Who do all these eggs belong to?

[amygop]

Went out of town last week and came home to a broody Cuckoo Marans with 16 eggs in her clutch!
I know daddy is a Salmon Faverolles, and I'm okay with a bunch of mongrel chicks, but I would at least like to know which chick is which. Any suggestions or ideas for identifying and marking ahead of time? Or is this just going to be a cluster and I need to let it go? I can tell from obvious eggs which ones belong to which chickens (Easter Egger, Welsummer, and Cuckoo Marans), but some are harder to differentiate: Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, Wyandottes all look similar to me. How will I know who's who when these hatch beneath mama hen?
Also, are there specific traits that will passed down from the rooster vs. the mama hens?

 

[JetCat]

there's no way to mark them till after they hatch and unless you're there watching which one came out of which eggs it's just going to be a bit charlie foxtrot of a guessing game, they usually have enough characteristics of each parent to help with the guessing tho.

 

[MotherOfGeese]

We have been able to catch a hen laying an egg and remember which hen lays which eggs and then we number them or write on them with a pencil. Since you are letting her sit I don't think there will be any way to know which are which unless you check the number on the egg after it hatches and band it. (Spend alot of time on day 21 watching them hatch!) We incubate our eggs and divide the incubator so they are near their shell when they come out and know which chick came out of which egg. Hope that helps..good luck!!

 

[amygop]

THANK YOU so much! I'll be on "chick watch" Saturday. Will post pics! ;-) Dying to see what these little things look like...assuming they all hatch! I tried candling (unsuccessfully) a few nights ago. Any reason to try again with only 5-6 days left?