Welsummer still hasn't layed

[Peggy-Sue]

We have this welsummer and well we are pretty sure she's in a molt right now. It's not a hard molt but she's losing a decent number of feathers daily. Her tail feathers also look pretty mangy. My question is when a hen goes through a molt does her pubis bone narrow??? I've been trying to find the answer online but have yet to find it... Right now doing the finger test on the vest i can fit about 1.5 fingers in between the two bones. We've had her for over a month now and i am pretty sure she began her molt before we got her. Once she isn't a production type of breed could this be the reason for such a long molt???

 

[Y N dottes]

molting can take a while.....and i dont think the pubic bone narrows. she may not finish her molt till mid-winter, and not lay till the dark hours of winter are over. all chickens are differeny though, and im not sure when she started molting and such...

 

[Peggy-Sue]

Her feet are pretty yellow is that a good sign of a hen sill laying

 

[Happy Chooks]

She's not laying. A hen that is laying has a bright, red comb. Her comb is pale from her molt. Even when she regrows all her feathers, she has to get her body weight back up before she can start laying again. Molting can take a few months. You can increase her protein to help her along.

And no, her pubic bones wouldn't get more narrow.

 

[themenagerie]

A bunch of my hens are molting and they look terrible. They've stopped laying, they're bald in patches, combs and wattles are pale and they have lost weight. RIght now they're smaller, more pathetic versions of their former selves. Your hen looks great compared to my Wellie girls.

 

[Peggy-Sue]

Happy, thanks you always have answers for me! Your even the one who said shes probably molting... I appreciate it. Quick question are you saying shes done laying due to age or just during her molt? I read that welsummers take a really long time to molt. Once you breed them what can you tell me?

 

[Happy Chooks]

She will lay again when she is feathered back in all the way and gets her body weight back up. My birds take about 3 months to complete a molt and start laying again. It varies some depending on how hard the molt is.

 

[Peggy-Sue]

Well that's good to know I figure we'll get eggs from her by spring. She's the big mama of the flock. We would like to get another welsummer or oprpington we just love the breed!

 

[Peggy-Sue]

Happy Chooks would you be able to tell me if Summer is a welsummer or a brown leghorn? We visited our local chicken lady and she had one brown leghorn and looks exactly like a welsummer!!! Now this was a young brown leghorn but she said that when mature she would have white earlobes. I was looking on line and did a google search for this breed and this white ear patch is very noticeable... I figure I'd ask someone who really knows welsummers!!!

 

[Happy Chooks]

She's a welsummer. There are subtle differences, mostly in body type.

Here is a great side by side comparison:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/271757/the-welsummer-thread/7550_50#post_9776661

And here's the posts where we discuss the differences:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/271757/the-welsummer-thread/7600_50#post_9781493
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/271757/the-welsummer-thread/7600_50#post_9781924