Is it possible to tell age of chickens?

[ibpboo]

Does anyone know how to tell how old a chicken may be? My friend brought over a silkie on Monday that apparently had been attacked by a dog, she was drenched from the rain and muddy. I gave her a bath and she fluffed up nice. She is eating and drinking fine, the hole under her wing has healed, a few feathers on other wing seemed to be bleeding a little, ok this morning. She is extremely sweet and likes to sit in my lap. She doesn't walk around much, is this normal for a silkie? I have two Rhode Island Reds, one Barred Rock, one (spelLing?) Aurcona that lays green eggs and a game chicken that moved in with us New Years Day.

 

[arlee453]

Check in their beaks. You can tell age by looking at the teeth. When their teeth all fall out they are at least 4 years old.







Nawwww - I'm just kidding ya. In yellow skinned breeds you can tell by how light the skin is - the more eggs they lay the whiter their skin becomes.

For silkies and others, I'm not sure. Thanks for helping that injured silkie and taking the others in. I'm sure you'll enjoy their antics and hopefully get some eggs too!

 

[ibpboo]

The first night the silkie did lay an egg for me. She is so sweet. I get brown eggs from the Rhode Islands, and green from the Aurcona, (I need to figure out how to spell that). the Rock has not laid eggs in quite awhile, I've forgotten how many years I've had her. So far the game chicken is living under and in the oak tree. Its not the first time chickens have come to live with me. Its cute they pick my place to live!

 

[silkiechicken]

Once they are over about two years old, it is hard to estimate their age as how they lived in the first two years after becoming an "adult" can change how they look alot. If she is laying eggs, she is probably a year old and that's about all you can tell.