Average Life Span of a Chicken/Rooster?

[speckledhen]

Don't need to sound so condescending about it. It's called google. One doesn't need to actually do science for it to be called research.

Ignore him. He can't help himself. He never can.

Chickens can live a long life, barring sucky genetics, bad husbandry and predators. I just haven't had them myself long enough to say from experience, only 8 years, though I was raised around my grandfather's farm and livestock.


I have had 15 or so hens die from internal laying and/or egg yolk peritonitis, starting just after they turned 2 and one by one, they dropped off; and if they lived past 4 years of age, they usually died from cancer with some signs of minor internal laying. ALL my originals came from the same hatchery, plus a couple of later ones. If you had a Red Star live that long, she was the rare exception, not the rule.

I have one hatchery hen who is 7 years old, however, she is not one of the common feed store breeds you see for egg layer flocks, she's a Brahma. Her genetics may be a tad better than say the Wyandottes (they're the worst, it seems), the Rocks, the sex links or the Orps they tend to sell more than anything else. She has not laid in almost 2 years and her crop has gone pendulous and is failing, requiring daily massage to push food through. She is the ONLY hatchery hen who ever lived that long, but she is from the second year of chicken keeping, not one of the originals.

 

[crazyaboutchickens]

 


Don't need to sound so condescending about it. It's called google. One doesn't need to actually do science for it to be called research.

Ignore him. He can't help himself. He never can.


Chickens can live a long life, barring sucky genetics, bad husbandry and predators. I just haven't had them myself long enough to say from experience, only 8 years, though I was raised around my grandfather's farm and livestock.


I have had 15 or so hens die from internal laying and/or egg yolk peritonitis, starting just after they turned 2 and one by one, they dropped off;  and if they lived past 4 years of age, they usually died from cancer with some signs of minor internal laying. ALL my originals came from the same hatchery, plus a couple of later ones. If you had a Red Star live that long, she was the rare exception, not the rule.

I have one hatchery hen who is 7 years old, however, she is not one of the common feed store breeds you see for egg layer flocks, she's a Brahma. Her genetics may be a tad better than say the Wyandottes (they're the worst, it seems), the Rocks, the sex links or the Orps they tend to sell more than anything else. She has not laid in almost 2 years and her crop has gone pendulous and is failing, requiring daily massage to push food through. She is the ONLY hatchery hen who ever lived that long, but she is from the second year of chicken keeping, not one of the originals.

I never said she was the rule. Just stating my experience with older hens and trying to find a solution. I wouldn't be able to prove it again either, as the newer flock I got four years ago was attacked by a predator with only one survivor. Also I've never ordered from the same place twice, so as to broaden my experience with them and see who is the best. There are so many genetic predispositions chickens can acquire, it's impossible to make a rule out of any breed or hatchery.

The amount of diversity in those common layer breeds seems to be slowing down, their eggs being the common weakness. I doubt the leghorns laying store-bought eggs are any better off either, they've come so far off the natural path. A good, although completely unrelated example would be bees. They're constantly being tamed, traits changed, and same hives split, until they've come to the point of 33% dying off every year from assorted causes. That said, I'm sorry to hear you've had so much bad luck with your birds getting these assorted problems. Hope that changes with time and newer birds.

 

[speckledhen]

I never said she was the rule. Just stating my experience with older hens and trying to find a solution. I wouldn't be able to prove it again either, as the newer flock I got four years ago was attacked by a predator with only one survivor. Also I've never ordered from the same place twice, so as to broaden my experience with them and see who is the best. There are so many genetic predispositions chickens can acquire, it's impossible to make a rule out of any breed or hatchery.

The amount of diversity in those common layer breeds seems to be slowing down, their eggs being the common weakness. I doubt the leghorns laying store-bought eggs are any better off either, they've come so far off the natural path. A good, although completely unrelated example would be bees. They're constantly being tamed, traits changed, and same hives split, until they've come to the point of 33% dying off every year from assorted causes. That said, I'm sorry to hear you've had so much bad luck with your birds getting these assorted problems. Hope that changes with time and newer birds.

You misunderstood me; I didn't say you said she was the rule, just making a general statement for others who don't realize that they cannot overcome bad genetics with good husbandry. And you just can't change what is in their weak DNA. So, you do the best you can and quit getting stock from the "bad place".

It's already changing a great deal now that I no longer have direct hatchery stock. The daughters of that hatchery stock are now 4 years old and both are showing signs of reproductive something or other, whether cancer or internal laying, not sure. The daughters of stock owned by a friend, from a different big name hatchery, are still with me at 7 years old and laying. When I was going through the worst of it, I consulted a PhD in poultry science while trying to figure it all out. His consensus in the end was don't ever buy laying hens from that hatchery again, find a different source.

 

[MACKSFLOCK]

I have twelve year old RIR hen that still lays!

 

[Chrissie16]

I have a rooster that's seven.

 

[dmauro56]

I have 2 hens that are around 11yrs old and they haven't slowed down at all, except for not laying eggs.

 

[mullys]

We are 6 year "newbies" to laying hens, although we feel that we have "been through a lot". We started with a city rescue (age unknown) who lived with us for 3 years. We bought a purebred Buff Orp, who we still have at 6 years! Other than her our chickens live to 3 years usually. We have lost two to crop issues, one city rescue to something unknown that involved drooling and wasting, and our last girl at 3 years to another fluid-filled but not soured crop. She died suddenly yesterday.
I wish they could live as long as people claim they should? It's heart-breaking enough to make us question having a backyard flock. We can't find a vet to help us although we are willing to pay.

 

[Mrs. K]

I am amazed, I have never had anything get much past 3 years. This is Butters 4th year, and so far she is spry, but I would not be surprised if I go down any day and she is gone.

Mrs K

 

[azygous]

My oldest hen, a Brahma, is almost eight, in good health, and the rooster seems to think she may be laying some eggs sometime soon. I have two seven-year old Wynadottes who are currently laying eggs.

 

[Dboshers777]

Lol