Culling Older Hens?

[Meesh]

LCRT, that was a really good link. Thanks for posting it!

- Michelle

 

[fivebigreds]

Quote:
There's several ways to look at this subject. on the one hand killing them does seem like poor payment for all those eggs but, most can not afford to keep pets that will stop laying and keep eating feed. The chickens do not know that they have a life to lose nor know about being dead from last weeks lunch. They are low on the food chain and feed many animals , us included. We have just in the last few years had the disposeable income to keep live stock as pets but, with the economy going like it is that may not last long.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

There should be a high tech solution... how about either:

1) An automatic dot / painting rig that marks the hens that go into the nesting box?

2) A web cam with a motion detection setup that takes a picture every 30 seconds when there is movement (i.e., a hen in the box). You could see who's laying and when by reviewing all the images (I actually may do this... all I need is a cheap webcam and some USB extension cables).

 

[gervais22]

if you wait they will decline in quality, eat them while there fresh, not so good for eggs, still good for meat

 

[Wolf-Kim]

If you raise your hens in lots, say you buy 20 production reds, you can band them all in one color and then when production is down, kill the entire lot and replace it. This is usually the best way to go if you are dealing with a great number of birds. Traps nests work well for smaller flocks, just remember to go out several times to release the "trapped" hens.

I eat my older or extra birds. We have watched movies such as "Chicken Run", but in reality the chickens are not in the coop being "scared" into laying eggs because they fear the axe. I do not feel I owe my chickens a retirement into old age. I feed them great food as much as they want, I provide them with shelter from the cold and rain, they have ample opportunities to forage for grass and bugs, I even take the time to destress their sex-life by keeping the right amount of roosters with the hens, they have great nestboxes, and lead a great social life. LOL. Granted certain birds I get emotionally attached to and these may be given an exemption from the default retirement plan. I pay my hens very well for the "job" they have done providing me with eggs. When they are no longer laying like they use to and I need more room for newer birds, I give them the best death I can reasonably provide.

I do keep hens that have stopped laying but are prone to be broody. I did it with one of my Sexlinks lately. She's been dwindling off, it's her second year so she's due for a burnout. She recently decided she was going broody, so she may have a future in being a mother(if she stops smashing eggs!!

).

If you decide to eat, remember older hens should be slow-cooked/stewed, because they are tough.

If you decide to sell, don't lie about age. If someone asks, be honest. Most people buying full-grown hens assume they are buying layers and usually pay decent money. If you give them away as pets, same deal, make sure they know why you are giving them away.

Anyway, that's what I do/plan to do. You have many great suggestions here to work with, in the end it is your decision.

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

You could also build a low tech TRAP NEST BOX...

 

[McGoo]

I would rather humanely slaughter my older hens than to send them somewhere where I will no longer have control over whether or not they get food, water, or shelter. I know how I take care of my birds, and I would hate to think of them moving to another home only to be attacked by predators, or worse- starved to death because someone didn't care for them. For me, it's the "not knowing" that is more difficult than the idea of knowing they were properly dispatched and not subject to mistreatment.

Aladatrot - that is my opinion exactly! I feel it's Good Life, Good death and I know what there life is and how I've protected my gals. If I give them away... who knows what'll happen to them. If I kill them myself, I know that it's almost instantaneous and not some long drawn out horrific situation!​

 

[lovethechickens]

God what a sad world we live in.

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Quote:
Now why would you say that. It's a given that we are all here because we want the best for our chooks. Some for pets, some for eggs, some for meat birds. They are going to ALL DIE at some point. Better to be humanely dispatched by a LOVING owner than suffer some cruelty like a battery caged bird.

 

[McGoo]

God what a sad world we live in.

I don't know how you can relate 'a sad world' to anything discussed in this thread.

And yes, we do live in a very sad world and all that can be written about it could not fit in this forum nor could I complete it if I wrote from now to eternity, however, I do not understand how this topic is sad.

Sincerely now, which would you prefer... to be starved to death, go through a long drawn out death, be torn apart by a predator ....or be plucked (no play intended) from life without any suffering?

This is not about what happens to the chicken after death, this is merely how best to live and die.​