2 year old hens worth it?

[aart]

Depends if they are just 2 years old or nearing 3, LOL. My oldest hens will be 2 on 4/17 & just started their 2nd laying season at the beginning of February, so they have a lot more eggs to lay.

Too True...why I always ask how many months old are they.

 

[K0k0shka]

If your main interest is as pets, they might be perfectly fine for that.

I wouldn't get 2-year-old hens if I wanted them as pets. For me, pet-quality chickens need to be friendly, to have a bond with me, and at the very least to let me catch them and hold them. A 2-year-old hen has had two years of life I know nothing about. Was she hand-raised? Was she socialized? Does she have any traumas (rough children, etc.)? What's the baggage she comes with? If she'll be flighty and skittish with me, then that's not really pet material. Something fun to look at from a distance for entertainment, maybe, but a pet needs to give me more than that. And even if the hens were pets to their previous owner and raised as such, they won't know me and will likely still run from me. If you're up for the challenge of taming potentially fearful chickens to "break" them and turn them into pets, go for it. But as a first timer, that would not be my first choice for first pet chickens. The best pet chickens are the ones you raised from hatchlings who have accepted you as a friend.

 

[nao57]

As a first timer, if you decide to look for started pullets or point of lay pullets, be careful for folks selling birds advertised like this but you'll actually get older hens. I've read about this too many times on here. I wonder if they're being sold truthfully. Why are they selling?

Sometimes it goes perfectly but just be aware that it's not always that way. I'm super excited for you to embark on this amazing and exciting life with chickens!

It does seem like there's a tendency for people to sell and get rid of inferior quality instead of good quality unfortunately. So its like, who do you know that sells their car when it has no problems? They don't. They sell it once the problems manifest.

Unfortunately this is probably going to be the case with the chickens too. Although there could be exceptions.

 

[Kiki]

I’m a first timer for getting hens. I’m wondering if it’s worth getting 2 year old hens? Will they still be producing many eggs or will they be close to slowing down?

I'd vote heck no.
Start with chicks.
Way less chance of bringing home diseased birds.

 

[3KillerBs]

It does seem like there's a tendency for people to sell and get rid of inferior quality instead of good quality unfortunately. So its like, who do you know that sells their car when it has no problems? They don't. They sell it once the problems manifest.

Unfortunately this is probably going to be the case with the chickens too. Although there could be exceptions.

Indeed.

People sell started pullets because they ordered the hatchery minimum and are selling off the extras -- I'll be doing that myself this year -- but much beyond POL you have to assume that birds for sale are the problem birds.

 

[Ascholten]

I got my first hen that was about two years old. She was a bit skittish at first, but a few weeks being nice to her and she follows me around now, I can pick her up, ruffle her, carry her around and she does a decent job of laying eggs. Just because a hen is a few years old does NOT mean they will not make good pets.

WHY / HOW did I get a 2 year old chicken. I wanted to get into chickens but did not want to go the youngster route, I wanted one that was already laying. A friend took me to one of his friends farm, he said, there are my chickens, pick out the 3 that you want. Knowing nothing about chickens at the time I said, aw hell, just get the first 3 you can catch. He grabbed a leg stick, I went home with 3 hens.

A hen can be skittish, as an adult OR as a young one you raise from very young. Although not carved in stone, you can kind of tell when you approach them, if the bird is a psychopath or not.

I guess my point is, don't discount a bird as being a good bird, or good pet, just because it's 2 YO. There is so much more that plays into that 'good birdie' equation.

Just my 2 yolks worth.

Aaron

 

[adstowe]

A lot of people who are simply interested in egg production will ditch their birds after the 2nd laying year to keep production up. If you add birds every year and get rid of the ones that are finishing their 2nd year (especially going into winter. No reason to feed birds that aren't laying and you don't intend to keep) you can maximize your output. Aside from the potential for bringing in disease they could work perfectly fine for you, but if it's an option for you I'd recommend starting with chicks. It's easy and you can pick and choose which breeds you want to have in your flock. Picking and choosing breeds and their varying egg colors is half the fun. I love having a rainbow of eggs in my cartons. Most of the time I order from Meyer hatchery and have nothing but good things to say about them. Check out their website (or whatever hatchery interests you) and you just might get caught up in all the available options. It's a fun and rewarding hobby. Best of luck to you. You've already found the best resource for information with this site, stick around and read a lot.

 

[Mamatomany123]

I'd vote heck no.
Start with chicks.
Way less chance of bringing home diseased birds.

To add on to this

Start with chicks from a quality hatchery. I bought from a local breeder who was selling chicks that were carriers for a respiratory disease and infected my entire flock. They were not introduced to the big girls until they were 6 weeks old and never showed symptoms, not even when my older girls were suffering.

 

[Ascholten]

If they never showed symptoms, how are you sure they were carriers? Just because they were the new ones?

Aaron

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Usually chickens peak time is the first few years, personally, I’d rather get chicks, (they are so cute!) and you can raise them to be friendly (if you want them partly as pets) but the decision is yours, and this is just my preference.