How long will my chickens live?

Are your hens free range? Do you plan on deworming each year at least? What brand/formula of food do you give them? These things can affect lifespan. I have read that heritage breeds like Barred Rocks can live up to 15 years if they have a healthy environment! I have a 6 yo Welsummer I’m hoping makes it that long. I’m not sure of the life expectancy of Easter Eggers, but this information may be in the Learning Center under the breed catalogue. Our Easter Egger is 4 years old, but still acts like a fussy teenager chicken 🤣
 
Are your hens free range? Do you plan on deworming each year at least? What brand/formula of food do you give them? These things can affect lifespan. I have read that heritage breeds like Barred Rocks can live up to 15 years if they have a healthy environment! I have a 6 yo Welsummer I’m hoping makes it that long. I’m not sure of the life expectancy of Easter Eggers, but this information may be in the Learning Center under the breed catalogue. Our Easter Egger is 4 years old, but still acts like a fussy teenager chicken 🤣
I take them outside every single day but I live in an area with foxes and bears so I cant let them free range, I will de-worm them every year and I feed the fruits, veggies, and organic grit for chicks, they are 7 weeks old.
 
Hard to say. There are people on BYC that have the occasional 10 yo bird! Others (such as myself) have gone out to the run to a suddenly dead chicken at 1 yo, not due to any attack, just dead from something internal, I guess. My oldest chickens are 2.5 years old, so the longetivity of ours have yet to be seen.

as they age, the often stop laying or lay only occasionally. Some are fine keeping older chickens and feeding them without getting eggs. Others are not, so they sell or butcher the older ones.
 
I've never had chickens that live very long. Most of mine live an average of 4.5 years. But this is buff Orpingtons and they apparently have a lower life expectancy than most breeds. I have always hoped to have a chicken live until a nice ripe old age, but, as of yet, that hasn't happened.
I am feeling decidedly hopeful about my oldest hen at the moment however, as she is full of beans still.
 
I am definitely the one to keep the hens after they stop laying. My chicken coop is doomed to be an old ladies home.
One of my hens hasn't laid since she was about a year old, and never any good ones. She's about four years old now.
I also have a great weakness for roosters. Not very good for a chicken keeper that cannot stop herself hatching chicks! But there you go.
 
I take them outside every single day but I live in an area with foxes and bears so I cant let them free range, I will de-worm them every year and I feed the fruits, veggies, and organic grit for chicks, they are 7 weeks old.
I've never had chickens that live very long. Most of mine live an average of 4.5 years. But this is buff Orpingtons and they apparently have a lower life expectancy than most breeds. I have always hoped to have a chicken live until a nice ripe old age, but, as of yet, that hasn't happened.
I am feeling decidedly hopeful about my oldest hen at the moment however, as she is full of beans still.
Hard to say. There are people on BYC that have the occasional 10 yo bird! Others (such as myself) have gone out to the run to a suddenly dead chicken at 1 yo, not due to any attack, just dead from something internal, I guess. My oldest chickens are 2.5 years old, so the longetivity of ours have yet to be seen.

as they age, the often stop laying or lay only occasionally. Some are fine keeping older chickens and feeding them without getting eggs. Others are not, so they sell or butcher the older ones.
Thank you guys for the help!
 
No reason to deworm yearly. I don't believe in treating things that you haven't verified to be an issue. If you're concerned about worms, best to take a fecal sample to the vet and ask for a fecal float. Once you have the results, then you'll know exactly what types of worms, if any, you need to treat for.
 

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