Who's laying what?

[isa andy]

My 3 hens have just started laying ( 1 is a brown, 1 road island red, 1 barred rock). The eggs all look very similar in shape and size. My question is, can anyone tell me a simple way to tell who's laying what egg. They all lay about the same time so it's difficult to say. Thanks for any advice!

 

[Grub Digger]

Do you mean ISA Brown? they lay fairly dark eggs, RIR would be slightly lighter, and Barred Rocks lay lighter colored eggs. As they get older you'll probably notice that your ISA brown's eggs will get bigger.

 

[Grub Digger]

 

[isa andy]

Thank you, yes she is an isa brown. Problem is all the eggs look the same color too. One is just a touch darker so that probably is the isa brown. The other two look identical. Hmmm.

 

[SueT]

If you spy on them and can catch them leaving the nest, over time you'll learn the differences.

 

[aart]

My 3 hens have just started laying ( 1 is a brown, 1 road island red, 1 barred rock). The eggs all look very similar in shape and size. My question is, can anyone tell me a simple way to tell who's laying what egg. They all lay about the same time so it's difficult to say. Thanks for any advice!

Um, no, there really isn't one.
Only way to be 100% sure is to use trap nests...but that's not simple either.

 

[Pork Pie]

I have read here on BYC that applying food colouring to the vent of chickens can help in identifying a specific layer, as it will leave that colour residue on the egg. I have not tried it, but it evidently worked for someone. If you do give it a try, please tell us how it went.

CT