Is the chicken we bought old or young

[Forogirl]

Hi
We are new to raising chicken and we have bought 8 chickens at point of lay
4 of them are already laying but we are worried about one of them she is an Isa brown we bought her in early February and her comb has not changed in 2 months, other pullets that didnt even have any combs at all have already grown their combs while hers if anything looks abit paler sometimes
Im just wondering if they might have sold us an old hen by mistake

Ill post a pic from the 12th of feb and one from today the 22nd of April
if anyone have any idea if she is a pullet or not it would be very appreciated.

 

[RooStar Chicken Gang]

If she was a older hen her comb would be bigger then the others not smaller. Or you mean her comb was already like that and the others caught up to her and possibly surpassed her in size of comb?

I've brought Isa brown/Hylines before from a farm twice, first time they gave us young orange coloured ones, small combs, young point of lay, they hadn't started laying but soon did. The second time from the same people asked for a bit more chickens, this time they were more brown, bigger, had decent size combs and already where laying, there skin around eyes and comb was pale, pale white.. which soon turned to bright red in the summer sun which they clearly had not been exposed too, ever.

They said these brown ones were young an point of lay too, but they were a bit older then the orange ones before (this place didn't let you go in to pick your birds either) Moral of the story is people lie.

The one in your picture looks young, if she's happy an healthy that's good, if she's not laid eggs yet she's young, some of my Isa Browns grew there combs at different paces wouldn't worry, some combs are bit bigger then others.

 

[Forogirl]

If she was a older hen her comb would be bigger then the others not smaller. Or you mean her comb was already like that and the others caught up to her and possibly surpassed her in size of comb?

I've brought Isa brown/Hylines before from a farm twice, first time they gave us young orange coloured ones, small combs, young point of lay, they hadn't started laying but soon did. The second time from the same people asked for a bit more chickens, this time they were more brown, bigger, had decent size combs and already where laying, there skin around eyes and comb was pale, pale white.. which soon turned to bright red in the summer sun which they clearly had not been exposed too, ever.

They said these brown ones were young an point of lay too, but they were a bit older then the orange ones before (this place didn't let you go in to pick your birds either) Moral of the story is people lie.

The one in your picture looks young, if she's happy an healthy that's good, if she's not laid eggs yet she's young, some of my Isa Browns grew there combs at different paces wouldn't worry, some combs are bit bigger then others.

Thanks for the reply

Yes almost all others have surpassed even tho she had an existing comb from when we bought her And the others didnt. We thought for sure she would be first if not 2nd to lay.
She isnt laying isnt even interested in the nest box and shes abit aggressive with the other hens (top of the pecking order lol)
Shes healthy but when we first got her she kept falling asleep we put some medicine powder in the water supply incase she was sick
But now we are wondering if she might just be old as we have also read that sometimes the combs shrinks abit and goes pale.

Sorry we are still learning there is so much information everywhere but its honestly fun learning all new thisnew info.

 

[RooStar Chicken Gang]

It's fine, still learning aswell and am new to the site too. Did not know or have heard of there combs going smaller if old, someone else may know more bout that. Yes lots of info n people are good at answering n helping here.

 

[Forogirl]

It's fine, still learning aswell and am new to the site too. Did not know or have heard of there combs going smaller if old, someone else may know more bout that. Yes lots of info n people are good at answering n helping here.

So true love this site its soo helpful

 

[cluckcluckhens]

Yep, I read about their combs a few weeks back. I have two 8 year old Wyandottes. One has hardly a comb, the other one is just hanging on and hasn't came off yet. At first I thought it could be the Rooster's doing this when they tag the girls.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

She looks young to me. I have/ had a lot of ISA browns through the years. ISAs are in some ways different than other chicken "breeds." Number 1, they dont usually reach "old"age, since they are basically bred to lay xlarge eggs every single day until their bodies give out. An ISA Brown's life span is generally stated as age 5, but thats like saying a humans lifespan is 80 years. In both species, many dont live that long. (And some live longer).

2) ISAs dont tend to go through a long full molt during the fall/winter months, & they dont quit laying during the shorter days either. When a hen molts and ceases laying during the shorter days, thats when her comb will sometimes shrink and grow pale, causing her comb to resemble a pullet's comb.

It IS possible for a pullet/hen to never lay an egg, same as human women can sometimes be fertile. I agree with you that your pullet looks to be at pol in both photos. Hopefully she will become an egg-laying machine for you any day now.

In the 4 photos below, the first 2 pics are of ISA Brown pullets hatched/shipped june 29, 2020. The 2 photos were both taken December 2020, when they were at pol. The next 2 photos are of mature ISA brown hens, 3-4 years old. (Not sure exact age of the hens pictured; they are in an older flock consisting of layers ages 3 years and older). Both photos were taken this past winter; the first (with the puppy) in november 2020, & the last one (ISA brown hen in center of photo) January 2021. As you can see, their combs dont shrink or grow pale. And that is because they dont stop laying!

 

[RooStar Chicken Gang]

What type of dog is the white puppy? A Maremma? Good at looking afta the chooks, nice pics.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Puppy is 1/2 pyrenese and 1/2 anatolian shepherd. She is white with short hair. I have a 3 year old male of same cross; he has medium length hair with a pale yellow color like the mother. I would love to have a Maremma; havent been able to find one. I have 2 older dogs that guard and protect the chickens. A great guard dog is definitely a chicken's best friend.

 

[RooStar Chicken Gang]

Awesome, good dog breeds. There was two Maremma puppies on gumtree (website people sell stuff on) for $500 each, shoulda got one but didn't. Friends I know have one, like a big polar bear.