Ideas please!!! How to mark hens that go in the nest box...

[Lollipop]

Quote:
Learned it as a kid in 4-H. Works 100% if you can put 3 fingertips between the bones on a standard size hen, she is laying for sure. If the hen stops laying for a week or so the bones close up to about one finger tip width. Pullets and bantams somewhat less space, but if you use your brain, or have some to compare, you should be able to pinpoint the non layers. Best way to do it is to pick them off the roos at night and seperate the slackards. Have fun, it`s easy and you won`t have to mark them. Word of caution, don`t be too quick on them, they may start laying again. Most hens take a break, even if they aren`t broody. Good luck.........Pop

 

[Cowgirl71]

Thanks Lollipop! If it works 100%, then I wouldn't even need to lock them up in a cage... I can't wait to go check them and see what I find!
BTW, one of the hens lays a HUGE double yolker, about once a week. It is so big around it's not even close to fitting in a jumbo carton. It weighs about 4 oz

(an average large egg is 1.5 oz.). With the finger/pubic bone test, do you think I could figure out which hen is laying these huge eggs?

 

[smith2]

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Good point. Some people around here get rid of their entire flock when egg production drops below half the number of hens they have. In other words, if you have 30 hens, when you start getting less than 15 eggs a day, they get rid of the whole flock and start new. That way they don't waste money on feed for very few eggs. I am sort of in that stage now, but I am going to wait until my new ones start laying to cull the older ones. I know I have some that are laying 2-3 eggs a week, but that is all. My husband does not want to keep anything that is not laying eggs.

 

[Cowgirl71]

While testing a few of the hens, I came across one whose lower abdomen is all swollen, very much like a full water baloon. What could it be?!

Falcon61 and Smith2: That may be it, but I doubt it. Her story was that she's getting too many eggs, and was/is having to give them away. She currently has about 80 hens (a couple months ago she had 120). She is wanting to get out of the egg business and instead focus on growing her goat herd. When I went to get the hens, she let me pick them out. She said most of them were a year old, and a few were 18 months-two years old.

Lollipop: Can you please describe how snug your fingers should be between the pubic bones? I tested about a dozen of the hens. Assuming I did it properly, these are the results: Two of the hens were about 1.5 finger widths, and the rest were 2-2.5 finger widths. None were three finger widths. The hen with the largest measurement did just so happen to be the Red Star hen that I believed to be the best layer, as I have see her in the nest box nearly every morning (her comb is unique, that's how I recognize her).

Also, I collected eggs for the day, and these 25 hens gave 17 eggs. Somehow they must have found out that I've been talking about their poor egg production on BYC, LOL...

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
Hah, hah, they must be smarter than mine. The bones should allow fingertips with little or no pressure for a snug fit. Think of it like a woman giving birth. The larger the baby, the more the pelvic bones need to spread. In the chickens case, they spread or contract over about a weeks time and as long as eggs are comming, they stay spread. The two with the tight fit could be laying soon, or they could be done for a while. Check them again in a few days. They are young yet and should be at the height of their egg laying. perhaps they are on break, or about to return. I wouldn`t cull them at that age. I`m not so much up on the swelling situation, so maybe someone else has dealt with it. Good luck..........Pop

 

[ChasT]

can you try carpenters chalk ( like for chalk lines ) it comes in different colors if put in a nest box you would at least know who was in the nest box. It might at least be a starting point.

 

[Junkmanme]

Build a "trap-nest".

 

[thedeacon]

The best one I heard of was from this cite a couple of years ago. the short version is to use different colors of lipstick on the vents. the lipstick will kark the egg. With your numbers I would suggest banding a few, mark their vent Repeat with a a couple of days later. Now the best part. Be sure to put the lipstick back into the purse after each use.

 

[Cowgirl71]

Quote:

Thank you everyone for the ideas!!!

Okay, I checked all of the hens with the finger/pubic bone test... Found that twenty are laying, and four aren't. During the laying-or-not inspection, I discovered four with "health problems," which happen to be the four who aren't laying. Two must of had a VERY close call with a predator (before I got them), and have huge scabs to show it. One I believe is eggbound (and would have been for about a month+ now *GULP*), so I'll have to figure out what to do with her. One has a bad case of scaly leg mites. I think I'll have to put her down, as she's quickley going down hill, and must be miserable. And then one also died a few days ago. When I looked her over after she had died, she looked okay, except for her pale comb and the fact that she was SUPER skinny. What could that of been?
But ANYWAY, the other twenty look plenty healthy, and laying real well. I'll use the lipstick to now determine who's laying only once or twice a week.

A big thank you to all who responded!