MJ's little flock

[BDutch]

It's roughly x10 to get a chicken's age expressed in human years, right? So Mary is 60-70.

The menopause starts around 10yo.
Very old chickens can get 20yo.
Imo, x5 is more realistic if you follow those facts. But there is more to it. Chickens start laying around 0.5yo. That fiest fit

 

[MaryJanet]

The menopause starts around 10yo.
Very old chickens can get 20yo.
Imo, x5 is more realistic if you follow those facts. But there is more to it. Chickens start laying around 0.5yo. That fiest fit

Do you think there's a difference between bantams and standards? Peggy went through menopause at 4 with no symptoms other than not laying any more.

 

[BDutch]

Do you think there's a difference between bantams and standards? Peggy went through menopause at 4 with no symptoms other than not laying any more.

There are huge differences at what age they stop laying. The egg machines (commercial laying hybrids) often stop laying after approximately 4 years. The old breeds and barnyard mixes often stop laying years later. Of course there are individual differences within each breed too.

I have been reading that every hen has a large number of undeveloped eggs in her body at a young age just like humans. The ones that lay an egg every day have no more undeveloped eggs at the age of 4. True or false?

Another possibility is that a hen gets an infection that impacts her capabilities to lay eggs. Some infections are otherwise harmless and the hen can live a long life without having to lay eggs.

Wiki:
A chicken has about 3 to 4,000 eggs available from birth that can develop into an egg during the sexual maturity period.

But as mentioned above , here on BYC I have been reading it’s just 1000 eggs. And chickens menopause starts when they have finished the undeveloped egg supply. I doubt if that is true.

I do know the laying hybrids stop laying sooner. Maybe because their life was less healthy having to lay so many eggs. Maybe bc there genes are a bit different bc of all the inbreeding to create egg laying machines.

 

[BY Bob]

View attachment 4126821View attachment 4126822

Those are great!

 

[BY Bob]

All lined up, oldest to youngest with 2 years between each hen.

Mary is 6-7 years old, Peggy 4-5, Katie 2-3, and Melissa will be 1 on November 3.

It's roughly x10 to get a chicken's age expressed in human years, right? So Mary is 60-70.

They like sitting near my seat at the end of a day, little sweethearts. Hopefully in a few months Sarah will have joined the line up. And 24-25 will go down as the white generation.

Gosh there is just something about white chickens.

It was very nice of them to line up like that for you.

 

[MaryJanet]

There are huge differences at what age they stop laying. The egg machines (commercial laying hybrids) often stop laying after approximately 4 years. The old breeds and barnyard mixes often stop laying years later. Of course there are individual differences within each breed too.

I have been reading that every hen has a large number of undeveloped eggs in her body at a young age just like humans. The ones that lay an egg every day have no more undeveloped eggs at the age of 4. True or false?

Another possibility is that a hen gets an infection that impacts her capabilities to lay eggs. Some infections are otherwise harmless and the hen can live a long life without having to lay eggs.

Wiki:
A chicken has about 3 to 4,000 eggs available from birth that can develop into an egg during the sexual maturity period.

But as mentioned above , here on BYC I have been reading it’s just 1000 eggs. And chickens menopause starts when they have finished the undeveloped egg supply. I doubt if that is true.

I do know the laying hybrids stop laying sooner. Maybe because their life was less healthy having to lay so many eggs. Maybe bc there genes are a bit different bc of all the inbreeding to create egg laying machines.

Maybe aging hens by multiplication simply doesn't make sense.

 

[Shadrach]

There are huge differences at what age they stop laying. The egg machines (commercial laying hybrids) often stop laying after approximately 4 years. The old breeds and barnyard mixes often stop laying years later. Of course there are individual differences within each breed too.

I have been reading that every hen has a large number of undeveloped eggs in her body at a young age just like humans. The ones that lay an egg every day have no more undeveloped eggs at the age of 4. True or false?

Another possibility is that a hen gets an infection that impacts her capabilities to lay eggs. Some infections are otherwise harmless and the hen can live a long life without having to lay eggs.

Wiki:
A chicken has about 3 to 4,000 eggs available from birth that can develop into an egg during the sexual maturity period.

But as mentioned above , here on BYC I have been reading it’s just 1000 eggs. And chickens menopause starts when they have finished the undeveloped egg supply. I doubt if that is true.

I do know the laying hybrids stop laying sooner. Maybe because their life was less healthy having to lay so many eggs. Maybe bc there genes are a bit different bc of all the inbreeding to create egg laying machines.

I think it works like this.
Some hens have the potential to lay 3000 to 4000 eggs in their lives. That potential is fixed when they hatch. What has been altered to make hens lay whatever potential eggs they have more quickly is their ovulation rate. It's in part this high ovulation rate that kills them at around four years old. In theory, the fewer eggs a hen lays each year may extend thier life expectancy.

 

[Shadrach]

Maybe aging hens by multiplication simply doesn't make sense.

It does sort of work.
The first year is most difficult to factor in properly. They go from baby to adult at more than double the rate one may use for equivelant aging. From one year old onwards I reckon it's 7 chicken years to 1 of ours.

 

[BDutch]

It does sort of work.
The first year is most difficult to factor in properly. They go from baby to adult at more than double the rate one may use for equivelant aging. From one year old onwards I reckon it's 7 chicken years to 1 of ours.

I like this idea. Only not the first year but the first 6 months are completely different imho.
6 months chicken age equals about 14 yo human age.
Lets see if 7 chickens years can count for 1 human life.
1.5 yoc = 21 yoh
4.5 yoc = 42 yoh
8.5 yoc (less fertile but still laying) = 80 yoh (way beyond menopause)
12.5 yoc (very old but no need of a wheelchair yet) = 118 yoh (no human gets this old)
18.5 yoc (exceptionally old but some make it) = 150 yo anniversary, remembering the famous people who died a long time ago.

I reckon it's more like 5 chicken years to 1 of ours. At least for strong old breeds like my Dutch.
Almost 1 yo (Gin and Tonic) = almost 16.5 yoh
1.5 yoc = 19 yoh
Almost 4.5 yoc (Katrientje) = almost 34 yoh
8.5 yoc = 54 yoh
10 yoc (Black and Pearl) = 64.5 yoh
12.5 yoc = 74yoh
18.5 yoc = 104 yoh
Not completely right but it suits the Dutch bantams much better than 7 to 1.

 

[MaryJanet]

Little Sarah is still in quarantine, sadly now by herself. I couldn't let Agnes drag on when she was so sick. She was euthanised a couple of days ago.

Sarah continues to thrive and flourish. Her new tail is growing in beautifully. But she's lonely and wants to be with the other hens.

Once I have Melissa's test results I'll know what steps to take next. If Melissa is positive for Marek's I can start breaking quarantine. If Mel's negative, then I'll get Sarah tested too. I should have Melissa's results very soon.

If Sarah's positive, I'll have to try to find a Marek's home for her. If she's negative (seems like a long shot, but she's not showing any symptoms) she will of course stay until her end.