"Hentirement"

I appreciate your perspective. Culling after two years has always seemed a little "handmaiden's tale" to me . I also prefer to let them live out their own lives.

Very good article written from personal experience which is the best source. I am in the same place with my older ladies and feel the same way, they will have a nice retirement.

Love this post, my ladies are older and I really thought I would never get another egg. Now I can't wait. They are in moult right now so now I know I have some eggs to look forward to.

Excellent article, thank you!! 5 of my girls are older, and their laying has slowed down considerably just in the last year. They're still great to have around, I wouldn't think of doing anything but allowing them to happily live out their Hentirement years!

One thing to note: Winter laying naturally slows down, but for those who heat & light their coops, the hens will continue laying through winter. This prematurely ages them and expends the finite number of eggs they'll produce in their lifetime, as their bodies don't get to rest in the colder months. Plus I've found using heat lamps at night can cause egg yolk peritonitis, especially in older girls. I personally feel it's best to let nature's wisdom dictate their laying cycles, so I use natural light and keep the coop just warm enough that the chickens won't get frostbitten, using heated perches & heat pads that only kick on in freezing temps. My mature girls are thriving with this setup!

Thank you so much for this wonderful article.

I am so impressed by your article. Not only is it beautifully written but is fortifies my thoughts exactly. It is on point, at least for those of us that enjoy chickens and do not mass produce eggs/chickens for a bottom line. Your chickens are fortunate as are mine. They deserve their natural life cycles and to live out their lives as nature intended. In addition, your article documents well the natural life cycle of the chicken. But then, I would not, could not and will not eat what I have raised and nurtured AND named. Thank you for your informative, delightful article giving a totally different outlook on raising chickens.

Loved the truth and honesty in this article...I don't have chickens yet but I am looking forward to having them soon. Articles like this warm my heart and draw me in more.

Loved this subject. Very enjoyable and good to know information.

I've only been raising chickens for 4 years and it was originally for the purpose of eggs and meat. I figured I'd get a couple of years of eggs from them and slaughter them afterwards for their meat and replenish the flock with new chicks in a continuing cycle. That's not how it's worked out though. My girls are no longer considered potential meat birds and are instead every bit as much pets of the family and I'll also keep the ladies well into their twilight years, hopefully rewarding them as much as they have me over time.

Love, love, love this. Beautiful perspective.

Perhaps not everyone will agree but this is my philosophy too. My girls live out their lives even when they’re no longer laying eggs. My hens are my companions, my entertainment, and to be honest my therapy too. They keep me busy, active, and involved. One thing worth mentioning is that once the ladies slow down on egg production they don’t eat as much, so in my view it isn’t a huge investment to have the older girls in the flock. That said, I have gone to an all flock grower feed. My flock is mixed with pullets, active layers, and some older girls and moulters who don’t need the added calcium in the feed. I just give them oyster shells and their own toasted eggshells so the ones who need calcium have access to it. Love our golden girls!

wonderful article! my americauna, Clarice, is 9 years old. she laid prolifically for the first 6 years and slowed down a bit for the next two. she was laying 1 or 2 a week for the first half of this year, but i think she's done. she's a joy to be around and still loving life in the run.
we will continue to spoil her to her last day.

Such a great article, as a new person into chickens this was a very helpful perspective and has influenced me to think beyond the traditional chicken stew fate of many retired hens. Thank you!

Thank you for this wonderful article on the joys of keeping these beautiful golden girls in their twilight years.

Beautifully stated! We didn’t raise our chickens from chicks. We have a local hatchery that sells the breeder hens at the end of chick season. We get ours when they are approximately 10-12 months old and already laying. Kind of like rescue chickens. They are the most loving, sweet, personable chickens ever. You would think they were hand raised. I digress… Of the 5 girls we now have, 3 are in henopause. They will live out their lives being spoiled rotten lap chickens that play cabbage tetherball, are hand feed grapes, spoon fed cottage cheese, and all the zucchini they could ever want. Side note - when we plan and plant our garden, we plant a zucchini, a squash, and a watermelon just for the chickens. We grate and freeze the zucchini and squash for the girls to enjoy all year. The older girls teach the new additions whats what!l Natural bug control and compost for the garden is a bonus perk! Chickens give so much back in love, snuggles, and they enrich our lives beyond measure. I love my babies!

This is eloquently written and indeed sparked sentiment in me. I had a few tears thinking about my sweet ducks (3 pets) who will be with me until they die. I have witnessed if what you speak first hand as my Leia shows my 2 new babies around they yard and how to be safe. Thank you for this article.

Excellent Article! I only have Two Back Yard Divas and I love them. They are over 3 years and definitely slowing down in the egg laying but a while ago their egg laying went from the reason I have them to just a bonus. I appreciate your story because I wasn't sure if bringing new chick's home would work with my spoiled Ladies (Peggy and Muggsy). Based on your writing I've decided to get two more next spring. I'll start making the coop modifications soon. Thanks, and love your pics.

this was a well written post! i’m glad you’re sharing awareness that chickens can be productive way beyond 2 years of age! i have my own little flock and i plan on hentirement as well!!