Truth or Old Wives Tale???

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jordan4911

jordan4911

In the Brooder
Jan 26, 2016
33
2
36
Somewhere snowy in PA
Read an article yesterday that said, hens that are laying will have very white feet and legs and around the edges of their beaks. Hens that are not laying will have yellow feet/legs, etc...

I have never heard this but I wandered out to my coop earlier and was doing some cleaning and improvements and was watching my girls and noticed that some of them, their legs/feet are stark white while some of my other hens are very yellow. A few of the ones with white feet, I know are laying. The ones with yellow I just don't know. My girls like to lay in the middle of the night so I never get to catch them in the act.

Now, before I go and cull half my litter based on one article, I want to know who else has heard this and if they've found that it actually rings true.
 
Hmm, hadn't heard that one before. I thought color of legs, feet and beak was determined by the breed of bird. I look at my hens' combs and wattles. If they're bright red, it's an indication that they're most likely laying. When they're not laying, the combs and wattles are more light pink. (Having just gone through a winter of no eggs and pink-combed birds, and now getting 1-2 eggs a day with a couple of red-combed birds, and some that are getting brighter...)
 
bobbi-j said:
Hmm, hadn't heard that one before. I thought color of legs, feet and beak was determined by the breed of bird. I look at my hens' combs and wattles. If they're bright red, it's an indication that they're most likely laying. When they're not laying, the combs and wattles are more light pink. (Having just gone through a winter of no eggs and pink-combed birds, and now getting 1-2 eggs a day with a couple of red-combed birds, and some that are getting brighter...)
Click to expand...

X2

@jordan4911 What breeds do you have?

Do you by any chance have a reference to the article you are asking about?
 
bobbi-j said:
Hmm, hadn't heard that one before. I thought color of legs, feet and beak was determined by the breed of bird. I look at my hens' combs and wattles. If they're bright red, it's an indication that they're most likely laying. When they're not laying, the combs and wattles are more light pink. (Having just gone through a winter of no eggs and pink-combed birds, and now getting 1-2 eggs a day with a couple of red-combed birds, and some that are getting brighter...)
Click to expand...


I wasn't really paying attention to combs/wattles but I haven't really noticed any drastic color changes.

We were getting 6-7 eggs a day with 12 hens, but we moved not long ago and my girls are yet to get back in the swing of things since the big move. We get maybe 1-2 a day, hoping it picks back up soon.
 
Wyorp Rock said:
[COLOR=0000CD]X2[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]@jordan4911
What breeds do you have?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]Do you by any chance have a reference to the article you are asking about?[/COLOR]
Click to expand...


I have 6 white leghorns, I think their were 4 with white legs/feet, 2 without and then 6 that are I'm not sure what. Half with white legs/feet and half without. The people we got them from said they were welsummers and I'd never seen one before so I was just like ok. But I googled a well summer to show someone and they are definitely not. More like a buff Orpington/RIR mix
 
jordan4911 said:
I wasn't really paying attention to combs/wattles but I haven't really noticed any drastic color changes.

We were getting 6-7 eggs a day with 12 hens, but we moved not long ago and my girls are yet to get back in the swing of things since the big move. We get maybe 1-2 a day, hoping it picks back up soon.
Click to expand...
It will. I'm not sure how long "not too long ago" means, but chickens really don't like change, and sometimes it doesn't take much to throw them off. A new location would do it for sure. If it was before winter, then they're also probably still on "winter hours".
 
jordan4911 said:
Read an article yesterday that said, hens that are laying will have very white feet and legs and around the edges of their beaks. Hens that are not laying will have yellow feet/legs, etc...

I have never heard this but I wandered out to my coop earlier and was doing some cleaning and improvements and was watching my girls and noticed that some of them, their legs/feet are stark white while some of my other hens are very yellow. A few of the ones with white feet, I know are laying. The ones with yellow I just don't know. My girls like to lay in the middle of the night so I never get to catch them in the act.

Now, before I go and cull half my litter based on one article, I want to know who else has heard this and if they've found that it actually rings true.
Click to expand...
To a certain extent, it is true. Early in the laying cycle, birds with yellow feet will have very yellow feet, and as the cycle progresses, you'll notice some blanching. When the hen goes into a rest break, the yellow is restored, and if she does not go into lay, the yellow will persist. A very good layer will be more blanched in the yellow pigmented areas.
 

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