Single hen

[jennifer]

We have now had three consecutive afternoon eggs. 1st one a nice size the last two much smaller - but who's laying?

 

We thought Bubble because she much bigger and whose legs are the right colour but....

Squeak who is smuch smaller and nervous has suddenly started to flatten herself thinking I'm a cockrell - her legs are more yellow though.

 

Is this a sign that she may be the one laying?

 

Jennifer

[Gallina]

It may just mean that she fancies you.

 

They do the flattening routine for about a week before they lay an egg. My Gingernut did it for the first time today, but I can see her comb isn't red enough yet. Their comb gets much redder and their faces go pinker before they start laying.

 

The size of the hen is irrelevant. Gingernuts tend to be bigger than Pepperpots (in my limited experience anyway). The faces and combs are the give-away for me. (I don't know about legs.)

[xScrunchee]

My gingernut is quite a bit smaller than my two pepperpots.

 

When they first arrived I straight away assumed that Rose (gingernut) was very much younger than the other two as she had such a weeny little pink comb and the other two still had pink ones but larger.

 

I was right in the sense that the other two did start laying before Rose but when Rose started laying a week or two after them, her comb was still very much smaller and lighter and she had no red on her face at all.

 

Even now her comb is small and pinkish and bodywise she is considerably smaller.

Poor Rose-bit of an oddball bless her.