To identify non-laying chicken, observe the following features:
To identify non-laying birds, observe the following features:
(a) Not laying
1. Dry vent, change in pigmentation of vent, legs, and beak.
2. Pigmented eye ring, beak, and ear lobes.
3. Yellow pigment on the wattle and small in size.
4. Wrinkled comb (mostly indicating old age), wattles, and vent.
5. Hard abdomen (should be flexible).
(b) Laying Chicken
1. Abdomen is flexible to the feel
2. One can fit 2 fingers between the pubic bones, and, 3- 4 fingers between the pubic bones and posterior end of breast bone.
3. Large red wattle and glossy.
Dispose of laying flock after 12 months of lay. Only allow molting if day-old chicks are too expensive or not available but first check on % egg production, to assess whether still profitable.
Molt
Molt is the loss of primary feathers that occurs when a hen stops producing eggs. Molt is evaluated by counting the number of primary wing feathers. In a non-molted hen, there are 10 primary feathers that are separated from the secondary feathers by a single, smaller feather known as the axial feather. If there are primary feathers missing, or if new primary feathers are growing in to replace lost feathers, that indicates that the hen is in a molt.
The profitable egg-laying percentage is from 65%.
