this may be an odd question ,but a few weeks ago a farmer told me that he had too many hens and wanted to know if i wanted any . When i went to pick them up he was in his coop putting his fingers in there rear ends , and told me thats how to tell if they are still laying or not? Is this true or not , I'm new to raising chickens and this just seems a little odd. Thanks for the help Troy
Um... i've never heard of anything like that... and it seems to me you would be invading some personal space!
Well, measuring the vent is one way to tell if a hen is laying or not, but one normally doesn't penetrate the vent! Ewwwww. Ewwwww. Please bring those poor hens home with you, quickly. *shuddering*
People around here do it, too. Old farmer types. I made a thread a few weeks ago asking if that was...ehem...proper... ...and was told that that probably wasn't the best idea. Measuring the distance between the pubic bones ('under' the vent) is much more sanitary and still works pretty well. But yes, people do this...I don't think I have the stomach for it, honestly. And I'm sure the hen wouldn't thank me for it, either.
i believe it was james herriot that said something along the lines of "you can learn more up a cow's arse than in any number of books and schools" but I don't know about chickens...(james herriot, by the way, is a must read for any farmer, animal lover, wanna be farmer, vet, wanna be vet or anyone who wants to laugh, cry and just loves a darn good story or two)
