Aged out hen?

[veggiecanner]

I got some hens last july,.2 were laying when I got them. One was taking care of a chick. The chick may or may not have been hatched by her.
The mama hen started laying again soon after she got here. I could tell it was not her first eggs. And she layed all winter.
Now she has started sitting in the nest for a few minutes every few days but no eggs from her. If she was broody I would give her a few eggs. But thats doesn't seem to be what is going on.
She is bald around her neck like she is molting, the rest of her feathers look ok.
Is it time to cull her?
I will keep her If there is a chance she will straighten up, but I have 6 new pullets That will do much better and need the room if it's time for her to go.
I am thinking she was from the year before. How can I tell? I turned her upside down , but I am not sure one way or the other.

 

[Den in Penn]

After they start laying there isn't a reliable way to tell their age. If she is molting for the first time then she may be around 18 months, she has molted before then she is older. Just can't tell how many molts she has gone through. The decision is if you want to carry her through a molt, say two to four months till she lays again. Keep in mind that the older they get, and you know she is at least eighteen months, the less they lay when they start back up. Then there is the, will she go broody, thing. If it were me with limited space and no rooster and unknown age, she would go.

 

[StupidBird]

um, my rooster is the reason some hens lack feathers behind their heads.

How do you tell when a hen of unknown providence is laying regular? Is the common age anything after 2 years old to add to the stew pot? I have a tough old biddy become stew that was at least 4 years old, and DH brought an egg up after butchering, saying there was 4 in her tract. Oops. I do have to thin the flock by some 50% (8 or so) before I allow more chicks.

Due to chicken math, I recently discovered I actually had 16 chickens, not a dozen.

 

[Den in Penn]

The spacing between the pelvic bones is a good indicator of lay. The narrower the less likely they are laying. Some go by less then two finger space, not laying.