Hen Leg Coloring/Egg Laying Question

[Maeschak]

Hello All,

Does anyone happen to know how long it takes for a hen's leg coloring to return after she has stopped (or slowed down) laying?

I have a hen whose leg color is returning during her molt. I am wondering if that means she has been a poor/no layer for a very long time (pre-molt) or whether the lack of eggs during this current molt could be responsible for the renewed leg coloring.

Thanks~

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are you talking about yellow or some other color? If you are talking about yellow it means she was probably a good layer and used up a lot of that yellow pigment when laying. A poor layer would not use up that much pigment. Now she is recharging her batteries while molting. If it is any other color it probably has nothing to do with egg laying.

 

[Maeschak]

Are you talking about yellow or some other color? If you are talking about yellow it means she was probably a good layer and used up a lot of that yellow pigment when laying. A poor layer would not use up that much pigment. Now she is recharging her batteries while molting. If it is any other color it probably has nothing to do with egg laying.

Thanks, and yes, I am talking about yellow. None of my hens, except one, has ever regained leg color during a molt. I assumed that meant that the duration of a molt (and not laying eggs) was not long enough to allow pigment to re-color the leg skin.
This one hen I have, however, has lots of pigment in her legs during this molt... so I am wondering if that means she had stopped laying long before she started molting.
Thanks again

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hens go through a certain sequence in losing and replenishing that pigment. This gives good details on that and other things that might help you.

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/4aj/4aj07po/4aj07po.PDF

 

[Maeschak]

Hens go through a certain sequence in losing and replenishing that pigment. This gives good details on that and other things that might help you.

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/4aj/4aj07po/4aj07po.PDF

Great, thanks. I guess I worded my question poorly. In essence, I was just wondering if anyone knew how long it took of not laying eggs to have pigment color return to the legs. Thanks for the info sheet~

 

[Maeschak]

Hens go through a certain sequence in losing and replenishing that pigment. This gives good details on that and other things that might help you.

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/4aj/4aj07po/4aj07po.PDF

Excellent info sheet by the way- I've read most of that information in bits and pieces on the internet but never found it all in one place. It also adds quite a few tidbits that I did not know!
Thanks again

 

[Maeschak]

In case anyone is interested in the future I found the linked information useful. It contains time frames for egg laying and losing pigment as well as time frames for the return of pigment once laying ends.

In short:
Beak is bleached by 4-6 weeks into egg production,
Bottom of feet are bleached between 8-12 weeks into production,
Shanks are bleached if hen has been in sustained production for the prior 15-20 weeks.
Once the hen stops laying, pigment will return in same order as depletion (NOT REVERSE) but about twice as quickly.

https://ucanr.edu/sites/poultry/files/186896.pdf