Hi from a relative newbie

[MooCowMom]

Hi from a relative newbie. I welcomed four pullets (eight months old and laying) in October 2021. I was told these were Rhode Island Reds, but as the months passed, I suspected they were hybrids that resembled RIRs. Their eggs were “odd” from the start. Cady laid nearly white eggs, Muffy laid pinkish eggs, Prudy laid long pointed eggs (bullet-like), and Tildy had very thin shells. Only Tildy’s eggs were “large.” I always fed them organic feed, and they were free range year round. Yes, my girls had plenty of calcium, a daily booster of minerals, a daily multivitamin with emphasis on D3/K2, and ACV. Tildy continued to lay thin shelled eggs. She sometimes laid shell-less eggs and was egg bound more than once. So worrisome. Prudy (also had egg binding) laid for a little over year and then stopped in October 2022. One year of laying. Cady stopped laying in summer of 2023. Less than two years. Muffy and Tildy stopped laying in spring of 2024. Two and one half years. Muffy molts every few months, poor thing. And Tildy? She now looks and acts old. Heartbreaking. Should genuine RIRs stop laying so young? At this point, I strive to keep them happy and comfortable. But I am hesitant to get more hens. I feel bad luck will follow me. And truly, I am trying so very hard.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

Sorry you're seeming to have hen problems.

Oyster shell on the side usually fixes thin-shelled eggs. As for as how old, most chickens lay great for their first couple of years, and then it can start to taper down a bit until eventually, they stop.

Others may have RIR's and know better than I do of the specific breed.

Do you feed them layer feed or all flock feed? You didn't mention it, and some folks don't feed their chickens chicken feed.

 

[OrpingtonManiac]

Hello and Welcome to BYC!
Good luck with your flock!

 

[Callender Girl]

I don't have a lot of experience with RIR's but mine never laid white eggs, nor pink ones. So, I suspect you are right about their heritage. It sounds as if you got them from a single source, so their issues might be traced back to their specific breeding, and not anything you did or didn't do.

For example, I bought three Buckeye chicks from a reputable hatchery, and all grew up to be beautiful hens. However, it's five years later, and all three are dead. One only made it three years, and two died this year; one of those had laying issues for much of her life and was especially prone to thin shelled eggs. I had higher expectations for birds that I thought would be hardy and long-lived.

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, things go wrong with chickens. BUT, sometimes, the same amount of care and effort will produce better results with different chickens.

I don't believe "bad luck will follow" you. You are taking great care with the hens you have, and I believe your heart has room for a few more.

Best wishes for you and your girls.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

Should genuine RIRs stop laying so young?

Not generally.

Any of the birds that were bred for high production rates have that done at the expense of longevity.

If you switch to heritage breeds or just stay away from the production breeds you will enjoy them longer.

 

[Jenbirdee]

 

[muddy75]

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[triciayoung]

Hi from a relative newbie. I welcomed four pullets (eight months old and laying) in October 2021. I was told these were Rhode Island Reds, but as the months passed, I suspected they were hybrids that resembled RIRs. Their eggs were “odd” from the start. Cady laid nearly white eggs, Muffy laid pinkish eggs, Prudy laid long pointed eggs (bullet-like), and Tildy had very thin shells. Only Tildy’s eggs were “large.” I always fed them organic feed, and they were free range year round. Yes, my girls had plenty of calcium, a daily booster of minerals, a daily multivitamin with emphasis on D3/K2, and ACV. Tildy continued to lay thin shelled eggs. She sometimes laid shell-less eggs and was egg bound more than once. So worrisome. Prudy (also had egg binding) laidAs for a little over year and then stopped in October 2022. One year of laying. Cady stopped laying in summer of 2023. Less than two years. Muffy and Tildy stopped laying in spring of 2024. Two and one half years. Muffy molts every few months, poor thing. And Tildy? She now looks and acts old. Heartbreaking. Should genuine RIRs stop laying so young? At this point, I strive to keep them happy and comfortable. But I am hesitant to get more hens. I feel bad luck will follow me. And truly, I am trying so very hard.

Welcome. As heart-breaking and in my opinion criminal as it is, you have the factory farm egg industry to blame for the issues you are facing with your girls. In the wild, hens only lay about 20-eggs per year. The factory farm industry over the past several decades has abused the hens to lay 200-300 per year.

Then, they get rid of the hens at 18-months, and not nicely.

Even though you are giving your girls a good life, they come from a line of production breeds that make them lay way more eggs than their poor little bodies can handle. The abusive increase of egg laying volume that the factory farms made has also resulted in many health problems. As one example, a hens liver restructures when she comes into laying. A high volume of eggs is the biggest factor leading to liver hemorrhagic disease which most of the time results in sudden death. I try to help their livers by adding milk thistle to their feed.

As far as ceasing laying early, this is also a result of being bred to lay too many eggs. Hens, like women, have a certain number of eggs.

 

[Jener8or]

I hope this doesn't deter you from getting more chickens. It is heartbreaking to lose them or when something goes wrong with them, but it sounds like you are a good chicken keeper and trying some other breeds or lines of chickens will give you better success.

Thanks for joining and welcome to BackYard Chickens!