Hudson Valley NY *chat thread*

[Serenity Lane]

I'm not really sure. He said they were on the younger side but who knows

My guess would be that she's younger or older than he said. That guess is not based on anything besides the fact that she's not laying. You said he had lots of chickens, right? Maybe he lost track or got her mixed up with another? I have no idea how to age chickens. Is it even possible?

 

[JerseyHen]

My guess would be that she's younger or older than he said. That guess is not based on anything besides the fact that she's not laying. You said he had lots of chickens, right? Maybe he lost track or got her mixed up with another? I have no idea how to age chickens. Is it even possible?

You can tell the approximate age of a hen, or more specifically you can tell if she is prior to POL or after POL. So, if they are approaching POL you just need to wait, if they are past POL then you know you have a hen taking a break for one reason or another (could be moving stress, could be she is spent, etc) and you need to decide what you want to do.

There are a lot of unscrupulous sellers out there. They will vaseline legs, combs, wattles, smooth feathers, trim beaks and toenails and spurs, to convince you that you are buying a younger bird. Also, in referencing "younger" doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. For me, "younger" means pullet (under a year) or first season. Given that hens often live 5 years or more, "younger" can take on a lot of meanings.

Here is what I have found in my searches on the subject (all unsubstantiated, but from experienced owners):

Prior to point of lay:
If the combs and wattles are still undeveloped or are developed, but on the barely pink side, they are young.

Legs should be shiny and without scales. Toenails will be short (of course, that requires that you have seen what long toenails on a hen look like and assumes the seller didn't cut them).

Vent will be "round".

Will investigate the nest boxes, will often "squat" when you approach.

Post point of lay:
"Find the vent. Then using your index and middle fingers find the two pointy bones below and to each side of the vent. If you can put your two fingers between those pointy bones the hens are laying, but you still don't know the actual age."

''If the pullet is just starting to lay, you will be able to place one finger in between these pelvic bones. This space will widen even further as the laying process increases, until eventually you will be able to place two or more fingers between the pelvic bones.''

"Another common and fairly accurate way is to inspect the vent, this method will not tell you their age in months but will help with their egg laying ability. Just inspect the vent of the hen if it is pink and moist the hen is still a good young layer, if the vent is whitish and dry the hen is older and probably not laying aften or well."

Vent will be elongated/flattened (smiley face, I know, I know, odd, but that is how it is described).

When they first start laying for you (after the move-in stress ends), is the egg small (like a pullet egg) or large (like a hen egg).

"Take note of the way the chicken molts. A chicken under a year old will not molt out its chicken feathers." (you won't see this until fall though).


Several seasons along or spent:
As they age and approach being spent, they "bleach out" in the legs/combs/wattles.

Long toenails, especially on the accessory metatarsus indicate advancing age (several seasons).

Inspect the shanks. They get thicker and rougher looking as they age. (I would look very carefully for leg mites if the scales are lifting, but I can say my older (4 years) hens do have pretty rough looking legs without any mites).

"Before beginning to lay eggs, a hen will retain her yellow color. This color gradually diminishes, beginning after a couple of weeks, around the vent, eyes and earlobes. After a couple months, the beak will also lose it's color, followed by the legs and feet, after about 6 months of egg production. The yellow color will return at the end of the hen's productive life or after a moult, in the same order in which it disappeared."

 

[Serenity Lane]

You can tell the approximate age of a hen, or more specifically you can tell if she is prior to POL or after POL. So, if they are approaching POL you just need to wait, if they are past POL then you know you have a hen taking a break for one reason or another (could be moving stress, could be she is spent, etc) and you need to decide what you want to do. 

There are a lot of unscrupulous sellers out there. They will vaseline legs, combs, wattles, smooth feathers, trim beaks and toenails and spurs, to convince you that you are buying  a younger bird. Also, in referencing "younger" doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. For me, "younger" means pullet (under a year) or first season. Given that hens often live 5 years or more, "younger" can take on a lot of meanings. 

Here is what I have found in my searches on the subject (all unsubstantiated, but from experienced owners):

Prior to point of lay:
If the combs and wattles are still undeveloped or are developed, but on the barely pink side, they are young.

Legs should be shiny and without scales. Toenails will be short (of course, that requires that you have seen what long toenails on a hen look like and assumes the seller didn't cut them). 

Vent will be "round".

Will investigate the nest boxes, will often "squat" when you approach. 

Post point of lay:
"Find the vent.  Then using your index and middle fingers find the two pointy bones below and to each side of the vent.  If you can put your two fingers between those pointy bones the hens are laying, but you still don't know the actual age."

''If the pullet is just starting to lay, you will be able to place one finger in between these pelvic bones. This space will widen even further as the laying process increases, until eventually you will be able to place two or more fingers between the pelvic bones.''

