Which one is laying?

[SarahInAlaska]

I have two Australorp girls. One is about a year the other is 2.5. I'm only getting one brown egg a day though so one of them isn't laying. How do I find out which one? The first one I got, Rosita (1 year old) , laid two eggs her first day but one cracked and one was leather. Then she didn't lay for a while. Then I got my second girl, Velma (2.5 year old), and a few days later I started getting eggs again. Should I just assume its Rosita laying? How long do I give Velma if she turns out to be the non-layer? Velma was crusted in poop and had picked herself raw (her skin was as red as her comb) when I got her and it appeared to be stressing her. I bathed her and her skin cleared up (back to light pink by that evening) and she's chilled out. I've only had Velma for a week and a half so it could just be she needs to settle in. Thoughts?

 

[SarahInAlaska]

Oh, and you can than my 4 year old daughter for those names, lol

 

[SarahInAlaska]

Anybody have any ideas?

 

[bellasooky]

I have 2 australorps aswell and one began laying 3 days ago, to find out which one is laying i picked up the one I suspected was laying ,cuddled her for a while(though she didnt want to be) and then put her down and pinned her down to mimmick a rooster then scratched her behind her wing upon doing this she raised her tail as if to give in to me ,but when i repeated the treatment On the other one she fought against me im not sure if you can do this but it may help

 

[SarahInAlaska]

Which response out of them would indicate the laying one?

 

[azygous]

I'd venture to guess you are getting eggs from both girls. Many hens normally lay an egg every other day. Since you haven't had the one girl all that long, you should eventually see them begin laying on the same days. Hens will synchronize their cycle much as human women in the same household will.

 

[bellasooky]

The tail rasing acceptance indicates she is ready to mate and therefore must be laying

 

[SarahInAlaska]

Thanks! I actually caught one of them laying today so at least I know that one lays. I'll keep an eye out for the other. My three leghorns lay every day so u thought that was normal but I won't worry about it if my older girls aren't.

 

[Jo in Florida]

What age were your leghorn chickens when they started laying?

 

[JesseK]

Which one did you find laying? I've found it can take months after serious trauma for a hen to start laying again...so I wouldn't give up if it wasn't Velma who you caught. She probably needs some time to get healthy