What you need to know for keeping ex-commercial laying poultry

Poultry ownership is fun, nothing feels better than being able to offer a free range home to some ex commercial hens that have spent most of their lives in the confines of a shed. There are, however, some health issues these birds can be a little more prone to, especially if not fed right. These can come as a shock, often not long after getting them.

For some of these issues, there is little to nothing you can do to prevent them, however knowing about them softens the blow slightly when faced with the need to euthanize them for it.

Shavers and Hylines are names for common strains of commercial hen that have been developed by companies for the commercial egg industry. They are the result of mating, generally 2-3 nucleus flocks of breeding birds in a specific order. This results in a bird with hybrid vigor and better productivity than either of the parent breeds can achieve on their own.

This exact mating recipe used by each company is a closely guarded secret, and shaver/hyline the name of the patented genetic recipe. Because the final product is a hybrid it can’t be reproduced simply by mating together two shavers. Should you somehow come by the rare shaver rooster that accidentally makes it past the sexing process post hatch, you will still hatch a very good layer from this mating, but the offspring from this mating can’t legitimately be called a shaver.

Nutrition and Moulting

Commercial layers have been produced via selective breeding to produce the most amount of eggs for the least amount of cost, with feed comprising a large part of this. Feed conversion efficiency is high on the list of selection criteria for breeding and significant research has been invested into poultry nutrition in order to help companies produce a feed that minimizes cost to produce eggs but meets the birds needs to support regular laying. This doesn’t mean you can continue to feed them poorly, these birds are egg laying athletes and like actual athletes they need the right diet to perform at their best.

The best thing you can feed an ex-commercial is the best quality layer pellet/mash you can afford.

After 16-18 months of nearly daily laying, commercial birds go through their first proper moult, during which they stop laying, whilst a completely new set of feathers grows in. After finishing a moult, the birds will start laying again, however it won’t be at the rate they did prior. It is for this reason, plus the lack of eggs during moulting, that layer operations replace the birds once they reach this phase, as it is more economically viable to just start with a completely new batch of pullets.

Ex-commercial’s generally look a state when first collected by rescue operations. A good rescue will check each bird individually for any health issues like respiratory disease, parasite burdens or injuries sustained during removal, and treat or euthanize accordingly.

North Canterbury Chicken Rescue has done a fantastic job of setting up pens and housing for these rescue birds. They nurse the ones with fixable health issues until they are suitable to be adopted out, and care for the healthy ones through the initial moulting process. This helps to prevent the adopter from dealing with problems that often occur, mainly feather picking and cannibalism.

Some operations have the upper beak trimmed at a young age, which permanently shortens it. This prevents the bird from being able to grasp other bird’s feathers. This practice is thankfully becoming frowned upon and happening less.

Both egg production and feather growth require a lot of protein. This is why birds reduce or stop laying during a moult, so they have adequate resources to produce a new set of feathers. This new set of feathers will keep them warm over winter more efficiently and have them looking their best for potential mates in spring.

Some birds moult faster than others. These will drop most of their feathers over 4-6 weeks and look like a pin cushion as the new feathers start coming through. These are often the best layers, others can be much slower to complete a moult, replacing just a few feathers at a time. These birds are often thought to not be moulting - until one day you realize they look brand new again. These tend to be the less frequent layers, some continue to lay the odd egg as the drain on their resources is less intense.

Chickens are highly attracted to red and geared to finding protein rich sources of food, especially highly productive commercial hens. They’re also extremely inquisitive, this leads to them pecking at exposed feather shafts or skin and can unfortunately lead to continual feather picking or worse, cannibalism.

Feather Picking/Cannibalism

This can be an incredibly frustrating behaviour to manage once learned, and is best avoided by looking for the early signs. Any birds seen to be actively pecking at other bird’s feathers or skin need to removed as soon as possible, and kept separate until feathers have regrown and there are no exposed patches of skin or feather shafts to tempt them. If they continue the behaviour on re-joining the flock, unfortunately the best thing is to euthanize these birds. They pose a constant health and welfare risk to the other birds.

Beak or bumper bits can be utilized to stop the behaviour, but come with their own welfare risks for the bird. Environmental enrichment can go a long way to preventing boredom and “inquisitive” pecking. Provide things like straw to scratch through, or rotten logs to peck at. There are plenty of other ideas which can be found online, to provide boredom busters.

Commercial birds are well known for being “bullies” especially towards birds physically different from themselves so take care if attempting to mix them with an established flock of heritage breeds.

Any birds that appear to be failing to grow new feathers should be closely inspected for signs of damage to the growing tip or skin. Any birds with bleeding or dried broken stubs, or angry looking skin should be separated from the others, especially if you don’t know who’s doing the damage. Ideally place them in a separate run where they can still see the others to make it less stressful.

Another option is to treat the affected area with products that deter picking and physically protect the area from view using poultry saddles and give them a buddy whilst the feathers grow back.

Reproductive problems

One of the most common reasons vets see ex-layers is for problems associated with their reproductive tract. These birds are such efficient producers of large eggs they can easily be stimulated to lay extra large eggs which consequently get stuck on the way out.

Over feeding of things like energy dense food scraps or treats like dog roll are common culprits for oversized eggs. Overeating of pellets due to the use of feeders is less likely to cause oversized eggs however over time, the risk increases of egg binding due to build-up of excessive fat stores in the abdomen just below the vent.

Egg binding is a medical emergency requiring swift and appropriate management to prevent secondary problems like prolapse or rupture of the oviduct internally (generally fatal!) Prolapsed cloaca are extremely bad for setting off cannibalism, and affected birds should be removed from the flock once spotted. Please read our handout on egg binding for information on how best to deal with this if suspected.

Commercial birds are extremely prone to developing egg peritonitis and ovarian cancer. Egg peritonitis occurs when the developing yolks are ovulated into the abdomen rather than the oviduct. They can get reabsorbed by the body with time, but commercial birds ovulate so frequently that they build up causing distension of the belly area. This distension ends up affecting breathing and leads to birds adopting what’s known as the penguin stance.

Another condition that commonly results in fluid build-up, abdominal distension and penguin stance is cancer.

Believe it or not, commercial poultry are actually used as the model for human ovarian cancer! It occurs in them extremely frequently, and can be referred to as the silent killer. This is because the reproductive tract is not essential to day to day living so a growth in this organ can go unnoticed for several weeks to months until it starts to impact on the other body systems.

The most common clinical sign of this is a bird that stops laying or fails to return to laying after a moult. Sometimes the moult will be slow or drawn out to complete and with time the bird eventually looks dull and begins to loose weight despite eating. If the tumour results in fluid build-up in the abdomen, then you’ll get the classic penguin stance along with a very thin bird. At this stage the long-term treatment option for cancer is unfortunately limited to palliative care. Egg peritonitis can be managed with certain medications, each individual case needs to be discussed with a vet, to decide if it’s appropriate.

Getting ex-commercial birds to roost like the rest of your birds can occasionally be frustrating especially if they’ve never had the facilities to perch before. You’ll often find these birds huddled in a corner on the ground (often under the perches and getting pooped on) or in the nesting boxes especially if low down. Block these off before nightfall and place the birds on the roosting bar. You may need to repeat this for several nights, some will fall off straight away, so ensure you have a soft landing for them if this is the case. Another helpful tip is to make super low movable perches and place them where the birds are trying to huddle. They’ll generally sit on these lower perches which can make it easier transitioning them to the higher ones.