Who is laying the eggs?? Ideas to find out??

[aart]

Ahh, thanks.....that is not the bones I was talking about, tho that technique is valid.
....and I found I did have an illustration.
It's the bones labeled F in this diagram:

 

[ChxLadyCass]

Oh wow! That is very helpful! I would not have been feeling for the right bones haha! So you are looking for width horizontally, correct?

 

[GC-Raptor]

Yes horizontally @aart has said in past posts less than 2 fingers tips wide, usually means not laying. More than 2 fingers tips wide, usually means laying. GC

 

[aart]

Ahh, thanks.....that is not the bones I was talking about, tho that technique is valid.
....and I found I did have an illustration.
It's the bones labeled F in this diagram:

Vent Appearance:
Dry, tight, and smaller - usually not laying.
Moist, wide, and larger - usually laying.

Pelvic Points, feel for the 2 bony points(pelvic bones 'F') on either side of vent:
Less than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means not laying.
More than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means laying.

Oh wow! That is very helpful! I would not have been feeling for the right bones haha! So you are looking for width horizontally, correct?

Yep added description above again

 

[ChxLadyCass]

My hens are in for a treat. They don't all love to be touched

 

[aart]

My hens are in for a treat. They don't all love to be touched

Be calm and confident......the more you examine them, most will get used to it.
I examine them at night, easier to catch off the roost-haha, wearing a headlight.

 

[ChxLadyCass]

Yes, they are VERY used to me coming in the coop at night to blind them with my flashlight and annoy them. My new hens have been caught quite a bit already, so I think they are getting used to it. I have tried singing to them to keep both myself and them nice and calm. I get really giggly though when they panic. It just cracks me up for some reason.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I did do the food dye in the vent recently because I was selling one of my blue Marans and wanted to make sure it was the one laying the lighter eggs so I could breed the other. It took a day but her eggs did come out with some teal speckles on them.

 

[aart]

I did do the food dye in the vent recently because I was selling one of my blue Marans and wanted to make sure it was the one laying the lighter eggs so I could breed the other. It took a day but her eggs did come out with some teal speckles on them.

Did you use a gel or a liquid dye?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Quote:
I used liquid because that is what I happened to have handy. I did put quite a lot, maybe as much as a half a tablespoon. She didn't lay that day and I think if she had it would have had quite a bit of dye on it. A good deal of it probably got pooped out before she got around to laying. I could tell she was "taking it in" because her vent made the same contracting motion as when I have artificially inseminated hens in one of my animal management courses in school.