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

[baymule]

That is just so gross Bee! Poor chicken! We slaughter our hens, usually at age 3 years. After the second molt, they just never seem to lay as much as previously, but they still eat as much feed.

 

[Hinotori]

The oldest silkie hen I have is 5 and that's because she was two when I got her. She's still laying at the same rate, well she was before she started molting. I've had chicks from her in the last couple hatches.

That's something I've noticed on the silkies. They don't slow down much if any on laying as they get older. They do take 2 to 3 breaks a year to go broody. That is probably why. Not pushed to produce so they don't wear out. When laying, they out lay every other breed here.

It is not unusual for pullets to only lay a few eggs and go broody. One this year laid 3 before doing so. Last year I had a girl who decided laying first wasn't even needed.

 

[Hinotori]

No one is pushed to lay here. I don't light them in winter. The ameraucana and EE lay an egg or two a week each in the darkest days.

Not laying at all is unacceptable. No signs of distress or illness in the new hampshire or brahmas. Still bullying the blue layers. They are heavy and probably too fat from stealing all the treats.

I'm culling them as soon as the rains come back and I can dig more than a foot into the ground in half an hour. I don't like to do it when I can't bury the butchering leftovers.

I do necropsy my birds, or if it's worrying me, take them to the Avian lab for professional necropsy.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

Wow @Beekissed , thank you! You're saving us and our chickens from ourselves. Both my husband and I new to chickens, and we have been reading a LOT about chickens, but no where did we read anything like this. We really appreciate your input, pictures, and experience. We had separated our three oldest hens a little more than a week ago, and now we know for sure, that only one of the three is still laying. So with the thread with @crealbilly showing us how to make our own chicken plucker, culling birds has been added to this weekend's list of projects.
A question: the third older bird is still consistently laying an egg every 2-3 days. We believe she is about 4 years old, but have no way of knowing for sure. Would you also cull that one due to age, or wait till she slows down laying?

 

[Beekissed]

Stupid hawk tried to get a hen a few days ago. Well actually the hawk succeeded but I heard the screams and ripped open the back door yelling at the dogs to get them since I thought it was a coyote. Hawk hadn't been able to carry the hen far and I saw it and started screaming "Goose" which is dog command to run to that area and chase off birds. Hawk saw the dogs and took off.

The hen only had minor wounds to the wing and a lot of plucked feathers. The hawk seems to have killed her anyway. All the stress and now she's acting egg bound and won't eat. I'll give her until tomorrow to see if she passes it. If not I'll put her down.

It's likely the talons penetrated the bird and punctured internal organs. I had a few hens grabbed by owls last season~but foiled by the dog and lived~ and I couldn't find anything like a wound on the outside...saw a little bit of blood on the feathers but couldn't see anything I'd call a wound.

Those hens stood hunkered down for a few days...I thought maybe they were just in shock. I killed one because she seemed worse and then the other died the following day. Still couldn't see that the injuries were bad enough to kill them, but I think the talons must have pierced them deeply enough that the holes sealed over and didn't bleed much after the talons were withdrawn.

 

[Hinotori]

That could be. She has refused to get on the roost since but was holding her right wing oddly. I checked it but it wasn't dislocated. It's upsetting as she's my little cuddler and the first ameraucana hen I ever got.

Her brother died last year. He went downhill fast. Looked a little under the weather then the next day I find him laying in the pen barely there. He spoke to me and cuddled into my arms when I picked him up like he loved to do. He was so happy to snuggle again. Within 10 minutes he gave a small shudder and was just gone. He was the best large fowl rooster I ever had.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

So sorry Hinotori...sometimes 'even' a chicken can crawl into our heart and leave a hole when it leaves.

@sumi - ya gotta love a tough broody like that! Hope that hawk thinks twice before taking on a mama hen again!

 

[Beekissed]

Butchered the last 10 of the production red hens I had gotten on the cheap awhile back for soup meat. Most of them had different stages of reproductive cancer, most had diseased organs of one type or another.

Here's a few notable things worthy of pics...the most jaundiced liver I've ever seen in a chicken and a couple of big egg tumors. Both of these chickens were still laying on occasion, looked healthy enough from the outside, active, eating, drinking, etc.

Egg tumors....

 

[baymule]

Right now they are penned, I scattered clover seeds and I don't want them eating the seeds! But I also feed them a non GMO feed, most of the time they free range and get to enjoy all their chicken activities.

 

[baymule]

I love red sex links. They have calm natures and they lay like crazy. These pictures are from 2013 of my grand daughter and her friend. The little girls chased the RSL's all over the yard, hugged them, carried them around, put them in "jail" (the cage in the background) and the hens never missed a beat. They laid like champions and put up with all the "love" from two little girls. What's not to like about red sex links?