Do some hens never lay eggs? Update: culled hen, no eggs in her.

[awalters0815]

Quote:
I would limit her grain and let her forage. If you can free range her, I'd be willing to bet that you would start getting eggs from her within 3 weeks.

 

[schellie69]

My one Ameracuana hen was a year old before she laid then she laid an egg a day until winter then she stopped like all the other girls she was killed this last winter. Some take longer to get started I think

 

[Carolyn]

My hen was fine yesterday but this morning she wasn't eager to come out of the coop with her sisters. She still has no interest in green leafy things I throw in the run for them (grass, garden greens) which her sisters eagerly eat. Eating minimal amount of scratch. She has been getting fatter thought (not just abdomen). Her comb and wattle are red but small.

Is it possible she is egg bound or an internal layer? If she is egg bound do they ever become good layers? I just went out to try to catch her and examine her but she was feeling like a chase and I wasn't.

 

[debilorrah]

Do you have a rooster?

 

[Carolyn]

Only baby roos. I never attempted to replace my roo after a predator got him last year. I've had enough trouble buying adult hens so I was not looking to buy an adult roo. Why? Could he give her a better pep talk than I could? JK

 

[Carolyn]

The eggless hen was not acting like she felt well today either; showed no interest in coming out of the run but was a little more active by mid afternoon; pretty much same as yesterday. I decided I would cull her and planned to eat her. She was easy to catch, craw pretty empty but I knew she hasn't eaten much in 2 days. When I turned her head down she started "vomiting", mostly clear stuff but later some food product. By then my hubby and I decided we had lost our appetite. I examined her thoroughly and found the following: She was fat but not as fat as I expected and organ fat was normal. All her organs looked to be very healthy. Her pelvic bones were very close and there was absolutely no evidence of eggs. She was about 11 months old and seems to me like there should have been some evidence of small eggs at least. No evidence of parasites or worms of any kind. She looked and acted totally female with smaller combs and wattles than her hen sisters. If there was a disease process going on I sure could not tell it and I've cleaned a lot of birds.

She was a second or third generation of hatchery birds.

I've never culled a hen before; bummer!

Thanks for everyone's input. If you have more I would welcome it. Unless someone else gets sick I am calling it a freak of nature.

 

[Newbie in Screamer Al]

I am going to bump this thread with a similar issue, and would like some advise. I got an Ameracauna that is about 8-9 months old. After I had her 2 weeks she laid an egg a day for 3 days, then stopped for 3, and then a huge double yoker. I then had to worm my flock, and she has not laid an egg since, It has been 2 weeks. She had (what people said in here) was probably a soft egg. A long wormy looking thing that was a light blue like her few eggs were. She doesnt seem to want to come out of the coop now either. She seems healthy other then this new strange behavior. I checked her for egg bound, and I do not belive she is. Any idea's would be appreciated. Thanks R

 

[Carolyn]

R if no one answers your problem here, start a new thread under this same category. I hope your hen gets straightened out.

 

[BooBear]

Quote:
Could she of had some food stuck in her crop or maybe the gizzard? Weird that she vomitted though and that she was not eating very much.

 

[Carolyn]

Not impossible. Organs looked healthy but I did not cut into them. I was thinking I would be finding an egg laying issue; the vomiting thru me for sure.