Testing to see if hens are laying

[Redhead Rae]

Hello everyone, I have a plan I am formulating for seeing which of my hens lay are laying and if any of them should be removed from my breeding pool.

Note 1: I raise chickens for meat and eggs, not as pets. So, if a hen isn't producing, I do not want to keep feeding her.

Note 2: I'm only getting 2-4 eggs out of 40 laying age birds right now. I know that is normal, I'm not looking to carry out this test until spring.

My strategy is as follows.

• Housing: I have several 5x5 PVC runs and predator proof mobile shelters that I will set up to confine the birds being tested.
• Birds: I will place a brown egg layer in with a leghorn cross, so I know which bird is laying which egg.
• Length of time: I will confine them in the smaller enclosures, but within the larger paddock with the rest of the flock for a week to get a feel for how each bird lays.
• Quality of egg: I will note if any bird has abnormal shaped or thin shelled eggs (one of my Dominique hens has a recurring problem even when her sisters don't) and mark them as layers only and not breeders.

I'll have to utilize my leghorn crosses in more than one test since I have 12 of them and 18 brown egg layers (with at least 6 more under laying age).

Does this sound like a good test?

 

[Hamiam]

Sound good to me. How do you mark them.

 

[Redhead Rae]

I use numbered zip tie bands on adults.

 

[PirateGirl]

I would think you could band them with different colors to mark them.

Sounds good. I would think that seeing how many eggs each bird lays over a week would be a good length of time to determine who is a good quantity layer. You could also weigh eggs, like a total weight for a week's worth of eggs per bird, to compare that way too. You might see trends among different breeds as well as differences between individual birds. This experiment should be interesting and useful. You will have to let us know if you make any surprising discoveries. Another marker would be feed to egg conversion, some birds are more efficient and can make more eggs with less feed, some birds eat a lot more food and don't lay bigger or better eggs.

 

[aart]

Sounds good...unless the stress of being moved to a new enclosure and separated from the flock might be enough to suspend laying.

I had one great and mellow layer that went kinda of neurotic after being separated in an adjacent pen, she's never been the same since...SMH.

I just cull (sell and/or slaughter) older birds at 2-3 years.

 

[Redhead Rae]

Sounds good...unless the stress of being moved to a new enclosure and separated from the flock might be enough to suspend laying.

I had one great and mellow layer that went kinda of neurotic after being separated in an adjacent pen, she's never been the same since...SMH.

I just cull (sell and/or slaughter) older birds at 2-3 years.

I intend to have the isolation pens inside the main paddock. So that should help. It doesn’t seem to bother my mama hens.

 

[aart]

I intend to have the isolation pens inside the main paddock. So that should help. It doesn’t seem to bother my mama hens.

Well, if they are used to being moved it might work great.
It only seemed to bother one of my birds and it was only for 2 days.
What time of the year will you do this?

 

[Redhead Rae]

Probably sometime this spring after egg laying picks back up. I’m going to wait until I’m getting eggs from more than half my hens before I start the test.