Author Topic: Identifying poor egg producers? (Read 4035 times)

IainW · « **on:** May 19, 2009, 06:21:12 pm »

I have 4 free range hens, how do I identify the ones that don't produce eggs so that I can kill them for food? No point in having them around eating wheat and so on.

Any ideas?

Iain

Fluffywelshsheep · « **Reply #1 on:** May 19, 2009, 06:52:56 pm »

try and seperate them ?
untill you get the ones that arn't producing
Linz

shetlandpaul · « **Reply #2 on:** May 19, 2009, 07:03:29 pm »

dont get to keen on culling some do go off the lay for a while.

MiriMaran · « **Reply #3 on:** May 19, 2009, 08:47:20 pm »

I heard that if you put food colouring on a hen's vent the colour is transfered to the egg as its layed then you know who is laying what egg. Never tried it myself, but I guess you could get 4 different colours and give it a go.

doganjo · « **Reply #4 on:** May 19, 2009, 11:35:00 pm »

Would the food colouring not dry out then not be transferred onto the egg?

MiriMaran · « **Reply #5 on:** May 20, 2009, 08:09:50 pm »

I have no idea, but I read about it in a Poultry magazine - maybe the moisture on the vent stops it drying out?!

harry · « **Reply #6 on:** May 24, 2009, 08:15:58 pm »

get some of that stuff they put on a rams chest to see if hes doing the bizo the dye transfers to the sheeps back.... put a rag or something in the nest box to see what hens get the dye.... but will depend on the colour of your hens.. mine are white.... harry

Rosemary · « **Reply #7 on:** May 24, 2009, 10:01:57 pm »

You can build a trap nest that closes when the hen goes in. You have to be sure to let them out regularly though. There's a plan in Michael Roberts book Poultry House Construction.

harry · « **Reply #8 on:** May 25, 2009, 08:33:28 pm »

try a squirt of cake cream with food dye in it put a blob in the nest ....then eat the rest of the cake, see whos got it on there feathers if they dont eat it first.. harry

Big Al · « **Reply #9 on:** May 28, 2009, 03:47:27 pm »

Hi Iain

If you hold the hen, backside pointing forward and feel about an inch below her vent, you should feel a pair of sharp(ish) small bones just below the skin (we call these pin bones around here). If the two bones have a gap the width of your finger, or larger the chicken should be laying - the bones need to be apart to let the egg out. If the two bones are very close together then the hen isn't laying.

Most hens will lay provided they have light (14+ hours per day), shelter and a nestbox, water and feed/minerals. However even small events (e.g. a low flying plane, thunder storm, different people handling them, etc) can lead to hens deciding not to.

Regards
Alan

jameslindsay · « **Reply #10 on:** May 28, 2009, 05:49:29 pm »

Quote from: Big Al on May 28, 2009, 03:47:27 pm

Most hens will lay provided they have light (14+ hours per day), shelter and a nestbox, water and feed/minerals. However even small events (e.g. a low flying plane, thunder storm, different people handling them, etc) can lead to hens deciding not to.

I live next door to RAF Leuchars, my animals no longer get affected by the noise or the low flying, and believe me there is noise. It seems that most times we bring a new animal home the flying is at it's worse and the animals must think "what the hell?". After a day or two at the most the panic has gone and it's normal to them. Yesterday when we brought teh 3 new hens home the flying started and they showed no reaction at all which was good.