Do you slaughter your laying hens after 2-3 years, or are they pets for you?

[Kentucky girlz]

My husband says stewpot and I say no way. Our girls sill lay every day it’s been over 3 years

Mine still lay every day in the warmer months that have more daylight as well and they are 3+.

That being said, I had 6 to start with and 3 of them have since died of either disease or predation, so when I got my new chicks this year, I did so knowing I may only have 1 or 2 of my originals by next spring and I wanted to keep on having fresh eggs from my own hens.

So, I have basically decided that I want to keep all mine as pets, and keep my flock around 5-12 replacing as they die.

 

[greenlydia]

When I began raising chickens, about 25 years ago, I knew, even as we were building the coop, that I would NEVER be able to butcher an animal I had raised. Damn good thing I'm NOT a farmer, because I'd die of starvation with my 1600 pound "pets" lounging in the pasture! I believe the core tenet of this thread would be "Know thyself." If you go into raising chickens not only for eggs, but for meat, then I guess you've got the "right stuff." I don't. The first time the post office called and told me my chicks had come in...….I raced into town "to get my babies." THAT kind of thinking was the dead giveaway that these chicks were not just going to any old chicken coop, they were headed for the "Shady Pines Retirement Coop!" Out of that first batch, I had two wonderful Buff Orphingtons that lived almost 9 years! (They died within a week of each other) They definitely ruled that roost like a pair of benevolent dictators! They broke up fights, they protected anybody who was getting picked on, they were fantastic surrogate mothers, and best of all, when everybody was out free ranging, they were SO much better at warning the flock of the presence of coyotes, hawks and eagles, than the roo...…..I can't say enough good things about them. They were my "managers" and did an excellent job of it. There was no way I could toss those two in a stewpot and eat them. After they both died, chaos reigned for a few weeks until an older Brahma stepped up to the plate. She didn't rule with as much of an iron foot as Thelma and Louise did, but order WAS restored and she held that position for another 5 years until one day she just didn't come out of the coop. Over the years I've had many older hens and sometimes entire groups of older hens, which I started calling "The Coven," take over the job. Butcher them? For ME, unthinkable. I should add here that like my hens, I, too, am growing old and my flock is down to 9 hens and the roo. (Since this is probably a family website, I don't think I should tell you HIS name!) Just trust me, he EARNED it! I always have at least one hen that goes broody and I let her keep about 6 eggs to hatch. I've been REALLY lucky and usually end up with only one roo in the litter. When he is a couple months old, I give him to my neighbor. (I know she will butcher him, and being a bleeding heart, that DOES bother me, but at least at that point, I haven't grown too attached to him yet) I do this only because I've seen the carnage when I try to keep the young roo, foolishly thinking and hoping the older roo will allow him to live in peace. His ending at my neighbors is undoubtedly FAR more humane. So.....to butcher or not? That's a really personal decision we must all make. I would just like to think that any of us who write in to a website called "Backyard Chickens," would, at the very least, butcher humanely.

 

[RodNTN]

I have several hens that are no longer laying, and I choose to let them live out their natural lives. My oldest hen is a Black Sex Link, "Jewel" is about to turn 11

 

[Alexandra33]

And, yep, you hit the nail on the head. The one having a reproductive problem is my Red Star. Unfortunately, with the first chickens we ever bought I had not read enough to know about the hazards associated with the production hens. If I had only known then what I know now. Well, that saying could be used with much more than just chickens!

Genetically, production birds seem especially prone to egg tract issues. It's so sad. Very unnatural for a chook to push her body's limits to the point where she burns out after a year or so. I personally would rather support healthier, rarer heritage breeds.

I'm so sorry to hear about your girl. Will she be alright?

