End Of Life Issues -

[Life is Good!]

Our flock of heritage breed hens (Black java's) are now in their sixth year - and all are still laying regularly and all are healthy. So your 'five year plan' might need to be adjusted according to the type of breed you select. Some breeds do not have longevity as layers...most breed do.

Our 'original' hens have now raised 5yrs worth of daughters, and have taught them exceptionally well - I can handle any bird in the flock, they come to me when I call to them and they are not frightened of me (in general). The hens routinely go broody every spring, the boys do not get to stay with us - but live a very comfortable life for about 5-10 months when they are sent off to 'Camp Frigidaire' by us. Do I look forward to this task? No. Do I enjoy having our own meat? Yes. So two years into our 'chicken program', we began raising meat birds for our family's use. Yes, they get names too (as long as it's a small-ish batch of birds....25 is too many names to remember!). We always have a rooster for flock protection from aerial predators - and this breed is known to go broody, so therefore, we end up with a fair number of cockerals to deal with. The very first year of broody hens produced 11 boys, 1 girl! Yes, you read that right - 11 boys to deal with! So, we learned quickly - from youtube videos mostly - as there isn't anyone we know who could teach us.

I obtain a new rooster as a three-day old chick from the farm where my flock originally came from every summer. He is raised side-by-side with the current rooster, who teaches him pretty well. Then the 'old' rooster goes to Camp Frigidaire. This way, no inter-breeding is done intentionally in my flock.

All our chickens get names. Some of the cockerals get names such as "dumpling, stew, roaster, frier, Tuesday, Sunday fellowship, etc!" All are treated with the utmost respect. No, I never anticipated having to dispatch chickens to Camp Frigidaire - but once we got into chicken-keeping, we realized how simple, practical and rewarding it is to have a mixed use flock. Especially if your hens are broody - because it's only a 50/50 chance you'll get a pullet! What do you do with the cockerals? And watching a broody hen with her brand-new hatched chicks is simply the most beautiful thing.....

Good luck! I'm glad to hear you're thinking ahead - too many folks simply go to a farm store in the spring and 'impulse buy' chicks or ducks before realizing what they're getting into.

 

[chicknmania]

We have hens as old as 8 who still lay regularly. We have a 9 year old hen who took over (on her own) as broody on a nest last year for a hen that was killed by a predator. We keep as pets and egg producers. All ours have names. If they are too old to lay regularly, they can act as extras for the rooster (s) or just enjoy retirement, or, as in the above case, be useful in some other way. . When they reach the condition where they are no longer enjoying life, then we can decide to cull them.

I really think how anyone culls their chickens, as long as it is humane, is their business, and it is not "cowardly" or "unwillingness to face death" that some people choose to have a vet, or a third party, cull their birds.

 

[Mrs. K]

It will really depend on your luck and your chickens. I have had chickens that looked very old at 3 years of age. We have cold winters here, and they were stiff and slow. Predators have always kept my numbers in check, and really I had chickens for years, before I ever culled one. After some experience, I do have a safe run/coop, but I love to let them out.

I have for years had a Buff Orpington, named Butter. She has always been a great broody hen for me.... however, not always the same bird. You will get breeds you like, birds you like, and really... there will be birds or breeds that you don't. Some won't fit in the flock, some are sick or crippled, some are mean. You don't have to keep them.

How you dispatch the bird, do it the best you can, or can afford to have done.

I have no idea why so many people think much of chicken raising has to be filled with guilt. It is a hobby for most of us. Do it the way you want. I would be against starving birds, or poor husbandry, but please don't feel guilty for anything else.

Mrs K

 

[ChickenLegs13]

As a responsible animal owner it's my obligation to be responsible through all life stages, regardless if it's a chicken, dog, cat, or horse. Enjoying the good times then bailing when the good time are over and paying somebody else to kill your animal because you're afraid to face death is irresponsible and selfish, IMO.

I have no problem swinging the hatchet on a chicken, even when it's a special chicken. My chicken, my responsibility.

How would it be irresponsible and selfish if I hire someone to butcher and process my birds?  I don't have the skill or facility to do so myself.  If I hire someone to humanely butcher and process my spent birds, I am still the one responsible for how, when, and under what conditions they die.  It might be by a different method than you employ, and might not be directly by my hand, but I am still the one deciding to kill the animal.

Big difference between not being a qualified butcher and being a conscientious objector "hipster" so appalled by the thought of taking a life that they pay smoebody else to do it so they won't feel guilty.

