Mystery layer results in egg watch

[NatJ]

I forgot to give an update we are now occasionally getting 3 eggs some days and I discovered one layer who recently started is one of our buff Orpington. And the first identified layer is one of our Wyandottes Betty. We suspect our second Wyandotte Wilma may be the other layer. Its either her or one of the australorps. But I have yet to see them sit in the nesting boxes. I'm glad to know two of them though. Lemon pepper just recently started as I can tell the color difference in her eggs vs the one I got from Betty. However the other eggs are the same color as Betty's so it may be Wilma but I think I mentioned before I believe all our breeds are brown eggs layers so identifying by color to a specific hen may be tricky lol

Thank you for updating. It's nice to hear how these things come out, instead of wondering forever

 

[PhantomSlayer]

If I find out for sure who the other layer is I'll try remembering to update again. So far on days we have 3, two are in the morning before noon. The last one seems to show up sometime before 4pm. I've been keeping to a egg check schedule during days where weather permits. 10-noon (I'm not a morning person), 3-4 pm and 9:30pm. I don't want to leave eggs inside there for long since we have the chickens for eggs. I'm not comfortable leaving them in there all day checking only once or twice. I feel comfortable with 3 daily checks.

 

[wrathsfarm]

I've never done this but this may help....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-safely-mark-hens-for-egg-laying.1449943/

 

[NatJ]

If I find out for sure who the other layer is I'll try remembering to update again. So far on days we have 3, two are in the morning before noon. The last one seems to show up sometime before 4pm. I've been keeping to a egg check schedule during days where weather permits. 10-noon (I'm not a morning person), 3-4 pm and 9:30pm. I don't want to leave eggs inside there for long since we have the chickens for eggs. I'm not comfortable leaving them in there all day checking only once or twice. I feel comfortable with 3 daily checks.

Collecting eggs twice a day, or even once, is just fine (from a safety perspective). But if you prefer to collect them more often, that is also fine.

Most of the time, a hen will lay her egg a bit later each day, until she skips a day and starts over early the next morning. So even if you get 2 eggs in the morning and one in the afternoon, that may not mean the same hens are laying at the same times each day. (But if the eggs are all distinctly different, so you can tell them apart, then you are probably correct about whether certain hens are laying at the same times.)

 

[PhantomSlayer]

Today I caught Lemon Pepper and Wilma laying. It was also a funny moment cause I went out to check for eggs and as I approached I heard someone singing from inside and Rosemary (LemonPepper and Rosemary are both buff orpingtons) our so far not laying friendly girl was singing along outside in the run lol. I went and checked and LemonPepper and Wilma were making themselves comfortable in the nesting boxes. So our third known layer is Wilma. I'll keep an eye out for any other girls. They indeed seemed to be a bit late compared to most days. Maybe their starting to do it a bit later or this cooler weather may have triggered it. But either way I'm glad to have a positive identification on whose laying so far. There is the possibility of there being a fourth and were just not aware since all the eggs are light brown but its just the fact of knowing who has started laying makes me happy lol