color tagged.

 

[gckiddhouse]

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Sorry, I am sure that is the case for most folks.

Our chickens are part of our homeschooling adventure. My kids are grade school age and we keep close tabs on the chickens.

Also, we were paying really close attention when they first started laying. So each time a pullet laid her first egg, we could examine and take notes on what it looked like.

We also don't have more than two of the same breed. We can't tell between the two RIRs except that one of them doesn't lay. And the two EEs lay different colored eggs.

We collect 2 or 3 times each day. We weigh the eggs, mark the chart and put it away. It isn't a lot of time. But we are home. We don't mark down the "time", just whether it was morning or afternoon. This way we have learned about a hen's laying pattern, ie. our Cal White will lay 7 days in a row, 3 morning eggs, 2 noon time eggs and 2 afternoon eggs and then she takes a day off.

I am sure if we had more birds, we would not be able to keep track like we do. It was just a great opportunity for homeschooling to observe, take notes, graph, look for patterns, identify, etc..

I assure you, I am as far from superwoman as a girl can get. But i try.

 

[gallo34]

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What?????

My Roosters...will go after a 14 week pullet...IF, he can catch her! "He will only mate with a laying hen...." not true....

 

[gallo34]

gckiddhouse --- that is a beautiful thing you are doing...keep teaching the kids

 

[gckiddhouse]

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Thank you! It isn't easy, but we find that it is worth it.

 

[Ivan2]

If a hens comb is bright and a pretty red she is laying. If it is dull colored she is not.

 

[Kim_NC]

If you confine them individually for 4-7 days, you'll find out exactly what each layer is doing with no guess work. We have 3 individual wire cages for this.

- With a good layer, you'll know in just 3-4 days since she leaves an egg nearly everyday.
- Small eggs or poor quality egg - again, just a couple days and you'll know.
- I leave them up to 7 days if they don't appear to be good layers. A hen may fool you the first day or two, but then lay 5 days in a row.

Important - we leave the cages in their regular coop to avoid them feeling "moved" or "relocated". That would put them off laying.

We use color zip ties so that we can tell one hen from another and keep records.

For inexpensive cages...

I built 2' x 2' x 2' wire cages from 1/4" rabbit wire and a crimp tool and metal bands. (TSC carries the crimp tool, often pet stores have it tool.) If you buy the rabbit wire in 2' width, it minimizes the amount of time you have to spend cutting. Also, use chicken wire for the bottom so that poo falls through.

The cages are also a convenient size for transporting birds too.

 

[EmptyNest]

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Thanks for posting this - I'd been looking for this info.