is there a way to tell if a chicken is to old to lay eggs?

[andythib83]

Hi everyone. I am really new to this chicken thing. I live in Louisiana, and caught a chicken during our traditional mardi gras. Well instead of turning it in for gumbo, I decided to keep it as a pet. I have no Idea what species it is, but I know for sure its a chicken. I was wondering if there is anything I can look for to see if I should plan on her laying eggs. Any Info is appreciated. Thanks

this is a picture of her.
p.s. she is outside now

 

[enola]

? ? EE ? ?

She sure is purdy !

 

[KellyHM]

From what I can tell she looks young, but a non-blurry pic would help. And get her a friend!! Chickens are social animals.

 

[Kajunbanty]

Hi fellow Louisianan,
She looks like the locals game hen. Alot of people in this area have he fighting chickens even tho its no longer legal. They make great layers and moms, my brother has several that he just lets free range and she looks just like his hens.

 

[andythib83]

sorry about the picture. It came from my phone. I will get a better one for you tomorrow. So please check back.

 

[andythib83]

Quote:
that is a strong possibility, I live in Church Point, and we had a couple of fighting pits when it was legal.

 

[marymac]

I'm glad you asked this question, cause i wondered the same thing. I was given some hens and i'm not sure of their ages. It would be nice to know if they are past their prime or just waiting for more daylight to start laying. I'l be watching this thread.

 

[harv681]

She is a cutie! She does look young--maybe 12 weeks? I think she is old enough to start on layer feed. Look for eggs after the next 8- 10 weeks. Some of the more experienced readers will have to confirm this, though.

 

[chickorama]

Whew! glad she's outside! She is booootiful!!!

 

[SussexInSeattle]

To help to get her ready to lay there are a few things that you should do; be sure she has a good shelter, preferably with 4 sides and a roof, maybe with a door that you can secure at night so that predators don't kill her.

This shelter should have some roosting bars built in it so that she has a place to sleep up off the foor, it should also have a raised nest box where she can lay her eggs when her body is ready. The roosting bars should go in fist so she can get used to sleeping up there because you dont want her sleeping in the nest box ever.

It would be nice if the shelter had a window or two but is not totally neccesary.

Then you should get her some Layer Crumbles which is a food formulated to give her body the nutrition it needs to produce eggs for you. You can get that at a feed store.