Egg Laying Behavior in 6 y/o Hens - Should I be concerned?

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

My small mixed flock of four hens is a couple months shy of 6 years old. I'm noticing more quirks early on in this laying season. Below are their egg laying behaviors with some questions:

1. Darla - EE: she started this season with a prolific bang (2 days on/1 day off), however, yesterday she acted like she was going to lay in the late afternoon, but never produced an egg. Today she's quiet and calm, and not acting like she needs to lay. No odd behavior otherwise and is eating, drinking, pooping fine. I do believe she's done fake-outs in past years before min-breaks. Should I be concerned about internal laying? Is it normal to lay regularly for a couple weeks and then take a break at this age?
2. Easter - EE: she is my most prolific layer and spent her first 5 years laying daily-- actually more than that, which is why she needs a special light-reducing regimen (she's nearly died about 6 times due to reproductive complications stemming from over-production). That said, so far so good, and seems to be taking more breaks than she used to.
3. Drucie - GLW: she's getting louder/bossier and redder, but so far no signs of trying to lay and it's been a few weeks of this. Should I be concerned, or is it normal to linger in the "getting ready to lay" phase for a long time when older?
4. Glory - BO: she started getting louder/redder (though not in the squatting phase) a couple weeks back--and I remember hearing the egg song one evening from her (though she typically would do that at dusk unrelated to laying). However she's since quieted down with no signs of eggs/laying. I had not witnessed her in a nesting box "trying" either. Her comb isn't as big as I think it typically gets when in lay, though it's rosier. Her abdomen feels full, and I can't tell if it's a healthy "in lay" fullness or something else going on. She's still eating, drinking, and pooping normally and does not act ill--just more subdued, as she would be off-season. I believe this time last year she was already laying. Should I be worried about internal laying?

The reason I'm worried so much about internal laying is because, so far, all my losses of hens have been due to internal laying (three total). It seems to be the number one thing I have to look out for--but it looks a little differently each time, including rate of decline. The only commonality is that in each of the three cases, I did witness the hens actively going to the nesting box to try to lay, acting as if they did, but not actually laying. I'm hoping that what I'm witnessing is more due to the age of the hens than actual issues, but this is my first flock, so I don't have much observational experience with laying behaviors in older hens. I'd always thought that they'd still lay during the same season, just slightly less/more breaks. The ones stopping/starting or failing to fully start have me worried. Any insights are much appreciated!

 

[LaFleche]

Older hens will start later in the season and lay more infrequently taking more days off in between. And they will take a longer break when the first bout of spring laying subsides. Some will start a second but much shorter laying period in summer which will usually stop in September.

They sometimes need a bit of TLC to get the egg shell gland going again, so a few days with additional calcium citrate +vitamin D can help smooth things over.
A little diet to lose some of the fat accumulations that older hens tend to store in their lower bellies over winter. Sprouted barley, fresh grated or whole carrots with a bit of greek yoghurt and brewers yeast will keep them busy and provide important nutrients.

Stop worrying. Apart from providing overall appropriate and pest free conditions and keeping an eye out to prevent them from getting too fat there is really nothing one can do about internal laying. Some people do get their birds hormonal implants though.

 

[SkyAJK]

I had an older hen, she got this hard flat in her belly & inside her crop. I did not know what there were, but I was concerned.

After she passed away, I examined her and found that it was a big flat of fat in her belly and behind her crop.

She constantly had sour crop, and treatment went on and on. She passed away. I only found a small piece of a pipe bark blocking the opening of the tube that was an exist for food moving downward from her crop.

 

[Mrs. K]

If birds are active, bright eyed and eating - I don't worry about them.

Do you have things for birds to get up on in the run? Platforms, roosts? A height they have to fly too? A lot of space? I have a theory - not much to back it up, but I have never had an egg laying problem that caused death. I think it is because my birds get a lot of exercise, both in the run and when I let them free range.

Mrs K

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Older hens will start later in the season and lay more infrequently taking more days off in between. And they will take a longer break when the first bout of spring laying subsides. Some will start a second but much shorter laying period in summer which will usually stop in September.

