Breeding old layer hens?

[Paulo]

Here in Jamaica, all commercial livestock feed is imported from abroad and therefore very expensive, so a hen that doesn't lay 5 eggs a week is barely earning her keep. Maybe the weather is just too hot, or the feed of poor quality, or i-don't-know-what, but 18-month old hens are usually sold for meat because they're not laying enough to make worth keeping them. Letting them forage is out of the question because mongooses would make short change of them.