New & Concerned

[Knox Chick Inn]

Hi! I'm so excited to have chickens, it is new to me so I Google a lot of stuff and always come to BYC. So I joined! We got 10 peeps from our local farm supply store, they were only a day old. A neighbor gave us 2 hens and a rooster. Another neighbor gave us a hen for a ride (he was Amish and my husband asked for a hen as payment). The 2 we got from the one neighbor look terrible, feathers missing from head and bottoms but he told us they were molting. They've been laying consistently so we ignore the looks. My issue is one of them has been laying wrinkled, thin and unusable eggs. I can't blame diet because she eats what the others do and her eggs are perfect. Just wondering what's going on....any ideas?

 

[GitaBooks]

Welcome to BYC!


How long as she been doing this?

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Do you have pics of these birds? Sounds like these hens were probably just over mated and hence have lost a lot of feathers from the rooster mating with them.

These hens may be older and coming close to the end of their laying cycle. As a hen ages, her egg laying machine can malfunction. Here is a good article on Eggshell Quality and how they get that way...https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems

Always make sure to worm new birds you bring home from an unknown source, check for mites as well and treat the birds for both of these. Either of these issues can destroy a bird and will kill them over time. And eggs are the first thing to suffer in quality before they stop laying all together.

Good luck with your your flocks and we do welcome you to our flock!

 

[Knox Chick Inn]

We got her near the end of April

 

[Knox Chick Inn]

I posted it to the wrong thread, sheesh! Anyway, the bare bum and the one one the ramp are the layers. The good looking hen doesnt lay at all. We did have a robin sized egg once but nothing since. Are they just old? Molting? Sick? They are very sassy and eat well....im at a loss...

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[drumstick diva]

I can see why you would be concerned. I'm always wary when someone is giving away birds - usually its more like "dumping" ones they don't want. Hopefully they will look better after worming, etc and when their molt is over. If you have roosters, the hens will continue to look tattered. If you don't need fertile eggs for hatching, hens are much better off without a rooster overbreeding and damaging them.

 

[N F C]

Hi, welcome to BYC!