~Alex

 

[snow5164]

We process them once their past their peak , they seem in happy , and tired . Last batch was 3 years old , looked really scraggly and I need the room for the next flock .... life on the farm . And only my roosters get names

 

[Mimi13]

When I began raising chickens, about 25 years ago, I knew, even as we were building the coop, that I would NEVER be able to butcher an animal I had raised. Damn good thing I'm NOT a farmer, because I'd die of starvation with my 1600 pound "pets" lounging in the pasture! I believe the core tenet of this thread would be "Know thyself." If you go into raising chickens not only for eggs, but for meat, then I guess you've got the "right stuff." I don't. The first time the post office called and told me my chicks had come in...….I raced into town "to get my babies." THAT kind of thinking was the dead giveaway that these chicks were not just going to any old chicken coop, they were headed for the "Shady Pines Retirement Coop!" Out of that first batch, I had two wonderful Buff Orphingtons that lived almost 9 years! (They died within a week of each other) They definitely ruled that roost like a pair of benevolent dictators! They broke up fights, they protected anybody who was getting picked on, they were fantastic surrogate mothers, and best of all, when everybody was out free ranging, they were SO much better at warning the flock of the presence of coyotes, hawks and eagles, than the roo...…..I can't say enough good things about them. They were my "managers" and did an excellent job of it. There was no way I could toss those two in a stewpot and eat them. After they both died, chaos reigned for a few weeks until an older Brahma stepped up to the plate. She didn't rule with as much of an iron foot as Thelma and Louise did, but order WAS restored and she held that position for another 5 years until one day she just didn't come out of the coop. Over the years I've had many older hens and sometimes entire groups of older hens, which I started calling "The Coven," take over the job. Butcher them? For ME, unthinkable. I should add here that like my hens, I, too, am growing old and my flock is down to 9 hens and the roo. (Since this is probably a family website, I don't think I should tell you HIS name!) Just trust me, he EARNED it! I always have at least one hen that goes broody and I let her keep about 6 eggs to hatch. I've been REALLY lucky and usually end up with only one roo in the litter. When he is a couple months old, I give him to my neighbor. (I know she will butcher him, and being a bleeding heart, that DOES bother me, but at least at that point, I haven't grown too attached to him yet) I do this only because I've seen the carnage when I try to keep the young roo, foolishly thinking and hoping the older roo will allow him to live in peace. His ending at my neighbors is undoubtedly FAR more humane. So.....to butcher or not? That's a really personal decision we must all make. I would just like to think that any of us who write in to a website called "Backyard Chickens," would, at the very least, butcher humanely.

This was a wonderfully written post.

 

[Mimi13]

Genetically, production birds seem especially prone to egg tract issues. It's so sad. Very unnatural for a chook to push her body's limits to the point where she burns out after a year or so. I personally would rather support healthier, rarer heritage breeds.

I'm so sorry to hear about your girl. Will she be alright?

~Alex

I honestly do not know since this is my first experience with a hen having her problems. It seems she knows when she needs me to intervene because she will lay on the deck at my back door waiting on me to get her. For whatever reason she will lay her egg while still on the roost. Sometimes her egg will have burst when it hits the board. Then sometimes, since her eggs are extremely large, she will push and squeeze and push and squeeze until the egg breaks inside her. All of the yolk and albumen will leak out, along with a partial shell and sometimes with no shell at all. I will get her and take her into my bathroom and soak her, clean her feathers and, with a lubricated finger, help her release the remainder of the shell. I will blow dry her feathers and make her look all ladylike again. I have at times put Preparation H on her bent to help reduce swelling. So far her vent has not completely prolapsed, but she’s been very close a time or two. She is a very sweet hen and is my “Chatty Cathy” of the bunch. She definitely lets me know when she is in need of help and, believe it or not, I think she really enjoys the spa day. However, I know she’d rather be out scouring the yard for goodies with her old, biddy buddies. When I take her back outside, she will run off to be with them, doing that little chicken run/hop through the grass.
She has not laid an egg in the nest box since April.

 

[Chickassan]

Nope, my girls won't ever be dinner. I knew that going in. I'm old so they'll get old with me. When they stop laying they can pull their weight eating bugs and making fertilzer. I personally don't like the notion of ending a life because it dosen't benefit me in a way that it once did it just seems wrong. I don't fault people who do it, but i'm just not cut out to butcher anything.