They sometimes need a bit of TLC to get the egg shell gland going again, so a few days with additional calcium citrate +vitamin D can help smooth things over.
A little diet to lose some of the fat accumulations that older hens tend to store in their lower bellies over winter. Sprouted barley, fresh grated or whole carrots with a bit of greek yoghurt and brewers yeast will keep them busy and provide important nutrients.

Stop worrying. Apart from providing overall appropriate and pest free conditions and keeping an eye out to prevent them from getting too fat there is really nothing one can do about internal laying. Some people do get their birds hormonal implants though.

Thank you for the advice--I'll work on the diet. It had been an uncharacteristically brutal winter here, so I'd been a bit more heavy-handed with the scratch/BOSS in the evenings before bedtime. So I may need to start a boot camp of diet/exercise to help them work any accumulation off.

I guess what's throwing me off most are the ones who haven't started (and the one who started but stopped pretty soon). I'll take comfort in seeing them continue to bop around, bright and happy. Unfortunately, implants are not an option in my state--though perhaps it's for the best, though, because I'd be headed for divorce if I spent money on implants for my flock lol.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

I had an older hen, she got this hard flat in her belly & inside her crop. I did not know what there were, but I was concerned.

After she passed away, I examined her and found that it was a big flat of fat in her belly and behind her crop.

She constantly had sour crop, and treatment went on and on. She passed away. I only found a small piece of a pipe bark blocking the opening of the tube that was an exist for food moving downward from her crop.

Wow! That's crazy. She was a trooper for making it so far into a long, happy life despite the odds. That must have been quite uncomfortable. You remind me that so much can go wrong that we could never be able to see or be proactive about, no matter how meticulous we are about good chicken care. I'm sorry for your loss!

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

If birds are active, bright eyed and eating - I don't worry about them.

Do you have things for birds to get up on in the run? Platforms, roosts? A height they have to fly too? A lot of space? I have a theory - not much to back it up, but I have never had an egg laying problem that caused death. I think it is because my birds get a lot of exercise, both in the run and when I let them free range.

Mrs K

So, this is something that I'm feeling guilty about. My husband and I had to move from the country to the town this past summer, and unfortunately that meant a downsize. My original flock of 8 had an 8x16 run with plenty of space to run, a huge dustbath, different roosting bars, and other diversions. I also supervised free-ranged them as much as I could, maybe averaging an hour a day.

The new run is only 6x8, and while I added a roosting log, a roosting bar, and a large dustbath, it is far more cramped. That said: we were down to four chickens when we moved, so my flock is smaller.

And so, despite the space, the three internal laying losses were in the larger/more active setup (two became ill at year three, and the other at year five, just before the move; all were my more productive layers/production breeds who did not molt every winter like the others). But I want to prevent further issues the best I can, so this Spring, I'm thinking of creative ways to add more "jungle gym" items to enhance their space. We've also gotten our yard fenced in, so I supervised free-range them here, too--and will do so more often as the weather gets better (currently in a snowstorm). They were reluctant to roam the yard after the move because it was new, I think, but since this Spring, now that they're comfortable in their new home, they're a lot more curious and adventurous outside the run.

 

[Mrs. K]

I would not feel guilty. Smaller digs, but a smaller flock. The truth is, chickens do not live forever. I know there are posts of chickens living 8-10 years, but they are the oddities. Really after 3 years - that is the luck of the draw.

Just enjoy them, and know that eventually they will all die no matter what you do. As my granddaughter says, 'well that is tough, but now we can get chicks.

Give them a good life, and go on. I keep a flock, the birds in the flock change. That is the circle of life - not your fault.

A lot of people come on here, worrying about things that are the luck of the draw, and totally out of their control. There really is not much you can do when it comes to laying. They lay or they don't.

Give them shelter, feed and water and do not have unrealistic expectations of them living forever.

Mrs K

 

[SkyAJK]

Thank you @Mrs. K for reminding that chickens do not live forever so enjoy them for the time they have with us.