What happens to layers when they stop laying~WARNING: GRAPHIC PICS

[Hinotori]

I've never seen a mass that big.

I've had tons of issues with hatchery birds. Rocks with reproductive or heart issues. None made it past 3. New hampshires that didn't make it to a year old. Brahmas that had so much tissue bits in their eggs that they weren't really human edible.

Only hatchery ones I haven't had much issue with is their Easter eggers.

 

[baymule]

Educational. This would shake up those "let her live out her life" do-gooders. I have 2 old hens that do not seem to be suffering any ill effects from their old age......
but if they do, they will not suffer any more.

 

[sumi]

Yes, sad to see, but educational. I remember visiting a friend's farm one day and in his huge flock spotted a hen that was looking miserable. These were not a commercial layers, they were an African hybrid "breed", hardy as heck free range birds. I picked her up and examined her and her abdomen was a mess… You could feel with your hands that something was wrong in there, my guess was internal laying. I pointed it out to him and he was a touch defensive, probably because he should've noticed the problem. I left him with some advice and hope he learned from that poor hen's experience.

 

[Beekissed]

Educational. This would shake up those "let her live out her life" do-gooders. I have 2 old hens that do not seem to be suffering any ill effects from their old age......
but if they do, they will not suffer any more.

I've kept hens to the ripe old age of 7+....but regretted it when they finally showed up with lash eggs. A good, sweet hen shouldn't have to be uncomfortable or in pain at all if we can prevent it by culling them when they no longer have laying cycles~BEFORE they suffer a single minute.

Here's what was in my sweet little BA, a loyal and wonderful layer for 7 yrs...wished I had culled her before she was hurting from trying to expel these lash eggs. But, I really liked her and wanted to keep her around...you know the feeling. Now I don't give into the sentiment any longer, if I can spare a good hen a single day's suffering, I will.

I think everyone has stories about hens that age gracefully into old age and die peacefully off the roost in the middle of the night, but they are the extreme exception. They truly are.

That whole "it won't happen to me" thing is something all humans suffer from, I'm afraid...until it happens to them.

It's happened to me enough to get the word out there so that folks can prevent it happening to them....cull those old hens BEFORE they suffer a single day. They deserve that consideration after all the food they've produced for us. Chickens don't count the days, can't anticipate tomorrows and each day is the only day for a chicken...do we want that last day and only day to be one filled with misery or a really good day ended in a humane death?

 

[Mini Horses]

It's happened to me enough to get the word out there so that folks can prevent it happening to them....cull those old hens BEFORE they suffer a single day. They deserve that consideration

The decision to stop their suffering is both the hardest & most loving an owner has to make!! Same with all old & sick ones.

True of dogs, cats, horses, and yes -- even the lowly chicken. If you think about it, a chicken is one of the hardest working on the farm. Eggs, meat, bug control.....few demands, just another day, every day.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Very informative post, thank you.

 

[Beekissed]

THAT is a real mess!!! Thanks for the lesson.

So Beekissed, what did you do with this bird? Is it dog food or compost?

Personally I have no problem with hybrid crosses (although I have many full blooded breeds). Haven't bought from a hatchery in years. It's often hard to find breeders of some breeds. But while I look for birds that are good layers, I want good setters, too. Plus the heavier dual types are preferred.

I don't use lights in winter to increase production. It's counter productive for MY use & expectations. While it's best to cull, it's a sad time for many. For me, it's a mess that I "deal with" and always dread it. Once I'm doing it, the functions are just what you have to do...... and you get it done.

That bird is coyote fodder. Wouldn't feed that infectious mess to the dogs, even though it probably wouldn't affect them in any way, the thought of it just makes me wanna hurl.

She was deposited at the edge of the property, next to the field where we hear the coyote pack the most...hope they get a belly ache from that one.

I don't use lights either. I'd rather work harder to develop a flock that lays adequately through the winter than force those that wouldn't to do so. A girl needs a break eventually and there's been studies that show that lighting up the birds to force production can lead to reproductive cancer down the line.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Oh yikes how awful. I will keep that in mind as time goes on. We have mostly younger birds but I'll keep an eye on my older ladies. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Beekissed]

That is horrific. We do not autopsy birds, although we would if we lost multiple at a time. However we do end their misery if we need to, far before their discomfort turns to suffering.

Are these sorts of things less common in breeds that haven't been "messed with" as much? I mean, it seems counterproductive for chickens as a whole to develop these issues, unless we did it to them by selective breeding...

As with humans, it's a combination of things...genetics, feed, lifestyle, age. They do seem to be less common in breeds that have not been manipulated as much for high production rates but the bird above was just a Buff Orpington from a hatchery source, not typically considered a production layer.

I autopsy every bird that dies of unknown causes, particularly my layers. The only time I had multiple deaths in a flock was way back in 2009 or thereabouts, when some hatchery sourced Black Stars and Dominiques just died off the roosts at various times that year...all four seemed to have cardiac issues. The other birds of those breeds/types of the same age I culled later that year, as I didn't want those genetics in the flock. The rest of the birds from that hatchery lived to a ripe old age and laid well for years.

Usually if I have a layer that dies suddenly, it was off the roost one night, finding her stiff and cold the next morning. All those have been either fatty liver or cardio related, which is pretty common in older layers of hatchery sourced birds, but not so much in younger layers.

I had a standard bred WR, that had been sent to me by a breeder as a chick, that died of liver problems in her 2nd year, which is WAY too young for that. I'd say that was a genetic problem and not a breed problem, as I've kept WRs from hatchery sources way up to 5-6 yrs of age, laying all the while, without any organ failure issues. Those were all culled at the end of their laying lives, healthy and still going strong.

I do encourage autopsy of those single deaths, as they can give you an idea of how to prevent such deaths from occurring.

• Adjusting feed if the bird was storing huge amounts of fat and couldn't pass her eggs.
  
• Discovering if she died from a parasite overload or hardware disease is helpful and can help you prevent the same from happening to other birds down the line.

• Seeing what happens on the inside when a chicken ages out of laying....always helpful and can help you make a plan of flock management that can help prevent untimely deaths or suffering prior to death in older layers.

 

[NH Homesteader]

We haven't had many random deaths here, but I can't stomach autopsies. Kudos to those who can! I don't even process birds, DH does that. If I had to do it myself, I would be a vegetarian.