Arizona Chickens

[Brenda Schonig]

So guys please tell me....What do you do with your hens when they are done laying eggs? I think from what I read this can be around years. How do you humanely get rid of the hen that you can not eat and she does not lay. Seems yiu must just keep them for a pet at that point?

 

[CheerfulHeart2]

Hi Everyone,
I am back from my trip to Utah. I guess I missed the wind here while sorting through cold and snow there. I think I am glad I missed all that wind. I would have worried and all seems well at my house. When I lived in Utah the wind would make me very nervous. So often I would see pictures of huge old trees upturned...sometimes on top of old homes .. in the news after a good storm.

So, funny story about weather. When I left SLC on Friday morning, it was 8 degrees at the airport. When I got to Phoenix the car was hot from sitting in the sun and we turned on the A/C. I love Arizona. My friend and I had to laugh though. She came down here in July when it was 118 or so. I was in SLC at 8 degrees. That is 110 degrees different. Wild. I guess we got it backwards on who should go where when...but sometimes it just works out that way.

Brenda - My heart goes out to you this season as you mourn the loss of loved ones. Christmas can be a very tender time. The 80 year old widower from my church that visits me monthly lost is wife this year. I hugged him and told him this must be a hard season for him. He didnt' say much but I could feel that it was a tender time indeed. I guess on the plus side we can be glad we had the loved ones for the time we did, be they spouses, parents, friends or otherwise.

Monhori - So sad to think of the family who lost their father. A lady I vist had a son who lost is brother in law. The brother in law was only 27 or so and left a young family. I guess it was in the news (remember, I was in Utah). He got hit by tree or something. It is such a sad thing when little ones are left behind. Actually, I guess it is hard at any age to loose loved ones.

Nessa - How is the walking going? Are you staying with it? How is your husbands hand doing?

On the new hatches - congrats to all of you.

Ok, my australorps aren't laying well. 3 are molting and only one of the other 3 is laying. What kinds of chickens do you all have that are laying well without added light?

As for the question on what to do if they day comes and they really aren't laying any more, I have seen some threads on that. Many folks keep them as beloved retired pets, others do the crock pot thing. As for me...I will probably keep them.

As for the medicated chick starter.... I didn't know you shouldn't eat the eggs if the hens got into it.

Ok, I probably missed something, but know that I read all the posts and was glad to hear your news.

 

[LarryPQ]

Quote:
I am fairly certian this is a personal choice, since all the production chickens eat medicated stuff, get vaccinations, are fed hormones.....

 

[ArizonaNessa]

CheerfulHeart2~ The walking is going good. I did slow down a bit during all the bad weather but things are picking back up. Hubby's hand is doing remarkably well and we even took out two stitches last night. They seemed to be pulling a lot and causing some discomfort. Thank you for asking

LareePQG~ I have eaten eggs that come from hens that ate chick starter and I am still alive. Not sure if the amprolium gets transferred to the eggs or not. I just try not to make a habit of eating eggs from hens that are receiving any type of meds because well....YUCK. You never know what kind of long term effects things could have. Amprolium is not an antibiotic so not sure how the chickens system processes it. Better safe than sorry I say.

Brenda~ Some people dispatch the older hens for the freezer, some keep them as pets, and then you have some that will dump them off at the feed store so that the feed store can lie to unknowing folks and say that they are in their prime. As for me, when I have a chicken it is my chicken til the very end laying or not. They make great bug and weed control even if they are not laying and they are fun to watch and have around. Eggs are just a fringe benefit in my opinion. In the grand scheme of things it is more expensive to own a chicken just for the sheer benefit of getting eggs than to go out and buy a carton of eggs. If you sat down and did the math on how much it cost for feed, bedding, maintainance, and coop construction you will find that them eggs cost a pretty penny. Now if you consider all the other things that they provide then that cost doesn't seem like so much. You just can't put a price on going out in your coop to find your hen has gone broody and is trying to defend and hatch a ball of poop with all it's might.

 

[rufus]

Well, spent hens used to be turned out to the corrals to keep the flies down. I am not sure what will be the case with my chickens since we no longer have corrals. Maybe they will out live me.

Rufus

 

[rufus]

Nessa, you sound like my wife talking about the economics of keeping chickens. Same words. She wants to get rid of them, I tell her if we do, I am getting a pig.

Worse, she spends a small fortune feeding all of the feral cats in the neighborhood. So far, they haven't laid egg one yet.

Rufus

 

[ArizonaNessa]

If them cats do lay an egg let me know and I will start trapping and feeding them all!!!!

As for the chickens, well it's the truth as far as economics go unless you are living a completely self sustaining lifestyle where you grow your own EVERYTHING. I don't know a single person on the planet that actually does that anymore. I know some that come close but none that are completely self sustaining. I wouldn't get rid of my birds for anything...well maybe there are a few things that could cause me to give them up but those are drastic things. I love them and all that they offer but I can see where your wife could get frustrated.

 

[Brenda Schonig]

You guys are all cracking me up!

Rufus I have a friend who feeds feral cats too...what is that all about......hummmm...is your wife Coleen? LOL...that is my friends name

I think I would just need to keep my hens...they do control the bugs...and by the time you have had them 5 years...they are family......The freezer? The crockpot...OH NO..... I could not do that...

 

[AZKat]

Quote:
She flew over the fence, which is a five and a half foot block wall, and got into the neighbor's yard, so its not at all their fault. We haven't said anything to them about it, since there isn't anything they could have done to prevent it.

 

[LarryPQ]

Quote:
That's what I thought.... For a second I was really confused.

I agree with you on the yuck, but figure I can't keep 100% watch on what my chickens eat. I know some are sneakysneaky and go for the chick food (currently we are using unmedicated anyway) but then I think about them eating bugs, rodents, any stray doves they can catch, poop....

I guess you have to pick your battles, or you'd make yourself nuts. Store-bought eggs are YUCK to me now, so I wont worry too much about the other stuff

Crockpot Kitties! The new Christmas Dinner!