10 year old "retired" hen laying again after 3 years

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I'd love to see a photo of this spry lady.

Me too!

 

[african chickens]

Yes. I've had probably more than my share of hens coming out of retirement to lay. But it can bring problems for an aging body. (Consider what revived fertility would do to a 70 or 80 year old human female. Wait, it could be fun. Never mind.)

I made a thread about the trials and tribulations and victories of my old girls. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/issues-with-advanced-age-chickens.1379757/

yes never mind never mind

 

[Acre4Me]

We had a BJG that was a moderate layer. Then stopped laying for about 1.5 years. She had a bad crop issue, and was near death at one point. Then recovered and started to lay eggs the following spring. She was not as old as your hen.

 

[orelsi]

How weird to see this thread today. Since yesterday, my oldest hen, an 8 year old, started laying after a 3 year pause. This has never happened before and I was flabbergasted, I did not know it could happen to be honest.

I decided not to cull her after she stopped laying and to let her live out her retirement, because she was a good girl She has always displayed good health and survived a couple bird flu ourltbreaks in the coop, plus a couple leg mite attacks. I always regretted not having chicks from her. The rooster stopped bothering her some time after she stopped laying. I noticed him mounting her the other day, but thought he was confused lol... I checked the first egg and it looks perfectly normal, it's even fertilised. I guess the rooster sensed she was back in business.

I wonder if the eggs are safe to eat after such a long pause. I am unable to find anything online.


Pic is her.

 

[jenlt]

Was the egg fine in any other way, other than the blood?

No, I have never had that happen, but my oldest birds are only 7 years old currently.

The egg appears to be fine, a little smaller than she would have normally laid, but I checked the box she was in after I posted & she laid another, no blood this time.

I am just shocked, this makes no sense to me at all, that's why I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

 

[jenlt]

We had a BJG that was a moderate layer. Then stopped laying for about 1.5 years. She had a bad crop issue, and was near death at one point. Then recovered and started to lay eggs the following spring. She was not as old as your hen.

I have experienced what you've explained above when a hen had been sick, but this is just way out there.

 

[jenlt]

How weird to see this thread today. Since yesterday, my oldest hen, an 8 year old, started laying after a 3 year pause. This has never happened before and I was flabbergasted, I did not know it could happen to be honest.

I decided not to cull her after she stopped laying and to let her live out her retirement, because she was a good girl She has always displayed good health and survived a couple bird flu ourltbreaks in the coop, plus a couple leg mite attacks. I always regretted not having chicks from her. The rooster stopped bothering her some time after she stopped laying. I noticed him mounting her the other day, but thought he was confused lol... I checked the first egg and it looks perfectly normal, it's even fertilised. I guess the rooster sensed she was back in business.

I wonder if the eggs are safe to eat after such a long pause. I am unable to find anything online.


Pic is her.

Wow, so I guess this does happen.

I never cull my hens when they stop laying. As far as I'm concerned, they are still useful. Mine free range, so they take care of the bugs, weeds & work the compost, plus, all my hens are very tame & aren't just utilitarian to me, more like pets.

I can't imagine why the eggs wouldn't be safe to eat. I plan on eating them.

 

[Tookie]

I have a 7yo hen who has laid about 6 eggs in the last 2 weeks, her first couple eggs had blood on them but now they don't. She does not lay often, probably every couple months for a week or two (actually, I don't really know how often she lays, but I don't think it's often), she's been doing very well with laying eggs. She is one of my first chickens, one of the oldest I have. She has taken month breaks but not for 3 years! That is very amazing, you have a wonderful hen!

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I never cull my hens when they stop laying. As far as I'm concerned, they are still useful. Mine free range, so they take care of the bugs, weeds & work the compost, plus, all my hens are very tame & aren't just utilitarian to me, more like pets.

Kudos to you; I feel the exact same way about my older hens. Plus they don't even eat as much once they don't need extra fuel to make eggs.

Your thread caught my attention because ironically I have around 20 Easter Egger hens turning age 7 this year. They are very healthy and I expect them to keep on powering forward until age 10. Like yours they were prolific layers their earlier years.

I (and likely many others too) would love it if you will update this thread in the months ahead. I will be interested to know if your EE keeps laying until fall molt, or goes back into retirement again.

 

[jacksonsquare]

I know they lay after 3 years, I am a seasoned chicken owner.

She is 10 years old, has NOT laid in 3 years, since she was 7 years old & she just started laying again, so I am questioning if anyone else has experienced this.

Yes, I have a hen that’s at least 10 years old. I put her in the chicken run with the seramas. She’s blind but does just fine finding the food and water and her roost. She stopped laying for the longest time and then last year started laying on a regular basis. I call her Minnie the Minorca.