Using Food Coloring on Vents

[SunshineSilkies]

Just wondering if anyone can tell me when you use food coloring on the vents to see who's laying, does it stain the feathers? If it does, how do you get it off...have a pen of Silkie pullets and a couple of them are laying...just don't know which ones and I have seen on BYC that some people use a couple of drops of food coloring...

 

[Hillsvale]

well if I were a newly laying chicken and someone approached my arse with the intention of colouring me up I would cease and disist egg laying!

 

[suzettex5]

There was another member posting about that topic awhile ago.. I thought it was a jjoke, but I was informed otherwise. Apparently what you do is choose a few colors of food coloring, squirt a few drops of one color inside the vent of each suspect hen before normal laying time, and wait to see which egg is stained what color. It works if you get the drops in there before they poop it all out, or it wont get on the eggs. And be ready for rainbow colored poop for a day or two.

Just remember which hen got which color. I'm sure it would dye the butt feathers a tiny bit, but it would eventually wear off, or molt off. It would probably only get on the fluffly feathers around the vent anyways. Let us know if you do it, and how it turns out, ok?

 

[Mervin]

I'm pretty sure it just wears off over time. I've not applied coloring to a vent, but I have a hen who's been doused with Blue-Kote and it's taken a couple of months for those feather to fall out. It wore off her skin pretty quickly.

You might try several shades of lipstick. Pick out a few nice colors that you like, that way you can put them in your purse after your experiment is over [kidding]

 

[Hillsvale]

Quote:

pucker up baby!

I must be tired!

 

[Lollipop]

Sunshine, why don`t you just feel the bones under the vent and see who has the most room between them? On a full size hen, you should be able to place 3 fingertips between the pelvic bones if a hen is laying. Now, no doubt on a Silkie, the bones won`t be that far apart, but you should be able to tell which ones have wider spaced bones and which don`t. At least you have some not laying so you can compare. It`s easy and you don`t have to get your fingers dirty as the bones are UNDER the vent and easily accessable. Pick them up one at a time at night and it will not stress you or them.........Pop

 

[SunshineSilkies]

Quote:
Yeah, that's what I usually do...just wanted to see if anyone had used the food coloring method before and if it stained..