"Another common and fairly accurate way is to inspect the vent, this method will not tell you their age in months but will help with their egg laying ability. Just inspect the vent of the hen if it is pink and moist the hen is still a good young layer, if the vent is whitish and dry the hen is older and probably not laying aften or well."

Vent will be elongated/flattened (smiley face, I know, I know, odd, but that is how it is described).

When they first start laying for you (after the move-in stress ends), is the egg small (like a pullet egg) or large (like a hen egg). 

"Take note of the way the chicken molts. A chicken under a year old will not molt out its chicken feathers." (you won't see this until fall though). 

 

Several seasons along or spent:
As they age and approach being spent, they "bleach out" in the legs/combs/wattles. 

Long toenails, especially on the accessory metatarsus indicate advancing age (several seasons). 

Inspect the shanks. They get thicker and rougher looking as they age.  (I would look very carefully for leg mites if the scales are lifting, but I can say my older (4 years) hens do have pretty rough looking legs without any mites).

"Before beginning to lay eggs, a hen will retain her yellow color. This color gradually diminishes, beginning after a couple of weeks, around the vent, eyes and earlobes. After a couple months, the beak will also lose it's color, followed by the legs and feet, after about 6 months of egg production. The yellow color will return at the end of the hen's productive life or after a moult, in the same order in which it disappeared."


 

Very informative post! Thank you!

 

[LSzajko]

Good Evening Everybody~
It's hatch day for the lavender orpingtons. 10/14 so far

Lots of adorableness!

I need advice::

Gertie the Broody Australorp is sitting on a bunch of eggs (it seems ALL the girls are laying in the same box helping Gertie's crusade). The eggs aren't fertile so I'm trying to discourage Gertie and followed some advice on one of the threads here and set her belly in cold water, took the eggs and then let everyone out to roam. A little while later, I took a headcount and found Gertie back in the nesting box sitting on 2 eggs that had just been laid. So I took those eggs and put Gertie out w/the rest of the girls and closed the door of the coop. When I went to lock everyone up, she went right back to the nesting box but there's no more eggs so I'll let her be for the night.

And now I have 2 broody buff orpingtons. 2 chicks hatched last week (sold them and got rid of the duds) but she remains broody and "moved in" with the other buff ~ now they're BOTH squeezed into the same box co-parenting about 18 eggs between them. I was going to set both girls in cold water but noticed a chick (!!!) and then I got attacked so I'll let them go for another few days to see if any more hatch. Then this broody madness needs to stop. What should I do?

 

[chickyhopefull]

Anyone here close to Whitehall?

 

[LSzajko]

Anyone here close to Whitehall?

Welcome and Hello chickyhopefull

What county is it in? Most of us here are from Orange, Ulster and Sussex.

 

[chickyhopefull]

Washington County. I thought for some reason Hudson Valley was above Albany. But my dad just informed me its below there. But oi do travel to Albany once a month.

 

[LSzajko]

Washington County. I thought for some reason Hudson Valley was above Albany. But my dad just informed me its below there. But oi do travel to Albany once a month.

I thought Whitehall might be north of here. I live 90 miles south of Albany.
A lot of the peeps on the NY Chicken Lover thread live closer to you.

What breeds of chickens do you have and how many?

 

[chickyhopefull]

I dont have any yet. Im trying to research which ones to get. Ive been thinking about speckled sussex, dominique, barred plymouth, and wyandotte. My dads only concern is egg production and i want something pretty to look at(i know im shallow lol). But also cold hardy is a must because were only about 3 hours from canada so we get pretty cold winters. Im trying to find opinions on what people around me have. Another thing im wondering about is confining the dominique. I would love to get them because theyre on a watch list but byc says theyre fine in confinement and other sites say theyre free range. Any idea?

 

[LSzajko]

I dont have any yet. Im trying to research which ones to get. Ive been thinking about speckled sussex, dominique, barred plymouth, and wyandotte. My dads only concern is egg production and i want something pretty to look at(i know im shallow lol). But also cold hardy is a must because were only about 3 hours from canada so we get pretty cold winters. Im trying to find opinions on what people around me have. Another thing im wondering about is confining the dominique. I would love to get them because theyre on a watch list but byc says theyre fine in confinement and other sites say theyre free range. Any idea?

LOL that's not shallow. It's nice to have a variety!
I don't know much about Dominques. I would imagine any chicken would be fairly content in confinement if it's what they're used to as long as they're in a secure coop and run with shelter from predators and severe weather. I have a barred rock and a silver laced Wyandotte as well as several other breeds (RIR, red sex link, EE. orpingtons, australorp) and all of them laid eggs everyday throughout the winter. They're confined often but I also let them out to forage if we're home to supervise them and they seem happy either way.

Some breeds fare better than others in extreme temperatures You'll find a lot of information in BYC on breeds that are known to be winter hardy and good layers.

Whatever you decide to get, enjoy them

Good luck!