WHICH CHICKENS STILL LAY?

[rancher hicks]

For what it's worth. This according to Practical Poultry magazine. Of course I couldn't type the entire article but I did share this on the New York Chicken lovers thread.

There are four recognized and relatively common forms of Marek.

It's caused by various types of herpes virus.

Marek virus is contagious and can survive for several months. As a rule chickens will be infected early in life

A bird may die from other causes before the presence of Marek becomes apparent. A knock on consequence of the virus is that it suppresses the sufferers immunity, with the result thce of Marek's even becomes apparent. (This says to me that one can have Mareks in the flock and not even know it.)

Favorites among the potential causes of trouble are COCCIDOSIS AND EGG PERITONITIS. (interesting when you think you have coccidosis but don't suspect the route cause is Marek.)

The infectious virus is shed from the feather follicles and then gets inhaled. (This tells me to beware of the dust I have in my coop. I have to buy a small shop vac and keep dust to a minimum. Also to improve ventilation)

Age is a key factor in susceptibility, too. While the disease can affect birds ranging from just two weeks old right up to examples that are five years old, IT WILL MOST OFTEN STRIKE WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR OF LIFE, TYPICALLY FROM ABOUT FOUR MONTHS ONWARDS.

 

[rancher hicks]

I figure my little Frenchy is done due to her age, but I figured her daughter was done also. Imagine my surprise when Buckwheat started laying last spring. I know Buckwheats eggs as they are smoother in feel than any of the Del girls and a bit smaller.

Buckwheats dad was a Cuckoo Marans.

So now have another frizzle Del cross girl in the coop.

I'm not sure one can ever know if a girl is completely done as they are female and females are always full of surprises. Frenchy is nearly five and Buckwheat three or four, but they will stay til the good lord takes them home.

Other girls till I decide to replace them with a younger version.

You could of course spray their butts with Blue Kote individually or brush on some Food coloring paste of various colors. That will get transferred to eggs laid.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank You Lady Of McCamley

That was the answer I was looking for. It at least gives me some idea's on how to go about it. I had been told by a fellow that has raised chickens for a longggg time that you can tell by the back end that they will be bulged if they are a layer. If they are no longer laying you won't see that. Thought maybe someone else could have reinforced that theory. Your answer will be helpful.

I think the correct idea (and likely what the OP's friend meant by "bulging") is that the laying hen will have a larger and more elongated vent than a non-laying hen...a non-laying hen's vent does look much more "puckered" and small when compared to the larger "stretched" and thus more prominent vent on a laying hen as compared to the non layer.

The video WOS posted talks about the difference, this article has photos that show the difference between a more elongated vent of a layer and the smaller puckered vent of a non-laying bird:
http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/ALBCchicken_assessment-2.pdf

And yes, chicken laying ebbs and flows with hormones, weather, molting, individual bird, broodiness, illness, wormload etc....which is why it is good to know your flock, know your birds, know the season, and keep record of who is how old by banding or some other method.

I rotate my breeds so that I know by breed how old a bird is (much easier for me than banding and I keep a varied flock)...example, this Feburary I know my BSL and GSL are 2 years, Delawares and Wyandottes and mixed breeds are 1 year, EE's are 6 months, I just hatched BCM's....makes it really easy to rotate older birds out and keeps a varied aged, mixed breed flock with all the advantages of the different breeds....those that are non-broody, those that will brood, those that are good natural winter layers, those that are prolific summer layers, my less productive but steady layers, eggs colors, etc.

As egg quantity (as well as quality) is important to me, I am in a constant process of assessment and rotation....planning my flock so that I will be hatching chicks that will be laying by this time, watching which hens hens may be aging and ready to leave by that time, etc.

I have tried to perfect a rotation process so that I can keep a varied age flock with the maximum number of productive layers I need for the amount of land I have and the feed costs I want to incur and keep my family in constant supply of the eggs it needs (due to dietary restrictions) and sell enough to offset my feed costs throughout the year.

Good luck with your rotation.
Lady of McCamley

 

[Froghorn]

Thank You! This is most helpful. I m sorry to say I have neglected my girls. I have not spend enough time with them to keep track of the things I should be keeping track of. I have been so busy. I am hoping this year will be less busy for me so as I can get back to total enjoyment of my hobby, and get things back under control. Thanks for the ideas. I am looking forward to implementing them.

 

[myfinefeatheredfriends]

One way to tell is by looking at their combs. Smallish, pink rather than bright red wattles means they are not laying. If you have Leghorns, their combs flop over when they begin production.