Will she ever lay?

[mbrock]

My Black Orpington has been sitting ing the nest box at least once a day, sometimes chasing other hens out of all the nest boxes so she has the place to her self. Her sister was paying a few months ago. She pasted due to a bound egg. She is a year old( I cannt be sure,be the breeder is trust worthy and local) is there a chance she will never lay. I had a chance to get a great rooster for her but my wife said that until we know she can lay no rooster. This is her in the nesting box. The other is her ruling the yard

 

[ChickenCanoe]

A year means that she hatched about this time last year? That means she reached POL in spring and should have been laying then.
What has she been fed throughout her life?

 

[mbrock]

At sixteen weeks she went to layer feed. She has access to oyster shell on the side. I got her at 16 weeks. Her sister started laying at 22 weeks. That is why I am starting to get concerned.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I would be concerned because you started layer feed (4% calcium) at 16 weeks and she hasn't laid eggs for the 36 weeks she's been getting excessive calcium.
I don't want to be alarmist but you have a year old hen that should have been laying for the last 6 months and hasn't done so. She could be on her way to articular gout and kidney failure. Any bird not actively building egg shells should be on a diet closer to 1% calcium.

http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/content/64/12/2300.abstract
http://www.neobio.biz/database/n-5data5-2/n-5data5-2-7.pdf
http://www.worldpoultry.net/Breeder...-damage-is-emerging-in-laying-hens-WP008719W/

 

[mbrock]

I forgot to mention that I posted before about her never having a full crop. She free ranges all day and rarely eats the layer feed provided. She has not lost any weight so I was not concerned. She has just recently started eating with the other girls, just not as much and never has a full crop like the others.

 

[mbrock]

Still no eggs. Has any had a hen that never laid.

 

[ThePRfan]

At sixteen weeks she went to layer feed. She has access to oyster shell on the side. I got her at 16 weeks. Her sister started laying at 22 weeks. That is why I am starting to get concerned.

Layer feed causes broodieness.If she was laying when you didnt have her,she probably is hitting the egg cycle.

 

[mbrock]

I changed the feed so that the Ca is provided through oyster shells on the side. It has not hurt the others and I had one of my Buff Orp go broody. She started to eat the shells about 5 days before she laid her first egg after coming out of the broodiness. As long as she is heathy we will keep her. She is beautyful and my son's favorite, she can live her life out as a pet with us. She still goes into the the box to lay everyday, but doesn't stay or put up a fuss if you move.

 

[aart]

Quote: Not true!!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Still no eggs. Has any had a hen that never laid.

I don't think I have but it's very possible if the reproductive tract gets damaged by injury or disease.

Layer feed causes broodieness.If she was laying when you didnt have her,she probably is hitting the egg cycle.

Layer feed differs from other feeds in that it contains about 4% calcium rather than 1% to replace the calcium in the medullary bone used to build egg shells. Higher dietary calcium has nothing to do with broodiness. If it did, that would be a bad thing for commercial egg farms.
For those breeds prone to be setters, a comfortable dark nest with some eggs in it may contribute somewhat to the tendency but a hen that is intent on raising a family will even go broody with no eggs at all.

I changed the feed so that the Ca is provided through oyster shells on the side. It has not hurt the others and I had one of my Buff Orp go broody. She started to eat the shells about 5 days before she laid her first egg after coming out of the broodiness. As long as she is heathy we will keep her. She is beautyful and my son's favorite, she can live her life out as a pet with us. She still goes into the the box to lay everyday, but doesn't stay or put up a fuss if you move.

Orps are one breed that tend to be setters.
A bird with damaged kidneys from excessive calcium will show no signs of illness until the last 24 hours before death.
A bird can still be productive even with only about 1/3 of the total kidney tissue functioning.
http://poultryinfo.co.za/articles/Old/avian-urolithiasis-eng.pdf

Not true!!

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