Hens to old to lay

[mebuff daisy]

Some of my hens are not laying much,a egg once a week ? what do i do with them ? I cannot kill them or let anyone else kill them
Thy our old, 2 or 3 years I am getting more hens and need the space. Thy are not earning there keep.

 

[Folly's place]

They may be molting and will get better. They may be developing a problem, and will get sicker. They may just be laying fewer eggs because of their breed/ genetics. My favorite hens stay forever, others may be eaten, or move to someone who MIGHT keep them as pets, or eat them. The reality is that you must make decisions about caring for your hens as they get older. Birds in commercial flocks live short miserable lives; most of us want better for our birds, and you must choose. Mary

 

[Strader]

I would have to give mine away as I do not kill anything I have held and had for 3 years. I don't have a bunch of room so I will attempt to give them to someone in the country, but if I was in the country and not the city I would let them stay forever.

 

[aart]

Some of my hens are not laying much,a egg once a week ? what do i do with them ? I cannot kill them or let anyone else kill them
Thy our old, 2 or 3 years I am getting more hens and need the space. Thy are not earning there keep.

Want to have your cake and eat it too, huh?
Keeping hens for eggs is great, but part of that is being responsible for the lives of extra roos and spent hens.

They would earn their keep if you made a nice pot of soup out of them and complete the circle of animals for food.
I know it's hard to harvest an animal, one of the hardest....and one of the most satisfying.... things I've ever done.

Either let them be eaten by someone in need or make room and buy food to keep them with you until they die naturally.

 

[donrae]

What breeds are you keeping? I have hatchery barred Rocks that are 3-4 years old and are laying much better than that.

but, breeds aside, you need to decide if your birds are pets or livestock. Pets have a forever home and don't necessarily need to "earn" their place. Livestock has a purpose and once that purpose is fulfilled, it becomes dinner or is sold to become someone else's dinner. So, you either keep your hens as non-producing pets, or butcher them or sell them to someone who will butcher them.

There just aren't many rainbow homes for non-producing livestock. There are some places that take birds like you're describing, but they're few and far between.

 

[RonP]

The very reason I built a coop and run large enough to hold ~25 birds.
I started with 5 and have been introducing 2 or 3 every year.
Still get enough eggs for the family, and have quite a collection of pets, some now 5 years old.

 

[Traphill]

I have 7 three yr old hens and I am Getting 5 eggs a day...now last fall when they molted there was nothing until spring. I have speckled Sussex, austrlorp and easter eggers. All three of the red sex links died at three years within 3 weeks of each other like they were just worn out.....

 

[henless]

Some of my hens are not laying much,a egg once a week ? what do i do with them ? I cannot kill them or let anyone else kill them
Thy our old, 2 or 3 years I am getting more hens and need the space. Thy are not earning there keep.

I don't know anyone who would want hens past laying age. If you can't cull them, then looks like you will have to keep them till they die of old age.

 

[mebuff daisy]

I have red stars,buffs,partridge rocks,white rocks and black astrolorps

What breeds are you keeping? I have hatchery barred Rocks that are 3-4 years old and are laying much better than that.

but, breeds aside, you need to decide if your birds are pets or livestock. Pets have a forever home and don't necessarily need to "earn" their place. Livestock has a purpose and once that purpose is fulfilled, it becomes dinner or is sold to become someone else's dinner. So, you either keep your hens as non-producing pets, or butcher them or sell them to someone who will butcher them.

There just aren't many rainbow homes for non-producing livestock. There are some places that take birds like you're describing, but they're few and far between.

 

[Mrs. K]

somehow, getting new chicks/chickens, helps me with culling old chickens. My old chickens get crabby, and they go into the pot...... except for Butter, she has been my number one broody hen, raised several clutches of chicks, and she gets to stay as long as she wants.

I like keeping a flock. Birds come in and birds go out of the flock. That helps me.

Mrs K