I have a very nice (at one point) looking Production-Type Red hen (breed unknown). I have been raising and breeding chickens for 15 years and have never seen this many body-checked eggs from one hen in this short amount of time.
She is very friendly but moves quite slowly. I have no idea how old she is because she is a rescue and came from a very bad environment. Like most of my chickens, rescues are hard to ID age. She appears to be somewhat healthy at the moment but my very large RIR rooster over-bred her about a month and a half ago and her feathers/skin still haven't healed. This is a classic sign that I am dealing with a older girl who is likely ready to stop laying all together.
That fact does not bother me, as I could care less if she ever lays an egg. I separated her from the main flock and she free-ranges with some American Gamefowl Bantams (also rescues) in my yard and roosts on a small pole next to a Standard American Gamefowl. She has very wing feathers left but she is not being bred. Her feathers are very brittle and coarse.
Any idea on how to tell if this disease or just age..........Thanks for any help...
Here is a picture of the hen:
She is very friendly but moves quite slowly. I have no idea how old she is because she is a rescue and came from a very bad environment. Like most of my chickens, rescues are hard to ID age. She appears to be somewhat healthy at the moment but my very large RIR rooster over-bred her about a month and a half ago and her feathers/skin still haven't healed. This is a classic sign that I am dealing with a older girl who is likely ready to stop laying all together.
That fact does not bother me, as I could care less if she ever lays an egg. I separated her from the main flock and she free-ranges with some American Gamefowl Bantams (also rescues) in my yard and roosts on a small pole next to a Standard American Gamefowl. She has very wing feathers left but she is not being bred. Her feathers are very brittle and coarse.
Any idea on how to tell if this disease or just age..........Thanks for any help...
Here is a picture of the hen: