Do we have the only BARREN chicken in the world??

[DeedainSeattle]

We have an Easter-egger and a Polish chicken, both 10 months (!) old, and we only get one medium, skinny white egg about every other day. We can't tell who is laying or not, as they both have 'private time' sitting in the one nesting box we have. Both are healthy. We've assumed that that our Polish chicken has been laying the white egg, but only because we haven't gotten a blue/green/pink one yet. EE's tend to have tiny combs anyway, so that's not much indication, and the Polish has quite large, reddish devil-horn-type combs hiding in her giant hairdo. Can chickens be BARREN, and not have any eggs??? We got them on 9/16/09, about 3 days old. We thought they'd lay late, as we got them as the weather cooled, but now it's really warm and sunny--are either of these birds late bloomers??

 

[canada-goose]

Do you have any pictures of them?

 

[Camelot Farms]

I have a barren OEGB. She is about the size of a pigeon. We have had her for 2 years and she has never laid an egg. Never. Really.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Your polish is laying.

What are you feeding them? Do they look really skinny or really fat? (either can halt egg production) They should be laying better than that. The first thing I'd try is increasing their protein through higher protein feed, meat scraps, or dry cat food (for a short time, it has lots of sodium).

Is there anywhere they could be hiding the eggs?

I suppose it's possible to have a barren chicken, as there are barren people.

 

[DeedainSeattle]

Thanks for the replies! I'm bad at downloading photos, but I'll get better, I promise...

How can you be so sure it's our Polish?? She's buff--or yellow--looks alot like Big Bird from Sesame Street(or Phyllis Diller!), and she's really skinny and tall and LOUD--no crowing, though. She is very tame and easy to pick up. Neither one does the 'squat' I've seen other laying chickens do.

My EE looks alot like the ones posted, except she's mainly grey, not brownish, small-combed. She's pretty big and fluffy, and the most shy and difficult to catch when we let them free-range. We are tying a piece of twine to her leg, like a long leash, just so she's easier to catch! Why did it have to be my EE?? I was really looking forward to blue/green eggs, too. sigh.

I will try the protein thing too...they eat a good feed, we give them grit and a handful of corn a day, and any fresh veg ends from the kitchen or garden.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Gray EE? Post pics. Are you sure it's not a rooster?

 

[swordgeek]

My bottom-of-the-pecking-order crevecoeur didn't start to lay till she was about 10 months. By that time, I'd already had a long talk with a vet about whether she might be "barren", and he thought it unlikely. He did mention that there might be something physically wrong with her, such as an infection or even something anatomical, but without examining her he couldn't be sure.

Interestingly, I had gone to this vet for a necropsy on our top-of-the-pecking-order hen, who had just died unexpectedly. (It still makes us sad - she was an awesome bird.) Within a WEEK of the alpha hen dying, the crevecoeur laid her very first egg! I wonder if she was just so stressed living under that alpha hen pecking her all the time that she just couldn't lay. She's still prone to disruptions in her laying cycle anytime something stressful happens.

Poor girl.

 

[Keara]

Over the years I've had a barred rock and an EE that never layed. So no you are not alone.

I also had a Barred Rock hen (I know she was a hen as she layed shelless eggs), who transgendered at 1 1/2 yrs into a roo, spurs, hackles, saddle feathers, and strutting.

 

[DeedainSeattle]

Our EE is definitely NOT a roo. I'll have to take a pic and post later today! So Barren chickens do happen, 'tho she is probably the lowest on the henpecking order out of an original 3. But they don't seem to bother each other that much, except to leave the Polish out--she's too weird-looking and acting, I think, to them!

Curious about the 10 month old finally laying after the top dog passed on...hmmm. And SCARY how the other hen 'converted' to a roo! Please don't let that happen to us...we live in the city!

 

[GrannySue]

Quote:
My egg eater never laid an egg at all.