How to Handle the Ageing Process of Chickens

Absolutely agree and love this article! Thank you for sharing!
I had a RI rooster pass away in October I was sad and still feel sad he wasn't a bird that liked being picked up and held but he would hang around me while I worked in the yard or sat to relax with a beer just like a dog. I loved having a roo and will probably have another one again they are great companions not just for the girls but for our soul too! He played a part in our two blue ribbons earned in the Marshfield Fair Egg show!

Having smart old hens as part of the flock is critical. It is like inheriting inter generational wealth. I have a 10yr old SS just like in the article photos and she has taught several generations of hens how to be good chickens and how to be respected. She was also still laying eggs last summer. Take good care of them and they return the favor. It is a different experience having educated chickens.

thank you so much for the great article! Im going through that now, i think half my flock is going into retirement i think there about 5yrs the eggs have definitely slowed down! Im would like to get some more chickens to add to my flock. Im wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what type of breed is good in cold weather and lays year round. Thanks!

I am vegetarian, and only eat my girl's eggs. I also sell the "eggstra" eggs, and I tell the buyers that my hens are pets, and when they no longer produce eggs, they will enjoy a nice retirement. It's a good selling point!

I look at my chickens a partners on my little farm... When they get older, I let them retire with full benefits... And they really do teach the younger chickens the house rules...

Beautiful article, thank you for sharing.

This was a nice read, and really highlighted how chickens may have started as something that produced eggs, and they become someone, a valuable pet and member of one’s family. I have three six year old girls and a six month old who just started laying. Interestingly, the older girls are laying again!

Thank you for this article it was a pleasant read and made me feel good about keeping my boys and girls around as long as nature will allow. I am also happy many others treat their birds as family.

Wonderful article! Thank you!!!

We are down to two chickens remaining from our original flock of bantams. Chicklet is 15, showing very little sign of her advanced age. She even laid an egg this spring! Ozma is 14 and is suffering from cataracts in both eyes. Because of her vision loss, she can't manage the social interactions of flock life so I have her in a separate pen next to the rest of the flock. We monitor her daily for signs that her vision loss is impacting her ability to find food and water. Last year, we had to euthanize another chicken at 14 years old because her cataracts made it impossible for her to eat normally (she'd peck in the vicinity of food but kept missing). That was very sad.

Other than these two with cataracts, several other of our elderly hens have developed internal masses visible on X ray, and we've made the decision to euthanize. One other hen suddenly showed illness by sitting fluffed up on a Saturday afternoon after our vet had closed for the day. She passed away quietly on Sunday night.

Great article! Thanks for providing a suggestion for what to do with a hen after she dies. We had to do this with one of ours that nibbled on potato vines the day before (which are toxic for chickens). Active and healthy one day, dead in the coop the next with no other signs of harm, egg-bound or disease. Now potato vines are not accessible by other other laying hens. The rest are as sweet as hens can be. They did seem to go through a "mourning" time for Peanut, but have done well since that time.

I absolutely loved this article! Some of my chickens are getting a little older as well. Such a sweet page.

Nice introductions to the aging process of chickens

What a wonderful plea for the animals! - You can replace the word "Chicken" with "Duck", "Goat", "Horse", "Cat", "Dog" or any other animal that became a part of your family! Just because a bird can't lay an egg a day anymore, the cat became too slow to catch the mice and the ol' dog rather sleeps at night than standing guard doesn't mean those animals have lost any purpose.

Just because they are getting older doesn't mean they are not still an integral and valuable part of your flock, so they aren't laying eggs, but they are still teaching and some even will brood though they are not laying anymore, which still actually keeps your egg layers laying while adding new chicks to your flocks, they still love to help you keep the bug population down which to me seems like benefits worth keeping them around until they pass on. Recently locally I have seen people posting they will take your retiring chickens you don't want just for the things mentioned previously.

Well written article, thanks!

Our old hens are special, having survived predator attacks, weather events, injury and illness. She should be allowed to live her life out comfortably. She can contribute to the younger flock's development plus still entertain with her antics. My oldest hen is 9 now!

I'd like to know more of what to look out for in old age. So far, only thing I've noticed besides not laying is she is a little slower than she used to be. You dont look at her and think, wow, you're old!

I'd like to know more about old age in poultry. Are there age signs we can see? Comb, feather, leg/foot changes? Do they pass without warning or is it a visible process?

For fun, I've added a picture of my 9 year old black laced silver wyandotte, Little Sis.

The neighbors across the street gave us 21 2 year chickens--20 hens and 1 roost. Various breeds, but 5 appeared to be Americanas, including the rooster. One hen, my favorite, Dusty, was killed by a raccoon at 6 years of age. The rest lived on, and started passing away at around 10 years old. 3 hens lived to be 12. Randy the rooster lived to be 15 when a mink got him. I still miss them all.

My chickens are pets too! I thought that this was a very sweet article.

Chickens are pets or very shortly after acquiring them become unwittingly our pets. We have an 8-yr-old Silkie hen who never was good at producing eggs but is still a valuable flock member. She knows where the bugs hide out in the yard, she has a routine going-to-roost evening cluck accompanying final preening of the day, her poops are as good a garden bed fertilizer as any other flock member's poops, she loves to find newly sprouted weeds, the newer hens watch her to find where all the good bugs and tender weeds are, and surprisingly the little 2-lb hen commands pecking order status for first dibs on treats and the younger bigger hens submit! She's also a sweet gardening companion who stays with me when all the other impatient hens run off. Have I mentioned how entertaining hens are and what beautiful eye-candy they are in the yard? Yes, hens are valuable members far beyond their egg-laying life!

SPUNKY PERSONALITY-PLUS SILKIE NO LONGER WITH US - layed eggs into her 6th year!


DAINTY PARTRIDGE SILKIE STILL WITH US AT 8-YRS

I found this article fun to read short and sweet. It really illuminates in a entertaining way the ageing process of the chicken and things to consider. I am definitely on the chicken as my pet side.