How do you "retire" your old layers?

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you for some really helpful suggestions.

I like the idea of selling at 2 years...will try that.

I also have several that are laying so poorly I think the only thing is to butcher them...I will try the stew and fridge method.

I am not sure I could handle all the plucking (I have done that before), so I may decide to go to the butcher to do it...$4 a bird isn't so bad compared to the extra cost in chiro if I tweak the shoulder again.

Thank you all again. And thank you all for remaining courteous and tactful of others.
Lady of McCamley

 

[Wednesday]

Good luck! They butchered 10 hens in less than 30 minutes. I'm frugal but it would have taken me all day and since the birds were free, it was totally worth it for me.

 

[donrae]

You can also easily skin the birds instead of plucking them. Saves us a ton of time and effort.

 

[bobbi-j]

We butcher and pressure-can our spent hens. I love having canned chicken on hand - you can use it for so many things! Chicken soup, chicken stew, chicken salad, chicken sandwiches, anything that calls for cooked chicken. For me, it's only worthwhile if I have enough for a canner full of jars, though. It's kind of time consuming. We kill the hen, peel back the skin from the breast, thighs and legs. I take those, and then bone out the legs. In the past, I've just tossed the rest of the carcass, but I think in the future I will gut them, skin the rest of the carcass and boil them for the broth and whatever bits of meat I can get off of them. It's great soup stock.