# Egg laying, Mate aggression and Implant



## Blingy

Hello guys, some of you may remember me and my flock. I have a hen who is 3.5 years old. The last year or so, she’s been laying about every 6 months, despite my best efforts to prevent it. Thankfully she’s had no issues, but I’m always worried that she might. I also have 3 males, one who she lives with and has been with since I got them. The last two egg laying cycles she has become aggressive towards Peanut and I’ve had to separate them for his protection. Once she’s done laying, she goes back to being her sweet, loving self. I had her at the avian vet the last time she laid eggs (due to her laying an egg with no shell), and he suggested she get an implant. This really frightens me, but I can’t have her attacking any of my others so I’m thinking I might need to go ahead with it. Does anyone have experience with the implant? Will it also help with the aggression, or only egg laying? Does anyone have any other advice or suggestions? I just want my harmonious flock back. Thank you for reading. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Cody

Hi Blingy,
I don't have experience with implants but I do with hormonal hens. I have a hen that is a chronic egg layer which resulted in her having a prolapse. She gets periodic Lupron injections to curb her hormones, maybe that would work for Jojo, how is Alkira?


----------



## Blingy

Hi Cody,
Thank you for your reply. How often do you find you need to get the Lupron injections? Are there any side effects you’ve noticed? Alkira is doing great. He is such a sweetheart and is full of personality. He enjoys his own company, would rather do his own thing than to be with the flock. He hates it if he has to share his cage too. He likes having it all to himself. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Cody

The frequency of the Lupron really depends on the birds response to it, with my hen, since her prolapse at the beginning of June, she has had 4 injections, I have not noticed any adverse side effects. I think the standard protocol when starting Lupron is 3 injections 2 weeks apart. I have tried all the standard things to try to curb the hormones before resorting to the Lupron, decreasing daylight hours, rearranging the cage, moving the cage, etc. nothing worked. Since her prolapse I have had to move her away from the other birds into a different part of the house, she has another female with her so she is not alone but no males allowed even if they are not sharing a cage.


----------



## justmoira

I had my hen Lemon on the implant. It worked great for about 14 months, then she had to have a new one put in, which she ripped out.


----------



## Blingy

Cody said:


> The frequency of the Lupron really depends on the birds response to it, with my hen, since her prolapse at the beginning of June, she has had 4 injections, I have not noticed any adverse side effects. I think the standard protocol when starting Lupron is 3 injections 2 weeks apart. I have tried all the standard things to try to curb the hormones before resorting to the Lupron, decreasing daylight hours, rearranging the cage, moving the cage, etc. nothing worked. Since her prolapse I have had to move her away from the other birds into a different part of the house, she has another female with her so she is not alone but no males allowed even if they are not sharing a cage.


So it works out to roughly a jab a month. That’s a lot. It wouldn’t be so bad except JoJo gets very stressed out when I have to take her to the vet. Last time I was scared I was going to lose her. I know the Lupron is less invasive and risky than the implant but the implant is less frequent (I believe it lasts about 3 months). She’d also need gas anaesthetic for the implant. I just don’t know what to do! I can’t put her in a separate room because I don’t have one. She is in a cage on her own but it’s on the opposite of the room to the boys. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Blingy

justmoira said:


> I had my hen Lemon on the implant. It worked great for about 14 months, then she had to have a new one put in, which she ripped out.


I remember Lemon and her pulling out her implant and I actually asked the vet what the chances are that JoJo might do that. He said it’s unlikely, but not unheard of. 14 months is a great length of time, correct? Were you told it’d only last about 3 months?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## FaeryBee

*Hi, Blingy!

I've missed you!

I'm sorry to hear your female is having chronic egg laying issues. 😢

Cody and Moira have given you good advice.

Please let us know what you decide to go with (Lupron injections or Implant) and how things progress.

Best wishes!*


----------



## justmoira

I was told it could last as long as 18 months, it depended on the bird. They used the same implant on larger birds and it wouldn't last as long on them, for instance. After she ripped out the second one, we left it for a while to make sure all those hormones were out of her system and then I started the lupron injections, which was a nightmare, She hated the vet and the frequent visits were so stressful for her. If I have to do it again for our new hen Azur, I'm going for the implant, hands down.


----------



## Blingy

Thank you all so much for the advice. It seems like the implant is the best option but I’m worried about them needing to put her under, even if it is just the gas anaesthesia. Did either of you have problems with aggression in your hens when they were hormonal? Usually JoJo just lays her eggs from a perch and gets on with her day. She’s not interested in them at all (they break anyway from falling to the cage floor). This is the second time she’s been aggressive towards Peanut, who she has always shared a cage with. Of course, I’ve separated them, both for his safety and also to try to throw off JoJos laying cycle. Poor little Peanut just wants to go home, and I just want life to go back to normal. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Cody

My hen is pretty bossy all the time and she seems to always be hormonal, so I did not notice anything different, she too would just plop out the egg like it was nothing and ignore it, most of hers also broke falling to the bottom of the cage.


----------



## justmoira

Lemon was always super bossy and Sweetie would dote on her all day long. She's lay and then demand Sweetie preen her and such. I don't know if she would have been attentive to the egg because they always ended up broken so I had to remove them immediately (she'd lay from her favourite perch and they would fall, for instance). Azur is also bossy but not as much as Lemon was, with Sweetie doting on Azur as well.


----------

