Slow maturing hen?

[Cholly]

I have three BOs that I ordered from a mid-west hatchery about 18 months ago. They have been raised in the same coop, fed the same food etc. for the entire time. About 9 mos. ago I noticed that the comb on one had not developed the same as the other two. I also suspected that she wasn't laying, but couldn't be sure since all three hens were sharing the coop. Her comb and wattles are about 1/3 the size of the other two, and the color is a pale pink instead of bright red. I contacted the hatchery and sent pics of all three hens for comparison. Their answer came back "nothing is wrong with her". Well - so much for that analysis! I continued to keep all three hens on the same food, etc. About a month ago, this hen began spending all her time on the nest. When I would take her off the nest she would act normal for an hour or so and then go right back to the nest. Someone suggested she may be molting (even though the other two were showing no similar signs) and advised that I put her "in jail" to see if the behavior changed. As of today she has been in jail for 8 days with only the bare necessities - isolated from the other 2 hens, no straw on the floor of her "jail cell", food and clean water daily - but no treats. In these eight days she has not laid an egg. I've wondered if she is sick, or slow maturing - or whatever. I'm almost a the point of "recycling" her back to nature, but before I do I would be interested to know if anyone else has had a similar issue or could offer any suggestions before I send her to that Great Chicken Coop in the sky. Thanks for any feedback.

 

[silkie1472]

So are any of these birds laying?

Buff Orpington are generally a larger bird, so most of the time they start laying later.

Some BO hens will have a very small, pale comb, while others have slightly larger — so that is normal.

However, you said that they are 18 months old...and no eggs from the hen. If they were 18 weeks I could understand because they tend to start laying at about 24 weeks — 22 at the earliest.

 

[Cholly]

Yes - the two hens with the bright red combs and wattles are giving me an egg a day - and have been for several months. It's just since I isolated "small, pink comb and wattles" from the other two that I knew this one was not laying. Thanks for the response.

 

[silkie1472]

This seems very strange to me. I know that there are slow maturing birds, but the longest that I’ve seen is 8 months — not 18...

 

[Cholly]

I'm giving her 2 more days. I would welcome comments from others before I recycle her.

 

[sourland]

Sounds as if she may be broody. Orpingtons are known to go broody quite regularly. Some hens never develop extensive combs and wattles. If broody she will not be laying and will take a break before resuming egg production. It is possible that she may have been laying all along.

 

[Perris]

hello @Cholly ! welcome to BYC
It sounds to me that she went broody, so stopped laying before you put her in jail and will not lay for at least a couple of weeks until her hormones return to laying mode. (BTW the advice you got was a bit confused; you don't jail a bird for molting; that is when they stop laying while regrowing their feathers.) I would not 'recycle' until you are absolutely sure she has not laid. Let her out of jail and see if she starts behaving normally again (if she goes back to the nest, more jail necessary). Hopefully she will not have trouble re-integrating with the other two. In a few weeks you could try the food colouring in the vent trick to try to establish if she is laying any of the eggs you're getting.
Just because she is smaller than the others does not mean she cannot be a good layer. And yes, some just do take a long time to come into lay. I have one who did not lay until 50 weeks old - while her sister started about two months earlier.

 

[Cholly]

Thanks. I will let her out of jail today. She will be happy to learn that Perris has saved her from the gallows. I feel certain that you are her new best friend. Thanks again to all who replied.

 

[silkie1472]

As sourland and others have suggested, she could be broody. Something I would look into for laying is her pelvic bones. Buff orpingtons — those of which who are laying — will have pelvic bones that you can fit 2.5-3 fingers between.

 

[aart]

She may be slow maturing or a 'lemon'.
I've had a couple actively laying hens that didn't have those vibrant red combs.

Pelvic spacing is the tell all for me...might give it a try.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/