Malnourished or starved hens, once they recover will they lay normally?

[KelsT]

Malnourished or starved hens, once they recover will they lay normally?
The question kinda sums it up but once a rescued hen or flock recovers will they lay again as they would normally? We are assuming no illness.

 

[OrpingtonManiac]

Malnourished or starved hens, once they recover will they lay normally?
The question kinda sums it up but once a rescued hen or flock recovers will they lay again as they would normally? We are assuming no illness.

Probably. It depends on how old they are.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They should, but like OrpingtonManiac said it depends on what is normal for that flock (breed and age).

Are you talking about commercial egg layers? It is fairly common for them to become available after the end of their laying cycle. After a year or more of constant laying their bodies kind of wear out and production drops so they get replaced. The exact same thing happens to our backyard flocks. They need to molt and recharge their bodies for the next laying cycle.

Whether commercial layers or someone's backyard flock, if they are molting they can look like they are malnourished or starved even when they are not. Commercial hens especially can have pretty small bodies. If they are molting they can look pretty pathetic. But once they get over the molt they should come back laying great.

I don't know the history of your hens. But I'd expect them to do pretty well.