Old hen past laying stage

[SuperMurshy]

Will a senior hen who's not laying anymore still go in to the nesting box every day or two and act as if they think they're going to lay an egg?

 

[GCrumb]

My experience doesn't seem to be in the literature. But from what I remember, old hens who don't lay any more often like to set, and will go and look for a cache of eggs to take over.

 

[Tookie]

I haven't had this happen to me with any of my old hens that don't lay anymore, but sometimes some of my layers will just sit in the nesting box and not lay that day.

 

[Moodleroni]

I have two white leghorns who will sit in the 'favorite' nesting boxes and sing all day without laying. They are by far the noisiest, and the only 2 that lay white eggs so I know when they do, or do not, lay. All drama, all day.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Older hens can sometimes get bullied more, which could cause them to hide in nest boxes, so that's something to check for as well.

 

[LaFleche]

How old is she exactly?

She might be laying internally which will lead to egg yolk peritonitis over time.

 

[Epping Meadows]

Will a senior hen who's not laying anymore still go in to the nesting box every day or two and act as if they think they're going to lay an egg?

I realize this is an old post but I’ve just found it and I am going through something similar.

I have a nine year old hen who loves to sit on the eggs.
She can be quite broody and last week I found an egg in the box that I didn’t recognize.
It was a very light cream egg and my Barnevelders and Copper Blue Maran lay brown to chocolate eggs.
Did my nine year old hen just drop an egg?
Has anyone else have a senior hen just lay an egg, out of the blue?
Thank you. She is my first senior hen and this has me flabberghasted.

 

[LaFleche]

Did my nine year old hen just drop an egg?
Has anyone else have a senior hen just lay an egg, out of the blue?
Thank you. She is my first senior hen and this has me flabberghasted.

She might very well have.

My oldest hen was shy of 10 years and still laying 2-3 eggs a week.

 

[Nym]

I realize this is an old post but I’ve just found it and I am going through something similar.

I have a nine year old hen who loves to sit on the eggs.
She can be quite broody and last week I found an egg in the box that I didn’t recognize.
It was a very light cream egg and my Barnevelders and Copper Blue Maran lay brown to chocolate eggs.
Did my nine year old hen just drop an egg?
Has anyone else have a senior hen just lay an egg, out of the blue?
Thank you. She is my first senior hen and this has me flabberghasted.

My lawn mower fixer man had a single white sussex hen who was quite aged - he said she was the last of the original flock he raised and had to have been over 15yrs-old when she died. She was still laying every so often as i was there one day when he found a egg and was all excited about it. I had no idea chickens could live that long.