How old is my hen

After her second season and each subsequent season thereafter, her eggs will remain large and her production will diminish a little more. Before a hen starts to lay, she will have all of her yellow coloring. After she has been laying for a couple of weeks, she will loose her coloring around her vent, eyes and ear lobes. She will loose her coloring in her shanks, feet, toes and nails after she has been laying for 6 months. When she stops laying, either for a moult or at the end of her productive life, the yellow color will come back in the same order it had previously faded.

Janelle, I hope this information has been helpful and you can better determine the ages of your new chickens. Click Here Now…. OR: Search by Category. See Also: Do you sell older chickens? What are shanks and spurs? What is a chicken's spur? What is a chicken's vent?

What is molting? Related Items:. Chicken Harness In Stock. Egg Cleanser Concentrate, 16 oz In Stock. Cozy Coop Heater In Stock. As leg scales shed each year, rough patches around the toes and joints develop. A chicken with larger, rougher scales is more advanced in age than one with smooth legs. Hens that are 1 to 2 years old will often lay up to an egg a day. After they reach 2 years old, egg production begins to drop off.

By the time a hen reaches 4 or 5 years old, she may lays eggs occasionally. You'll know an older hen by the size of her vent and the eggs she lays -- jumbo-sized eggs typically emerge from a hen who is 3 to 4 years or older.

Once a hen stops laying, her pelvic bones will get close together. While you won't be able to tell the exact age of an old hen, you'll know she's past her prime as the colors in her legs, beak and wattles progressively fade with age. A hen near the end of her life will have legs that are pale beige. Rooster hormones begin to wane about the same age.

A rooster begins to crow and mate less frequently with the hens. His sperm quality drops off, leading to less chicks hatching and increased chick mortality. A rooster who is 3 or 4 years old can still handle mating with two or three hens, but a larger flock benefits from a roo in his prime.

While you won't be able to tell the exact age of an old rooster, fading color on legs and wattles will let you know he's in his golden years. Indulging her passion for vacation vagary through the written word on a full-time basis since , travel funster Jodi Thornton-O'Connell guides readers to the unexpected, quirky, and awe-inspiring.