Hens ready to retire...

[joebryant]

Pay to have your old hens/roosters processed. Then, along with extra vegetables from your garden, give them to your local food bank. We too easily forget that there are many people going hungry in the U.S. right now. Take some veggies to your food bank and see the line desperate people waiting for them.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

You may have poultry swaps in your local area. We have a fair number of people from other countries that actually prefer birds with some character to them for the flavor and texture it gives to the meat. I recently sold every surplus rooster I had this way.

 

[cobrien]

I also don't eat meat but don't have problems with it in concept, provided the animal is raised with care and slaughtered without stress.

If you care about the stress on the animal, then the best thing is not to kill them. The next best thing imo is to kill them yourself - they will be used to you, in their own environment. Next best is to have someone you know do it, provided you know their methods, but have it done on your property in a place the bird is familiar with but far from the flock. Animals get stressed in new environments or hearing panicked cries of other animals. Selling them to strangers or bringing them someplace to get slaughtered would be a very stressful experience for a chicken.

If you are getting the chickens only for eggs for yourself, then you don't need that many hens. If you get just enough hens to meet your egg needs, you can add a few more every 2 years and let your hens retire while still laying some eggs. 2 year old hens still lay plenty of eggs. That's what I do, but as you said you need to find what feels right to you. Good luck.

 

[Jeeper1540]

It depends on how much you care about the flock. for pets, or just for eggs?

Are you interested in constantly having eggs? then keep the hens a few years, sell them, and get a new flock, as they slow down in laying as they get older.

for pets? let them live as long as they want! they will lay eggs from most or all their life, but they will slow down as they get older.

 

[cchicken]

thank you everybody for your replies -- there is certainly a lot to think about.

Although I do not cherish the idea of having the birds butchered, I also don't care for the birds to grow old and frail, possibly sick and eventually die on their own either, especially with the chicken pecking order, etc.

For now, I have come to prefer the solution of having the birds killed on site (to avoid relocation stress) by somebody who really knows what they are doing (quick and efficient - minimal suffering). Thanks joebryant, my husband and I truly love the idea of donating the meat to the food pantry. Alas, we ourselves were in need of food pantry trips when hubby was out of a job and times were truly rough, so we cherish the idea of contributing. We had already discussed dropping off some eggs each week in any case.

As I grew up on my parent's little (hobby) farm where we grew animals for meat (chickens, turkeys, rabbits, sheep, beef, ...), I am familiar with the not-a-pet concept. It's hard sometimes, but it's the reality.

I start to feel quite comfortable with this "retirement" plan actually. Thanks everyone for your feedback! If you have any further ideas, I'd love to hear it.

Much obliged,
/C

 

[dftkarin]

I only have a tiny flock but when they slow down with their laying - they will be welcome to live out their lives as pets/entertainment - I expect that they will continue to lay for years - just not as frequently - and that will be fine for us. We do eat meat and I'm in total support of raising and processing one's own meat birds - but my hens are pets (with benefits) and I will see them through to their natural deaths.

 

[Doodles21]

If you have a garden then you can let the chickens work pest control (thus avoiding pesticides) and use their droppings in your compost heap for fertilizer. That way they are still "earning their keep" even when the egg production slows down.

And l like the idea of using the chickens to reduce the ticks around the house. Once I start my flock I think I'll let them forage in the large dog lot we have (minus the dogs of course!) to help reduce the number of nasty bugs our pups bring in.