FrenchFlock
Chirping
Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to share a story about my girl Odette in case it helps future hens. Odette is a Limousine hen, of medium size, who was purchased from a breeder at a French market in February 2022. He normally sells hens at the point of lay or laying, 3-6 months old. I suspect Odette is far older than this because of her recent laying history OR she just has the worst luck a hen can have. This is also probably true because when I purchased her, she had a terribly broken upper beak that has never fully grown back and now slightly crosses. I was aware of her condition but brought her home anyway. The poor thing is thinner than the other hens and has trouble grooming herself, so always looks disheveled. I hand feed her on occasion and treat her with anti-flea/mite medicine regularly.
That said, she is a happy and relatively healthy bird who despite her setbacks, regularly lays big tan eggs. She stopped around August of last year for about a month because of the heat, resumed in the fall and stopped again in early December. That month I noticed her lay two shell-less eggs sometime in the night while perched.
Oddly, she began laying again this year during the second week of January (which was dreadfully cold) and near the end of the month, layed a lash egg during the night. Never having seen one before, I looked it up on this forum and online and panicked a little at all the feedback, namely that it seems to be a death warrant for poor Odette.
At the time of the lash egg discovery, she seemed fine…she had molted once in the fall and had healthy new feathers but seemed to be molting again in a small patch near her head. Over the next few days though, she was puffy and lethargic and sleeping a lot or standing around on one leg. I picked her up to examine her more closely and discovered she felt thinner than usual and was covered in fleas. I applied a flea-treatment at the base of her neck and wormed her and the flock, despite the known risk to her incoming neck feathers. I thought this was the beginning of the inevitable end. All the advice was: she will die within 30 days or she will survive but never lay again. I’d take the latter.
After her treatments, I began hand feeding her bread soaked in warm water which helped put some weight on her and perked her up a little. The other birds were kind and supportive of her, preening and napping around her, so I left her with the flock. Ten days later she seemed better but was very standoffish of me and the rest of the birds (normally she is under foot). No eggs of course, though several other hens had begun to lay.
Last week she finally seemed to be “back” to normal. Running up for morning scratch, grazing with the flock, etc. All her feathers have come in, look dark and shiny and healthy. She sat in the coop, on a nest for a few days but layed nothing. Then, she layed an elongated egg that had a normal yolk but watery and slightly off smelling white. A hint of ammonia perhaps. The next day she layed a HUGE egg. 4.5 oz! Twice the size and weight of her normally large eggs. I haven’t cracked it yet but obviously it’s either a double yolk or perhaps even a rare double egg.
The day after she had yolky and clear discharge from her vent but seemed happy and healthy. The day after that, layed a normally sized egg with a normal white and dark yellow yolk, standard for this hen. So…my question or statement rather is this: so far, it doesn’t appear that a lash egg equals a death sentence or the end of a hen’s laying life! Has anyone else had this experience? I’m not sure why this is the common conclusion but there is obviously hope for some hens nevertheless. I will continue to observe Odette for the next 30 days or so for any changes and update this post of there is. I’ll also post a pic of the cracked jumbo egg.
I just wanted to share a story about my girl Odette in case it helps future hens. Odette is a Limousine hen, of medium size, who was purchased from a breeder at a French market in February 2022. He normally sells hens at the point of lay or laying, 3-6 months old. I suspect Odette is far older than this because of her recent laying history OR she just has the worst luck a hen can have. This is also probably true because when I purchased her, she had a terribly broken upper beak that has never fully grown back and now slightly crosses. I was aware of her condition but brought her home anyway. The poor thing is thinner than the other hens and has trouble grooming herself, so always looks disheveled. I hand feed her on occasion and treat her with anti-flea/mite medicine regularly.
That said, she is a happy and relatively healthy bird who despite her setbacks, regularly lays big tan eggs. She stopped around August of last year for about a month because of the heat, resumed in the fall and stopped again in early December. That month I noticed her lay two shell-less eggs sometime in the night while perched.
Oddly, she began laying again this year during the second week of January (which was dreadfully cold) and near the end of the month, layed a lash egg during the night. Never having seen one before, I looked it up on this forum and online and panicked a little at all the feedback, namely that it seems to be a death warrant for poor Odette.
At the time of the lash egg discovery, she seemed fine…she had molted once in the fall and had healthy new feathers but seemed to be molting again in a small patch near her head. Over the next few days though, she was puffy and lethargic and sleeping a lot or standing around on one leg. I picked her up to examine her more closely and discovered she felt thinner than usual and was covered in fleas. I applied a flea-treatment at the base of her neck and wormed her and the flock, despite the known risk to her incoming neck feathers. I thought this was the beginning of the inevitable end. All the advice was: she will die within 30 days or she will survive but never lay again. I’d take the latter.
After her treatments, I began hand feeding her bread soaked in warm water which helped put some weight on her and perked her up a little. The other birds were kind and supportive of her, preening and napping around her, so I left her with the flock. Ten days later she seemed better but was very standoffish of me and the rest of the birds (normally she is under foot). No eggs of course, though several other hens had begun to lay.
Last week she finally seemed to be “back” to normal. Running up for morning scratch, grazing with the flock, etc. All her feathers have come in, look dark and shiny and healthy. She sat in the coop, on a nest for a few days but layed nothing. Then, she layed an elongated egg that had a normal yolk but watery and slightly off smelling white. A hint of ammonia perhaps. The next day she layed a HUGE egg. 4.5 oz! Twice the size and weight of her normally large eggs. I haven’t cracked it yet but obviously it’s either a double yolk or perhaps even a rare double egg.
The day after she had yolky and clear discharge from her vent but seemed happy and healthy. The day after that, layed a normally sized egg with a normal white and dark yellow yolk, standard for this hen. So…my question or statement rather is this: so far, it doesn’t appear that a lash egg equals a death sentence or the end of a hen’s laying life! Has anyone else had this experience? I’m not sure why this is the common conclusion but there is obviously hope for some hens nevertheless. I will continue to observe Odette for the next 30 days or so for any changes and update this post of there is. I’ll also post a pic of the cracked jumbo egg.
What an egg! Hope Odette continues to improve.
