Assorted poultry question New question, page 4

[debo4702]

Okay I know I don't post much but I read in a magazine somewhere about a sort of chicken trap to figure out which girls were laying. If they lay in nesting boxes you make this kind of trap door over the entrance so when the hen goes in to lay her egg the door shuts behind her. The good thing is she is the only one that can get in at that point so if there is an egg with her then it is hers.Then you can band or mark her some way as a layer. The bad side is you have to keep a check so they don't get stuck in the box for a long time. I've thought about doing something similar since we gather eggs twice a day. Mostly we just check vents and combs. Good luck

 

[Blackbird]

This has to be one of the funniest threads yet!!

Watch out everyone, Bee is poking through!

But seriously, if an EGG can fit out, I doubt a mere finger going in would cause much duress, unless you're going to be stabbing wildly in there.

Unless you pen up each bird individually you still aren't going to find out which is laying or not.. You mention that they are old, but about how many years old are they again?

 

[star2525]

Try doing a Google for Trap Nest, is what its called.

I still think separating them and cooping the one breed will at least give an idea of if the larger eggs she's looking for are in that breed will help her to know which is laying the larger eggs, when they are all together it can be confusing if you don't know the difference in their egg colors.

Victoria

 

[Farmfresh]

I've never done that with my birds, I don't like that approach, if any of my hens would become eggbound or have an egg broken inside of them from probing I'd feel just awful and be the one to blame, it's easier for me to separate by breed and watch for the eggs that are laid from those birds.

I CAN appreciate your feelings about this stuff, but in reality any hen that is egg bound or has a broken egg inside should be culled. I understand that many of us (me sometimes included) get very attached to our hens and some even keep them as pets long after laying days are done, but a hen that gets egg bound once often does it repeatedly. Egg bound is a miserable way to die - far better a quick cull.

A gentle probe does no harm if done correctly. Just look at the diameter of an egg compared to the diameter of a gloved, lubed finger.

Also folks with 50 or 250 hens would be very hard pressed, without a trap nest set up, to "watch" for laying or non laying hens.

By the way a trap nest can also cause duress. They must be cleared many, many times during the day in order to not stress the hens that get trapped inside of them. Many times a hen will lay an egg discover she is trapped and then panic often breaking the egg she just laid. :/

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

we just started the worm beds in the barn for our girls, but that will be another thread

hey! would love to hear about this!! quick post!!!



hey FF!

 

[Farmfresh]

hey OFG!

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Just had a thought ... As fickle as some hens can be about laying in the coop, I wonder if a trap nest might cause some to avoid the nest boxes if they are traumatized?

Especially in a new home?

 

[star2525]

I just meant that I have Rare Breeds, some of which I only have a pair of and couldn't replace them if something would go wrong, so for me I wouldn't want to take the chance, as the birds are irreplaceable, in addition to the fact that I would feel bad and be totally out.

Finding Orpingtons, Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks is easy, what I have can't be replaced.

Victoria

 

[Rebecka]

Do I have a problem ? I just found a hen in the back of the coop in the corner. I watched as she tried to lay an egg. Running yolk and white are what came out. Seconds later she laid an egg with no shell. Skin, but not shell. She is one of the young RIR's and one of my favorites. We feed layer feed and keep several containers of oyster shell around the yard both are free choice. I see the girls in them all the time.

 

[lalaland]

if she is just starting to lay, it wouldn't be unusual for her to have a few abnormal eggs -

but.....if she continues to lay shell-less eggs, she might be prone to "reproductive difficulties" and could be a short-lived hen.

how old do you think she is?