"Hentirement"

This article is the business. It really heightened this chicken neophyte's respect for the ladies. I am so new at this that culling hens strictly cause they are old had not occurred to me. Now I think it won't occur at all for the reason of age. Thank you very much.

Thank you for such a warm and lovely article. Perhaps I am biased because you've reflected my sentiments so closely for not just our hens, but for our human companions, too. Too often we deem other living things as no longer valuable once they are past their "prime" -- instead of seeing their value increase in new ways. In any case, thanks for sharing your kindhearted perspective.

One of the best articles I have ever read. Glad to know the whole human race hasn’t turned into callous rocks!

Lovely to see other people getting rid of the myth. My older ladies are now part of the family. No they don’t really lay eggs anymore but they bring personality and adoration. They look after everyone else and become the teachers and the chastisers of the sillier younger ones, to keep them out of trouble.
Grace likes to have a cuddle and tell me what’s gone on during the day. She’s a great conversationalist! Fudgy is the singer of the group. Mila is bossy but shows others who is to be respected and keeps order. Kaye the cockerel is watcher and protector. Everyone has their place. To get rid of them because of a silly thing like laying an egg would be unthinkable!

I loved reading this article, in part because it was so well written it read like a fairy tale with a sense of humor. The photos made it very lively. And it went against a few stereotypes ! Now I would like to know more about these five senior ladies, if they have required special care, and if and how they have passed since this article was written.

Nice article to read about older hens and their worth

Great Article on the value of a hen's retirement years! My own older ladies are the kingpins (queen-pins?) around which the flock dynamics rotate. It's not the rooster bringing cohesion to my flock ... it's the senior hens!

A couple of my best middle aged hens died last year, not from old age but from predation and human stupidity.
One of them had never laid an egg in her life but was the rock that the rest of the tribe leaned on.
A free range dual purpose hen should have an average live span of 10 years given decent genes. Smaller lighter breeds that have had less human interference by breeders and hatcheries can live to 12 to 14 years old.
My last senior hen died at 11 years 4 months old.
Great article which I completely agree with.

Lovely article!