Help me decide. Voice your opinion.

[chickendude]

I have 6, 1 1/2 year old RIR hens. They have been good to us with their eggs for a full year now. We hatched out two of their eggs and now have 1, 3 month old cockerel and 1, 3 month old pullet. I am considering processing the 6 hens for future soup stock and keeping the 2 young birds. And then in the spring I will add some day old chicks to the 2 younger ones. I am considering this for a couple of reasons. 1st I hear that hens tend to slow down on the egg production at about 2 years of age. 2nd or coop is about 25 sq feet and the run is 200 sq feet. With 8 birds in the coop through the winter it will be to crowded for them. The plan is to build a much larger coop in the early spring to accommodate a larger # of chickens. Any and all opinions are welcome here. Nothing is set in stone so please voice your opinion.

 

[CMV]

I would wait until they are 3 y.o. to process. They don't slow down that much in the first year after molt, and their eggs are the biggest they will ever be.

Good luck.

 

[gryeyes]

What CMV said.

 

[Judy]

Quote:

I don't believe dispatching them at 1 1/2 years would be the most efficient or economical approach. You have a lot of feed invested in them. They could lay nearly as well for one or even several years as they have been.

Their soup will be even better when they are older, too.

 

[33yardbirds]

I agree with the previous. You'll be missing out on some nice size eggs and good numbers.

 

[TheMainException]

Ditto to above.

 

[donrae]

If you don't want to keep them, maybe offer them on craigslist. My local farm and garden section has a healthy amount of 18mo hens for sale at about ten dollars each, and still posts looking for layers. Not that I'm against eating "spent" hens, I just dont' think they're spent until a year later.

 

[Lbrad7]

Quote:
What gryeyes said that CMV said! I totally agree!

 

[Robin'sBrood]

I agree, I would definitely wait. What if your pullet gets sick or dies... the roo won't be able to give you anything and then you'd be without eggs. Besides, your laying girls are still in the prime of their lives.

On a side note, my DH is from Dutchess County (near Poughkeepsie). It is gorgeous there! Have the leaves started to turn yet?

 

[BWchicken]

I agree. They're in the prime of their lives and you'll get plentiful eggs from them for a while to come.