Hens ready to retire...

[cchicken]

Hi everybody,

First off, what a great forum this is! Thanks everybody for all the information I have already found!

My husband and I are in the planning stages of getting chickens for eggs. Yes, for eggs only. We both don't eat meat of any kind and do at present not have plans to do so even if we have our own animals.

My parents always had chickens, so I'm familiar with the basics, and back then I did not have issues with them being slaughtered - fundamentally, I still do not have a problem with people eating meat. What's more important is that you provide the animal a happy, healthy life and an end that's as stress-free as possible. We plan on letting our hens be free-range with good-quality organic feed.

Sooo... any ideas of what one could do with laying hens that are ready to retire? I guess I could keep them in old age until they die of natural causes, have somebody come slaughter the animals and we sell the meat, or sell the live birds (this could be very stressful though for the animals)? I am sure we won't be able to kill the birds ourselves.

How old can a laying hen be and still be acceptable for for-sale meat (i.e. soup chicken)?

Please bear with me on this, as I'm trying to find my personal way.

Thanks a bunch!
/C

 

[colowyo0809]

As this is our first year raising chickens I don't have any personal experience, but.....
having said that, as near as I can tell, as long as the bird is alive it's meat is worth something. Provided, of course. that the bird in question isn't sick or dying or of such low quality it ain't worth it. You can make soup or stew out of pretty much any bird, so really its all good

Of course, I could be terribly wrong on this, and I eagerly await clarification from others more knowledgeable than myself

btw

. Even if you don't eat meat, at least your eating!

 

[cchicken]

Dear colowyo0809,

Thanks for your reply. Night owl, heh? Yep, me too... Thanks for welcoming me to BYC!

Because we don't eat meat, it's especially important to find good quality protein substitutes. I personally can't have much soy for health reasons, so I rely heavily on egg whites for protein.

Let's see what other responses we get on this topic...
/C

 

[bigchicken2]

If your chickens are retired don't eat them. They've been working for you their whole lives. Let them live longer, Pay them back for all those eggs!

 

[dichotomymom]

If you're going to sell the meat, you'd need to market them as stewing hens (to make it clear they are not young birds). While it's a nice thought, I can't justify letting birds live that aren't laying so we butcher ours after they stop.

 

[colowyo0809]

CCHICKEN: not really a night owl, just late shifter. Waiting for my tea to finish steeping so I can drink it, relax, and go to bed

Soy has a whole host of problems associated with it that I don't feel are compensated enough for by the good qualities. I stay away from the stuff myself whenever possible

I tend to agree with dichotomymom's viewpoint. If they ain't working, then you need to replace them with ones who do, just like any other job

While I don't expect to be eaten

, I do expect that if I don't do my work I will get let go for it. Same concept with the chickens.

 

[featherz]

I am wondering - when my hens are done laying, how about letting them free range in our forest for tick/bug control? we have a barn we could put them up in when it gets cold, but they'd still be 'working'. We'll have guineas also, but we have 25+ acres to cover..

I have some years to think about this as my birds are only two months+ old.

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
That can certainly work if you're in a year-round warm weather area, but you'd still need to feed over the winter (bugs disappear, grasses are dead) IF you get winters.

cchicken, all of your options are viable. You probably won't know until that time comes, because (especially if you have a small flock) you may have become quite attached to the birds. Or, on the other hand, you may have become quite attached to the EGGS (lol), want to keep up with new layers, and not have room for your older birds. Who knows? Do know that many people have chickens that lay for MANY years, although in their old age may only lay 2 eggs a week as opposed to 6 eggs, if that helps. I've said since day one that my girls are pets (w/egg benefits), so they will be treated as such when they're old. But if they don't feel like pets to you by then, then I'm sure you can find someone who will take them off your hands for stew meat.

 

[nancy1zak]

Quote:
I agree!

 

[jjparke]

Here's what I do. I replenish my flock every 2 years. That way I always have good layers but I can still reasonably sell the older ones.