Should I COOK her? Need your thoughts.......

[tunaoftheland]

one of my girls goes into the nest, sits for an age, does the whole bwak bwak BA BWAK!!! thing when she comes out, and there is no egg. Then a while later, she slinks back in and quietly lays one with no fan fare what so ever. Could Rhodee be doing something like that? Just a thought. Sorry she isn't laying, but it is kind of interesting at the same time, isn't it? I mean, in a frustrating kind of way. That she goes through all the motions and then, ta-da, nothing! for so long. Strange chicken.

Your coop set up looks very nice, by the by.

 

[chickenlickin8]

UPDATE: Still no egg from Rhodee. I thought RIR were top layers? My other one is awesome. She turned 10 months old on Nov 22nd. She was in the nest again this morning and after she came out, I went in and checked and no egg! This is about the strangest thing I have experienced with my girls. All the rest are laying fine except for her. She is still a virgin to laying...LOL! She does the squat and exhibits the same behaviors as the hens that are laying....which is even more strange to me that she goes through all the same motions but with no results. Anyone else ever had a production breed hen at 10 months not laying? THANKS!

 

[Opa]

My grandmother had me kill a freeloading hen for her almost sixty years ago. I can still hear her gripping about all of the eggs she found when she dressed that hen. You've already waited this long, what's a few more months.

 

[smom1976]

Quote:
why dont you look at her vent.. it will look different than the others if she is not laying.. and check to see if her hip bones are 3 fingers apart.

 

[redhen]

I have chickens that do that alot also...they go in the nest...sit for a bit ..and come out with no egg in the nest...so, what i am trying to say is: unless you have a camera in there or sit there 24/7 you REALLY dont know if she is laying or not..just because a hen gets in and out of a nest doesnt mean she isnt laying....so, i'd hate to see you kill her just because you THINK she isnt laying......now,..if you got her for a duel-purpose bird (meat and laying)and were gonna eat her someday anyways...well then, have at it!....some of those recipies looked yummy!..

...but, i'd really hate to see you kill her cause you were just guessing...best of luck with her!!.., Wendy

 

[chickenlickin8]

Opa, I plan to give until she is ONE YEAR old so then I feel I have given her enough time.

Smom1976, I will have to try that. I have felt her under belly and it feels soft but I will check the vent and measure three fingers. What if i can only fit one finger?

Redhen, I am DEFINTELY not guessing when I say she is not laying....as hard as that may be for you to believe. My coop is not that big that I wouldn't find her egg and from a distance, I have watched her get out of the nest without laying...many times! Thank you and I appreciate your thoughts and opinion. My goal is find out if I may be missing something here. I'm giving her until one year of age to produce. I raised these hens purely for organic egg production, not just for pretty! I love them and all but I need something in return for the cost of feed, lighting, bedding, etc....sorry!

 

[Opa]

Sounds more than reasonable to me. If after one year she hasn't produced you should eat her with gusto.

 

[cmom]

I live near Ocala Florida. I have RIR's. The last to start laying was around 8 months old when she started to lay. She was also the largest and the last to develope. Also, the weather can be rather cold for 2/3 days then warm up significantly. Are you absolutely sure she is not laying. I put a critter cam in my coop as once in awhile one of my girls would go into one of the nest boxes and not lay an egg, but on camera I have seen her go back in a little while later and there is an egg when she comes out. I can tell my girls apart by subtle color markings but they are banded too.

 

[dancingbear]

Have you actually separated her from the other hens for a few days, just to make sure? I believe you that your coop isn't that big, etc., but you are getting eggs everyday. Do you see exactly which hen lays every single one of them, every day? I rarely see my EE's even get in a nest, or sing the eggs song, but I get green eggs. (except now, they're molting) The only way I've ever been able to know for sure which brown egg came from which brown-egg laying hen, is to isolate them for about a week. Then I know for sure whether they lay, and how often, if they do. Some only lay every other day or even every three days. Some chickens (even roosters) sometimes sing the egg song when another hen lays the egg.

You might try upping the protein just a bit. Maybe toss them a scoop of dry dog food or cat food every day. Occasionally a hen will need a little more, to get started.

My hens are still molting, some of them. Of the ones in molt, some don't look like it. Others look like they've been through an explosion. My EE's are molting, I've not gotten a green egg in two weeks, but only one has started to look raggedy. Two of my younger pullets moulted before coming into lay the very first time. I think they have now, though, because I'm getting some tiny little pullet eggs this past week.

 

[chickenlickin8]

cmom, I know for sure she is not laying. I have become familiar with each egg that each of my girls lay and just by looking at the egg, I know who produced it. I only have 8 girls so it's not that hard to keep track. Each of them lays a distinctive egg....varying shade of brown and the shape.

dancing bear, I will try the extra protein. She is a good size hen and very healthy looking.

Could she be a barren hen? Maybe incapable of laying an egg...ever?