- Mar 11, 2011
- 184
- 36
- 156
Hi BYC members -
For the last several years, I raised a total of 4 hens, but currently, there are only 2 surviving. I don't consume egg, nor any animal products, but I love hen dearly, and I treat them all as an important member of the family, and yes, they all are my "kids".
I recently lost one sweet, angelic hen to EYP. The experience is not a pleasant one - I suffer, ache and blame it all on myself for what had happened to her. She was my most prolific layer and her egg was always the size of a duck egg. She had fragile bone, silky feather, sweet looking eyes and always made the most funny noise while pruning herself. If she devoured food at all, 90% of it would go into producing the egg. I know this because as soon as she finished laying her egg, her weight drastically became lighter, as if there was nothing left in her - she worked too hard for those eggs. I don't consume eggs, so once every few days, I would cook the eggs and feed those back to the hens. I tried not to feed too much to them, but I guess I could easily over-do it. She was everything a sweet, and docile hen could be. I will mourn over her death for years to come and this may sound crazy to many people, but I sincerely hope she will not come back in her next life as another chicken. Yes, I could easily get another hen, but again, I treat all mine as a sentient being in a family and there isn't any replacement for a sentient being in the family.
If you are a BYC member who comes here to read on this forum, you probably have heard too many stories about EYP. There isn't any cure, prevention nor treatment for it. As far as all the materials I've been reading and researching, most could try to prolong the life of a hen, but I think all would eventually succumb to the deadly blow of EYP.
Then that brings me to the question as to if there IS a safe, and reliable medical treatment to prevent a hen from laying.
I've heard about injecting Lupron - does anyone know how this really work?
I have two hens left and one is a RIR - she is roughly 4 years old and did go through a few times of laying eggs with no shell. She managed to pull through some rocky roads, and she got lucky that she's still with me. Her condition was probably not as bad as my other hen who was Very Recently passed away. I am now very strict to what I feed my hen, and will try to give them necessary vitamins, calcium and exercises for their overall well-being. However, I truly do not want this one to go through any episode of egg-laying complication.
Thus, I do not want my hen to lay anymore. I do know about limiting daylight time, and alternating feed so it discourages hen from laying, but I guess I'm trying to see if there's another way to put an end to the egg production for my hens and for future hens that I will raise. I have a feeling it is not natural, nor safe for a hen not to lay, but I think I've read enough stories in here about egg-laying problems that I feel perhaps I could get your opinions, and knowledge for a safe way to eliminate the egg production cycle for my hen. Also, I think It is difficult to know any breeder who truly and sincerely breeds chicks for longevity because almost everyone wants to raise hens for eggs, so the longevity factor of breeding a hen who can live at least 5 years without going through egg-laying complications is quite rare, in my opinion. However, perhaps you do know a breeder who cares enough about the well-being of these sentient beings, then I would be most appreciative if you can let me know the breeder(s).
Last comment: if you read my question above and you feel that I'm crazy and if you think you have an urge to chime in just to tell me so, or if you want to comment on how foolish I am then please, do me a favor, do not comment. I've heard many criticisms about how I treat and raise my hens, so I think you don't need to comment further. I thank you for doing so.
Thank you for reading and please help me, if you have an idea/ solution/ feedback to my question - I truly appreciate it.
For the last several years, I raised a total of 4 hens, but currently, there are only 2 surviving. I don't consume egg, nor any animal products, but I love hen dearly, and I treat them all as an important member of the family, and yes, they all are my "kids".
I recently lost one sweet, angelic hen to EYP. The experience is not a pleasant one - I suffer, ache and blame it all on myself for what had happened to her. She was my most prolific layer and her egg was always the size of a duck egg. She had fragile bone, silky feather, sweet looking eyes and always made the most funny noise while pruning herself. If she devoured food at all, 90% of it would go into producing the egg. I know this because as soon as she finished laying her egg, her weight drastically became lighter, as if there was nothing left in her - she worked too hard for those eggs. I don't consume eggs, so once every few days, I would cook the eggs and feed those back to the hens. I tried not to feed too much to them, but I guess I could easily over-do it. She was everything a sweet, and docile hen could be. I will mourn over her death for years to come and this may sound crazy to many people, but I sincerely hope she will not come back in her next life as another chicken. Yes, I could easily get another hen, but again, I treat all mine as a sentient being in a family and there isn't any replacement for a sentient being in the family.
If you are a BYC member who comes here to read on this forum, you probably have heard too many stories about EYP. There isn't any cure, prevention nor treatment for it. As far as all the materials I've been reading and researching, most could try to prolong the life of a hen, but I think all would eventually succumb to the deadly blow of EYP.
Then that brings me to the question as to if there IS a safe, and reliable medical treatment to prevent a hen from laying.
I've heard about injecting Lupron - does anyone know how this really work?
I have two hens left and one is a RIR - she is roughly 4 years old and did go through a few times of laying eggs with no shell. She managed to pull through some rocky roads, and she got lucky that she's still with me. Her condition was probably not as bad as my other hen who was Very Recently passed away. I am now very strict to what I feed my hen, and will try to give them necessary vitamins, calcium and exercises for their overall well-being. However, I truly do not want this one to go through any episode of egg-laying complication.
Thus, I do not want my hen to lay anymore. I do know about limiting daylight time, and alternating feed so it discourages hen from laying, but I guess I'm trying to see if there's another way to put an end to the egg production for my hens and for future hens that I will raise. I have a feeling it is not natural, nor safe for a hen not to lay, but I think I've read enough stories in here about egg-laying problems that I feel perhaps I could get your opinions, and knowledge for a safe way to eliminate the egg production cycle for my hen. Also, I think It is difficult to know any breeder who truly and sincerely breeds chicks for longevity because almost everyone wants to raise hens for eggs, so the longevity factor of breeding a hen who can live at least 5 years without going through egg-laying complications is quite rare, in my opinion. However, perhaps you do know a breeder who cares enough about the well-being of these sentient beings, then I would be most appreciative if you can let me know the breeder(s).
Last comment: if you read my question above and you feel that I'm crazy and if you think you have an urge to chime in just to tell me so, or if you want to comment on how foolish I am then please, do me a favor, do not comment. I've heard many criticisms about how I treat and raise my hens, so I think you don't need to comment further. I thank you for doing so.
Thank you for reading and please help me, if you have an idea/ solution/ feedback to my question - I truly appreciate it.
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If i were you, i would get a breed that won't stress itself trying to lay eggs (don't give up your current ones of course, just in the future
