Many of us consider our chickens as pets and not "live stock" or "farm animals", they are really family members. And just like all of us, grow older and eventually retire and don't lay eggs as often or completely stop. It's natural. Their cute behavior and willingness to be hugged is all we ask for, oh and their poop for the garden. Well I asked about Grannies on our message board, 3 of which I adopted from someone. They hadn't laid at all since i got them and I was keeping them separated from the rest of the flock because I didn't want to bother them with the annoying antics of the younger ones. Laura had a great response about her older hens. This is what she posted.
My older birds, who are only about a year older than the younger ones, sometimes seem to be muttering under their breathes "Kids these days with their roller skates and their hula hoops...it wasn't like this when I was that age! We had respect, goldurnit!" and then they aim a vicious peck at the younger hens.And then Andie related her hen's story which was also great!
We just got a golden egg! One of our old ladies, Quark (4 yr old Golden Laced Wyandotte), just laid her third egg after a year and a half of nothing! My husband and I keep laughing because her comb has gotten so pink and plump that it's a miracle she can see out from underneath it! Her wattles are so bright red they glow from a distance. Our grannies range in age from 4 - 6 and they haven't pushed an egg out in ages. We assumed they were all in "hen-o-pause" but I can't tell you how amazing it was to taste one of their spectacular eggs again instead of store-bought. The girls are in for the shock of their lives, since we just ordered 6 babies for a June arrival! The thought of going through integration again is very stressful so wish us luck!
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| Quark, exhausted but self-satisfied after delivering an egg...relaxing on the lounge chair underneath the weight of her immense and glowing comb (and wattles)! |
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