Who done it?

[elmcc]

I have two lace wing wyandottes, 2 Easter Eggers, a Barred Rock and 3 Australorps. Today was my first egg. It was brown and small and had a peck mark in it. I have no idea who laid it. The girls were hatched 21 weeks ago, April 15. Today when I stepped in the pen, one of the Eastereggers squatted without my touching her. She still has a small comb, face is red. I don't think she was the one who laid the egg. Shouldn't hers be blue or green? The Lace Wing Wyandottes are still small, although one had part of her comb bit off last week. So I think they also are too small to lay. How do ya'll tell who done it? By age who is the likely candidate?

 

[countrygoddess]

The EE will likely lay brown or khaki green eggs. The one in the picture could be EE, Wyandotte, or Barred Rock. Having never seen an Australorp egg, though, I couldn't tell you about that.

Here's how you can tell who is most likely the layer: look at the vents and feel the pelvic bones. Wide apart pelvic bones (2 fingers width) and a horizontal slit-like vent that is moist means laying (or very, very close to it). Narrow pelvic bones and dry, smaller, more puckered vent means not quite ready yet. Plus the colors of the combs. And the squatting.

 

[elmcc]

Okay, so the "v" in the back where the tail feathers begin is wider on a couple of hens then on others, the more immature is more pointy. I received a green and a brown egg today. Now I know for sure that the EE laid the green. I think the more immature Australorp laid the brown as her hips are wider but her comb is not as impressive as her two sisters. The one with the largest comb does not squat. The EE and the one Australorp that I expect to be the layers are almost paralyzed when I touch their backs. They stop dead in their tracks and squat and the others still scoot away.

 

[countrygoddess]

Sounds great! You're figuring it out. =) Congrats on all the new eggs! I'm jealous--I have to wait until next month. :-\