Aging a Silkie hen

[ermintrude]

Hi Everyone!
I bought a Silkie hen over a month ago who was advertised as one year old. I know you can tell if a hen is laying by looking at the vent and feeling how close together the pelvic bones are. Our little Silkie is definitely not laying, with a small tight vent and narrow pelvic bones, but can you use this to gauge if she is old and all laid out or just hasn't started laying yet after joining a new flock? She is not being bullied as we have a great cockerel to keep the peace and a huge garden they all free range in. She also feels a little underweight compared to my other large hens, but I'm not sure if that is just because she is smaller than I am used to!
Any advice gratefully received!

 

[chrismahon]

I don't know if the pelvic bones close after laying stops Ermintrude. We had Annie, a Black Rock, for a year after she stopped laying and her vent was noticeably tighter and her poos much smaller. The older birds generally have have less tidy and shiny condition to the feathers and scruffier scales on the feet. The Orpingtons though have little dainty neat feet which look the same 5 years on. Could be because they are always on grass. So I haven't been much help really!

 

[Chuck]

The pelvic bones get much closer together when laying stops. It's a good indicator of which of your hens are laying. Doesn't help much with assessing age though.

 

[AlexArt]

My little silkies I bought in Feb have only recently started laying, have no idea how old they were as I bought them at auction but were supposed to be last years birds, they weren't being bullied either and were a little light to start with but they soon perked up, so I'd give her time and see what happens. I don't think there is any way of actually telling the actual age of a chook only that it is or is not in lay, I had a cockerel who was 13 and he looked the same as the year old birds just with bigger spurs - so no way of knowing by looks!