Egg production

Egg production has reached six a week.  Now I don't know if that's one hen working hard six days and taking a day off, or four organised chickens working a strict rota system and each laying an egg in turn.  I suspect it's the former, because the eggs are all the same colour and size, and because a creature that can walk into it's open run and then not be able to find the way out again is hardly likely to have the skills to set up a shift system.  But it does raise an interesting question - how am I going to find out which chicken is producing the eggs and what would I do with that information?  If, for example, it turned out to be Angie who was laying eggs, would I then start thinking about whether Penny, Jolene and Shirley had no further purpose?  I rescued these hens from life in a battery cage to give them a better life, not necessarily to work on a production line in my garden.  And if I did 'off' them, what would I do with the birds?  I'm a vegetarian and I've always said that the only circumstances in which I would eat meat would be if I killed the animal myself.  But as the chickens stroll around in the morning sun, I don't look out the window and see three roast dinners looking back at me.

Still, I would like to know how to establish who isn't laying, and why.  It can't be diet, because at least one of them is laying quite happily.  So perhaps I simply have one productive bird, one duffer and two who are still recovering their egg laying powers after going through a full moult just a few weeks ago.  Having said that, I've just had three very tasty fried eggs for breakfast and the shells seemed thinner and easier to crack than some shop bought eggs, so perhaps diet is a factor after all?  Maybe they're not getting enough grit?  Some research is needed, I think.  And I need to persevere with the non laying chooks.  It definitely calls for True Grit.