Chickens only good for 2 years?

[FarmerDenise]

Our chickens are multipurpose. They are pets and have names, they provide us with eggs, they kill the insects in the garden, they fertilize the garden, they eat the weeds, they'll eat the produce too, unless we fence them in

, they are a source of entertainment - we love watching them, they are educational, because we teach the children and adults who visit about the chickens and often it is the first time people get to touch a chicken.
I would keep chickens, even if I didn't get any eggs from them, because they are fun. They have their own personalities. Some will even beg to be picked up or jump onto your lap or shoulder. We had one chicken trained to jump for treats. Another was our old dog's best friend and could be found by the dogs side at all times. They even slept together.
We have had many chickens die of old age, although unfortunately more of our chickens got killed by vermin or stray dogs

WE have better fencing now.

Start out by getting three or five....but beware, they are like potato chips, you won't be able to stop.

 

[featherz]

I'm a vegetarian also. I plan to make non layers my 'bug chickens' and let them free range our acres clearing out the bugs and other fun stuff when they are done with laying. They'll still have housing and food but they can do their part also since we have a lot of land. Maybe that would appeal? I don't plan on killing them just because they don't lay although keep in mind that killing a chicken may still be necessary should they become very ill and unable to recover.

 

[mandelyn]

My plan when we buy land is to free range the "spent" hens for bug control. They also do really well with loosening soil, so may have "portable" runs over the winter/early spring to use as garden later. It will till easier I bet.

My New Hampshire Red and Black Astralorp are just over 2 years old. I get an egg every other day from the black one, and about 2-3 a week from the red one. Doesn't matter to me, since my Red Stars lay every single day. Sometimes I get 4 eggs a day, sometimes 2. But there's always something.

Grandma had chickens a long time ago. At 8-10 years old, she was getting teeny tiny miniature eggs. Smaller than quail eggs, from a big standard hen. Funniest thing!

 

[haTHOR]

Quote:
i know i'm biased, but along with the list ilia gave you in response to this question, do some research on black javas or any other javas not from a hatchery. we have a gal in the java thread right now who we are all rooting for...she just bred her 8 yr old rooster and 5-7 yr old hens and had chicks hatch. javas and other heritage breeds (like ilia mentioned) live strong healthy lives for a looooong time.

 

[NEK38583]

If you raise some of the rare breeds that look different like polish, silkies, sultans, La Fletch, and etc. When they are not laying no longer to the max that you want you can sell them to people that keeps them just for their looks. I raise polish and silkies. I have never killed or sold one to be killed. I keep them for 2-3 years before I retire them. I have no problem finding great homes for them. Their is people who will take them and keep them just because they look "funny". A lot of people do not kill chickens or sell to people who kill. It is a personal choice.

 

[tammye]

look at it this way, the chickens you have will get a great life, right. If you did not get those hens they may end up in someones pot, tell your girlfriend that. I will keep my hens until they die, they are so much fun, they are my pets just like the dogs and cats are.

 

[sotelomary]

Maybe you can have your friend look at it from the stand point of chickens as pets. We have 6 in our daycare/preschool as pets with names. We compost their poop into our organic veggie garden. We get delicious organic eggs from them. I use them as a teaching tool for the kids. There are so many breeds that you can find some very pretty ones. We also enjoy having them. I am very squimish and could never kill one or eat one of them. They will live happily here until they die of natural causes.

I just tell my husband that they are cheaper than having a dog or cat, and easier to take care of. We get eggs and compost from them which we wouldn't from a dog or cat.

Mary

 

[Lesa]

Quote:
Hi all. My name is Brian, Lesa's soon to be husband. She was a vegetarian for over 30 years and now because of what is being done to our food supply she chose to eat meat that is raised the natural way (without additives) on local farms. We started raising chickens for the eggs and now 2 years later they have dropped off considerably so our third one is in the soup pot today. I get the honers of ending their life. This one in the pot was the third one because two got sick. So there may come a day when you have to make a choice of letting it suffer or ending its misery. Everything organic dies and/or is consumed by something else organic.

My advice here is you should not try to change a vegetarian. Many will change on their own and the rest you should leave alone. It is their choice. If your fiance is going to object to killing any kind of animal you may have a problem some day even if it is a hobby farm. Killing livestock is part of animal farming whether you do it or someone else does it.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

If you have no plan to eat them I would look in to Brown Leghorns. Yes they do lay most of there eggs the first few years but they are small birds an eat less than many other breeds so keeping them as they get older is not a big food bill. They are also great at free ranging if you want to turn your spent hens out to live a natural life ridding the land of bugs an worms.

If you hatch your own you have to decide how to deal with all the roosters to. If you by hens or sexed babys you don't have to deal with that but its not like its not happening, someone somewhere is doing it for you.

 

[andalusn]

We have a small farm of 5 acres and the chickens were first added as "bug control" and that has worked great. Not all of my hens purchased were as chicks. I bought 2 Dominique's off of Craig's List and I am sure they were slowing down in egg production when they were listed. I did not care as the main job was bugs.. .I still get eggs from Lucy and Ethel, about 2 a week from each. I find them to also be the funniest hens in the flock. They are not going any where

Eggs are the secondary benefit of having the hens but on top of it all we enjoy the heck out of them.

All that being said, when you have animals your responsible for their care. It could be your pet dog/cat right on up to goats, chickens and other farm stock. We care for them, enjoy them but there are times we have to make hard decisions. It's all part of good animal husbandry. A hen this week fell from the roost and broke her leg. Tough decision time.... Another brought 16 peeps out from the hay stack on Saturday ....