Willow Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I was reading the chicken article in Kitchen Gardenener and it had some info about sof-shelled eggs. In the general 'don't worry it's normal' it said ' those birds coming off lay may lay a soft shell now and again' Does anyone know what they mean by 'coming off lay' ? does it mean birds coming to the end of their laying life ? or is it a temporary thing. Reason for the ques is I took in Justine's three birds which inclued a 3year old Miss Pepperpot that wasn't laying except for a soft shelled egg every 2 weeks or so. In the just under 2 months I've had her she doesn't appear to have laid a soft shelled egg at all (or hard shelled) and I wondered whether the soft shelled eggs she laid for Justine were her last effort before stopping completely. I'd have thought a 3 year old would still lay but maybe not. Or could she restart sometime ? Thanks Patricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperman Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I think you have interpretted that correctly, I would take 'Coming off lay ' to mean 'heading for retirement' too. I think three years old would be about pensionable age for a hybrid but I could be wrong. You never know, you might still get a few eggs from her in the summer. I am not an expert as ours are still young, but I think hybrids lay like crazy for two to three years and pure breeds lay 'steady away' for much longer. Kev. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I'm no egspert either, but my understanding is that all hens have the same number of eggs in their ovaries, but because hybrids lay nearly every day, they run out sooner... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted February 1, 2008 Author Share Posted February 1, 2008 I thought so. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...