Question about hens that have stopped laying (season and lifetime)

[frog522]

Do hens sing the egg song after they have stopped laying? I have heard that chickens in their second winter molt and do not produce any eggs. Do they still sing the egg song or will they be "quiet" (if they normally sing it)? For chickens that are retired and don't lay anymore, do they sing the egg song?

 

[gritsar]

My hens just finished their third molt - 2 as adults, one a mini-molt @ 9 months. They just resumed laying the other day and yes, they still sing their egg song. There was no egg song while they were molting of course because they weren't laying.

I don't expect these girls to stop laying completely for many years yet. They may not lay as well as they did in their first and second year, but they will lay.

 

[Jane Jill Jack]

I have several chickens also about 2 years old and which just finished molting. Most of the hens lay just a few eggs right now, but in the summer I'm sure they'll start laying better again.

 

[Denninmi]

I have 3 RIR's that turned 2 in June. Right around the end of July, they quit laying, all of the feathers fell out rapidly, and they went through a porcupine phase for a few days when the new feathers were coming in. It was rather interesting to watch, although they acted sort of unhappy and "itchy". They didn't lay at all between about August first until around mid-late September. Since about the first of October, they're been laying every day, 1 egg each, as dependable as the sun rising in the morning. They aren't even getting any artificial light at night, and with our 9 hour days, they are still laying. Plus, my 6 month old Isa Browns are starting to lay -- I'll be drowning in a sea of eggs any day now, we just can't use them that fast in my household. I guess the relatives are going to get some eggs.