how long do chickens live?

[brookecoast]

from what i've gathered they will lay 3-4 years? but how long will they live assuming i don't have the heart to stew them?

 

[Illia]

Hatchery bred hens lay 3-4 years.

Non-hatchery hens can have a productive life anywhere from 3-7 years, sometimes even longer. As for life itself, a hen can normally live beyond 8 years, granted she doesn't run into internal egg-laying, egg-bound issues, etc.

 

[tallyho]

It varies. I have some 8 year old EEs who are still laying. One is very frisky and is still the head hen. I get an egg from her about 2 times per week. The other reminds me of a little old lady. She's slow, doesn't get involved in coop politics, minds her own business and everytime I look at her she's asleep. She lays 1 egg about every 2 weeks. And she has grey feathers under her chin! I had a friend who had a 10 yo girl and she had stopped laying all together. Of course getting them to that age is the hard part. There are many things out there that like chicken dinners.

Oh,and I forgot to mention that the eggs that come from the frisky one tend to have shell defects and a hole at the end. And both girls' whites seem much runnier than the younger hens' eggs. I usually just cook theirs up and feed it to the chicks or back the the big girls.

 

[brookecoast]

thanks for the info! i had no idea they could lay for that long.

 

[Louise's Country Closet]

Wow! 10 years?? I never would have thought they'd live that long!!

 

[Illia]

There's a BYC user on here with a 20 yr old Quechua hen.

(Quechua are the origin of Easter Eggers and Ameraucanas)

 

[SilverPhoenix]

In my experience, standard laying breeds live 6-9 years (but usually more on the 6-7 end), and bantams about 9-15 years. I have two hens that are going on thirteen, my third hen who was going on thirteen passed away the other day. The other two are healthy as can be, though. I've heard that rarely chickens can live to be 25 years old.

 

[wbruder17]

Wow! Its really great to hear that they CAN live that long. I love my chickens so much and hate to think about losing any of them...even tho I keep getting more.

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Quote:
Yes, they definitely can live for quite a while! I've seen them live these lifespans myself (well, I started keeping chickens just under thirteen years ago so not more than that), so I can attest that it's definitely true! Of course sometimes a bird just dies suddenly/unexpectedly when they're young, but for the most part chickens are hardy and don't seem elderly even into their advanced years. A person would have trouble picking out my two old girls from the rest of the flock, they are very vigorous, a good weight, and don't have anything wrong with them at all. They could easily make it another several years.