Silkie thread!

[mom of silkies]

Nice picture!

 

[Fancychooklady]

is it normal that my two year old hens have yet to lay an egg? my roo crows but they havent laid nor acted like they wanted to

No that's not normal. Have you had any upper respiratory issues in your flock , illness and poor nutrition are the main factors in drop of production or in your case lack of. Is there any chance that they have been laying somewhere out of site or eating the eggs ?

 

[Falena]

I never let my mommies raise babies around other chickens. There could be some fighting and the babies could end up getting injured or killed.

TC

Hmm, never had any problems out of my bunch. I have the option of sending them to my Mom's (she has a nice big brooder cage in her barn) if there is any bickering... but for the time being, I'm just going to see how things unfold. I prefer raising them here so that I can acclimate them to human contact more easily. I do appreciate the advice though!

So far, looks like I have at least three Frizzles, and one looks to be a Frizzled Silkie! A few are Silkie/Faverolles cross, so I'm excited to see how they turn out as well!

 

[katatonic123]

I may have to get some. Hubby told me he had to separate them when he got home cuz they were at it again. I went and pulled Johann from the coop and his poor little face was a bloody mess. He is now sleeping in an on guinea pig cage in my craft room. Olaf looked worse only because he is white but he doesn't have near the damage. Looks like one is going to go live with my brother to start his flock once he gets things ready. Should i even attempt to put Johann back or keep him separated until Olaf goes? I hate that he's alone.

That stuff is magical! LOL
I taught my daughter to put a dab of it on her zits and cover with a band aide before going to bed! The next morning it was almost gone! She was like WOW Mom! She's in her 30's! Also works the same for cuts and scrapes on ourselves.

So my curiosity got the better of me years ago and I tried it on some baby chicks I got from a Hatchery. They were being pecked on and were bleeding. He gave the chicks to me and I brought them home. Put the Desitine on them and within a few days they were much better.

TC

 

[EZFarms]

no they are in their own coop i moved them out of the standard coop. no eggs/eggshells but yet if i feel the hens pelvic bones they feel wide enough to be laying. they arent ill or anything but i have never gotten an egg from either hen. any other reason they might not be laying?

 

[Sylvester017]

For sure! I could totally see the space issue or smaller coops. I think as long as it's not the lowest hen in the pecking order too. I have a few breeder coops with small coops and smaller runs that have had babies also. It's all about feeling out your hens and their attitude. I sell more aggressive hens because my kids like to pull eggs. If they don't tolerate small children reaching in to pet them and grab eggs then they go. These chickens are funny little creatures!

My oldest Silkie (4 y/o) is my barometer for flock politics. If a new chicken in the flock doesn't play nice with her, they're re-homed. I have nothing left buy gentle breeds in the flock now -- APA Ameraucanas, Breda, and Silkies -- coincidentally all have small or no combs! I've rehomed a couple aggressive Leghorns and a bully Marans who were too combative to keep in our gentles group and we didn't have enough backyard to separate the groups. It was disappointing relocating my best layers but on the other hand it's been nice not dealing with big or floppy combs in the winter and having a peaceful gentle-breeds flock.

 

[TOOCLOSE]

no they are in their own coop i moved them out of the standard coop. no eggs/eggshells but yet if i feel the hens pelvic bones they feel wide enough to be laying. they arent ill or anything but i have never gotten an egg from either hen. any other reason they might not be laying?

This might be something to read about!
Hermaphrodite chickens?

TC

 

[EZFarms]

how would i know if they are hermaphrodite chickens? ive heard about it happening. my rooster has bred with the hens as well, these are hatchery birds if that helps with anything

 

[Rocky64]

I've read that hermaphiditism can and does occur in chickens, but SUPER rarely. How this happens is when part of the reproduction organs in either gender are damaged, causing an unbalance in hormones and then the transformation. A rooster had damage to one of his , well you know, and it shrank. Within a month he was laying eggs. They know it was him that laid the egg because he(well, now she) was the only bird that was kept on that place. Apparently, when hens turn to roosters they are actually fertile, as one was bred to a "real" hen and the eggs hatched.

 

[Tammylr]

I've read that hermaphiditism can and does occur in chickens, but SUPER rarely. How this happens is when part of the reproduction organs in either gender are damaged, causing an unbalance in hormones and then the transformation. A rooster had damage to one of his , well you know, and it shrank. Within a month he was laying eggs. They know it was him that laid the egg because he(well, now she) was the only bird that was kept on that place. Apparently, when hens turn to roosters they are actually fertile, as one was bred to a "real" hen and the eggs hatched.

Wow, it's like a two for one deal............