Chickens Age.... 19yo

[flnatv]

My dogs got out today and went to visit my neighbor... we got to talking about the chickens

and she said she had one pass away this fall at the ripe old age of 19yo....

Could she be right? I didn't know they lived quite that long...

 

[ReikiStar]

I've read that chickens can have a life expectancy of 20 years from a few sources/books. Growing up I always had the assumption chickens were long lived and had heard stories about chickens living that long or nearly that long. Your neighbor was doing something right!

 

[merry hens]

WOW, that was one old chicken! That's the longest I've ever heard a chicken living. Some of my chickens are 10 this year. I thought that was old! I wonder if some breeds live longer than others? A lot of my really old hens are easter-eggers.

 

[SilverPhoenix]

That's definitely ripe old age! I have two fourteen-year-old hens. They mostly seem to pass away around ten, give or take a few years, but the two fourteen-year-old girls are doing great!

And in my experience, bantams, game breeds, and some of the ornamentals live longer than most others. Laying breeds, especially particularly productive ones, usually don't live as long because they get uterine cancer oftentimes.

 

[gunnarmcc]

i have three 8yr old D'Uccles that are going strong laying almost at least 2 eggs a day between the three of them

 

[merry hens]

One type of chicken that I have noticed in my chicken experience to have very short longevity is sex-links. Never had one that lived over about 2-3 years - they all got problems and died. They laid too many eggs, I guess. I'm not sure if that's typical for them or not. My long lived chickens have been bantams, rhode island reds, easter eggers, a polish hen, and of course, mutts!

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Quote:
Yes, the sex links do tend to get cancer very often. The more productive a breed is, in general (not always) the more likely it is they'll die early. Unfortunate, as many of them are very sweet birds!

Remember, the ancestors of chickens only laid something like 20 eggs a year. When you look at how many they're bred to lay now, it's no wonder they don't live for long!

 

[flnatv]

Sad to hear my BSL won't be around long, but they will be spoiled while I have them

I haven't seen anything other than bantams at my neighbors house, but I don't go over there very often. Pretty sure they are also just mixes. I was in shock when I heard 19.... I usually hear they live about as long as a dog, so I was thinking 10 or 12. That was something I never researched when looking at chickens because it really didn't matter that much to me.

Guess next time I see her I will ask what she was feeding them... she is probably in her 80's and has had chickens for as long as anyone around her can remember.

Hummm.... I wonder if I need a will for my chickens.... they may outlive me.

 

[Kelsey2017]

what happened with the poll that was here on BYC the other day? It was all about "how old was your oldest chicken."

 

[flnatv]

Quote:
I remember seeing something about that now... not sure where it went...

Here it is https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=522611