 

[azygous]

This thread is very thoughtful with a lot of very thoughtful replies. There is no need to judge people who are unable to deal with dispatching a chicken themselves. We each have our limitations and "squeamish" factor. Taking a pet chicken that needs to be euthanized to a vet or a butcher because you are unable to face doing it yourself, isn't a deplorable act, as long as you aren't allowing an animal to needlessly suffer.

It's wise to encourage thought on the matter of how the chicken lives that you've been entrusted with are to end when they are sick or injured or can no longer have normal lives. One might even take it a step beyond that and consider what would become of your flock should something happen to YOU, their caregiver. If you live alone, as I do, what provisions are in place so that your flock won't be abandoned and left to starve? That issue is even harder to deal with than the end-of-life issues for individual chickens. I'm still struggling with it.

 

[chicknmania]

This thread is very thoughtful with a lot of very thoughtful replies. There is no need to judge people who are unable to deal with dispatching a chicken themselves. We each have our limitations and "squeamish" factor. Taking a pet chicken that needs to be euthanized to a vet or a butcher because you are unable to face doing it yourself, isn't a deplorable act, as long as you aren't allowing an animal to needlessly suffer.

It's wise to encourage thought on the matter of how the chicken lives that you've been entrusted with are to end when they are sick or injured or can no longer have normal lives. One might even take it a step beyond that and consider what would become of your flock should something happen to YOU, their caregiver. If you live alone, as I do, what provisions are in place so that your flock won't be abandoned and left to starve? That issue is even harder to deal with than the end-of-life issues for individual chickens. I'm still struggling with it.

X2!

 

[ChickenLegs13]

This thread is very thoughtful with a lot of very thoughtful replies. There is no need to judge people who are unable to deal with dispatching a chicken themselves. We each have our limitations and "squeamish" factor. Taking a pet chicken that needs to be euthanized to a vet or a butcher because you are unable to face doing it yourself, isn't a deplorable act, as long as you aren't allowing an animal to needlessly suffer.

You ever read the "HELP how do i euthanize my chicken" threads? The squeamish folks that don't want to get their hands bloody or pay a vet $100 to kill their $2 chicken are quick to accept other nifty ways to kill their beloved birds such as freezing them to death in a freezer, drowning, feeding them to a snake, hooking them up to the tailpipe of their car, or sealing them in a container of vinegar & baking soda. That type is who I'm refering to as irresponsible & deplorable, not the people who take their birds to a slaughterhouse to be processed.
Apparently my 2 slow fat fingers did a poor job of typing what my mind was trying to say.

 

[pdirt]

As a responsible animal owner it's my obligation to be responsible through all life stages, regardless if it's a chicken, dog, cat, or horse. Enjoying the good times then bailing when the good time are over and paying somebody else to kill your animal because you're afraid to face death is irresponsible and selfish, IMO.
I have no problem swinging the hatchet on a chicken, even when it's a special chicken. My chicken, my responsibility.

I can understand the irresponsibility of someone who tries to pass off their animals to someone else because they don't want to deal with them anymore. Animal shelters tend to exist largely due to irresponsible animal owners. But paying someone to butcher the animals is no less responsible than doing it yourself. It gives someone a job and gives the owner peace of mind that it was done properly and as humanely as possible.

 

[RonP]

I knew what I was getting into before I built my coop and run.

I sized it to comfortably hold around 30 birds.

I started with 6.

Every year I get 2-3 more.

I have plenty of eggs, 90% I gift away.

All look healthy.

I will put one down, only if I see it's quality of life decline, to stop the suffering, but not if it just isn't producing.

Same as with my dog. Quality of life is paramount.

My birds are pets with benefits...much the same as my dog...

I currently have 11 and 3 are 6+ years old now.

 

[chicknmania]

You ever read the "HELP how do i euthanize my chicken" threads? The squeamish folks that don't want to get their hands bloody or pay a vet $100 to kill their $2 chicken are quick to accept other nifty ways to kill their beloved birds such as freezing them to death in a freezer, drowning, feeding them to a snake, hooking them up to the tailpipe of their car, or sealing them in a container of vinegar & baking soda. That type is who I'm refering to as irresponsible & deplorable, not the people who take their birds to a slaughterhouse to be processed.
Apparently my 2 slow fat fingers did a poor job of typing what my mind was trying to say.

I have yet to pay more than 10.00 or 15.00 to have a chicken put down by a vet. I have read stories on here about vets euthanizing birds for free. I would hope that if someone decides to do it themselves, they don't use the methods you described.