To old?

[onewing]

I have i believe a red sex link hen great looking hen big calm pretty hen but the question is how to tell if she is to old to lay
She was a freebie hen an so far no egg? I think she is 3 i really dont want to feed hens that arent producing

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

How old is too old is a difficult question. With Red Sex Links, their production can drop dramatically after two years. With heritage breeds, they can still be going strong at three years old.

How long have you had this hen? When hens are shaken up by anything, including a move to a new flock, they sometimes won't lay for two or three weeks before they start back up again.

 

[rpenland]

We had four Red Sex Links that stopped laying shortly after turning two. None of them lived to their third birthday. We couldn't and wouldn't cull one of ours when they stop laying. Each one is a pet with different personalities. We were deeply saddened by the passing of those four hens.

 

[onewing]

Thanks alott she has been settled in for 3 weeks at her new home now

 

[A.T. Hagan]

LL chickens slow down in their rate of lay as they age whether pure-breds or hybrids. Three year old birds simply are not going to lay as much as girls in their pullet year. Plus we're going into summer now so if they were spring hatched back when then they are beginning to think of going out of lay to get ready for molting. If you've had her three weeks and she hasn't noticeably been dropping feathers (molting) yet has produced no eggs then I would ship her out.

This is presuming you've been feeding and managing her properly. A good, balanced layer ration without a lot of treats or scratch is what is needed.

 

[chooks4life]

A pinch of granulated kelp a day will start non layers laying the majority of the time.

My production hatchery-bought reds self-destructed at two years old. They developed some strange neurological damage and died months later, but apparently that breed is known to self-destruct. Poor things. Those I've raised myself are fine. I'll never, ever buy them again. Let them become extinct, I reckon.

I've known 13-year old hens to lay, and think with any decent strain of any breed you ought to be getting eggs for at least half its lifetime; obviously production slows down after the first two or three years but that's when you start getting the best offspring from her. No use if you don't want offspring.

 

[onewing]

Im feeding layin mash in crumble form with cracked corn an a tid bit of oyster shell mixed in
3 of my 4 commets lay every day an 2 RIR every other day an my buff well she dosent lay either
The sex link both reds an the buff came in from the same flock at the same time??? Im just confused

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Im feeding layin mash in crumble form with cracked corn an a tid bit of oyster shell mixed in
3 of my 4 commets lay every day an 2 RIR every other day an my buff well she dosent lay either
The sex link both reds an the buff came in from the same flock at the same time??? Im just confused

Why are you mixing cracked corn into your layer ration? The layer ration was formulated to be a balanced diet for hens, and adding the corn will lower the protein level and put the fat levels out of whack, too.

Also, you should feed your oyster shell free-choice in some other location, so your hens aren't eating it every day. Too much calcium can cause several problems, so let the hens take some when they want it instead of adding more to the feed, which is again changing the nutritional balance of the feed.

You don't say the ages of your hens. Are they all the same age?

 

[onewing]

The comets are first year layers born last april
The RIR were free as well as the buff an RSL Im guessing 3 as well the cracked corn is just a filler in the feed bin to stretch it farther an i truly do meen a lil bit of ouster shells
Next trip to the mill ill get on a better hen diet
What is the referring to treats??

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

The comets are first year layers born last april
The RIR were free as well as the buff an RSL Im guessing 3 as well the cracked corn is just a filler in the feed bin to stretch it farther an i truly do meen a lil bit of ouster shells
Next trip to the mill ill get on a better hen diet
What is the referring to treats??

Since you got the Buff for free and don't know much about her, it could be that she's moulting or it could be that she's older or it simply could be that she doesn't lay eggs. You may not be able to snap her out of it.

I know corn is cheaper than layer ration, but nutrition does matter in terms of how many eggs you get and their quality.

Treats are anything you give them that's not layer ration. So any table scraps, scratch, corn, etc. are considered treats. Think of things like that as hen candy, and feed accordingly. If it helps, I have 75 hens. They do range, so they are eating things like bugs and greens besides layer feed. They also get vegetable scraps about every other day, but only a mixing bowl full for 75 hens. If I feed scratch, I feed about two cups for 75 birds. I also feed a higher-protein layer ration to help compensate for the lack of protein in the greens and veggie scraps they get. But if you think about it, two cups of scratch or a mixing bowl full of veggie scraps isn't very much on a per-bird basis. Those are treats.