How many of y'all have 'senior" hens still laying?

[kees]

I'm glad that you asked that question! I have a Silkie that laid approximately one egg each day (but not during the winter months) and then stopped. Nothing at all this year. I'm hoping that she'll be more productive next year but I'm thinking that she won't.

 

[jonesgirl]

So does the longevity of the laying depend on the breed? This is a very interesting thread...

 

[ntiveheart]

Quote:
i have two rir who i consider quite elderly that still lay the occasional egg. they are both 8 or 9 this year. tricky little girls though..........they are the first to escape the run and the last to be caught.....in days gone by, we used to find huge stashes of eggs in the most unlikely places! lol

 

[cottagegarden]

We have 4 5 year old EEs and they were laying EOD in the fall, but not yet since then. Doesnt matter, plenty of eggs from everybody else and they have earned their happy chicken retirement when they stop.

 

[bayouchica]

I have several 4 year old Buff Orps that have started laying again this spring. I get an egg about every other day from them. They are slackers in the winter, but I love'em anyways.

 

[Pupsnpullets]

My RIR look-alike layed eggs right up until the coyotes got her at 7 years old. 2 or 3 a week, sometimes more.

 

[Donnadzitall]

I have a RIR that lays 2-3 eggs a week. She is 7 years old. I did have an (aracauna?Ameracauna? Not an EE) that laid huge blue eggs. (she was white and rumpless with tuffs) she was 8 years old. She passed away last summer. I wish I had some of her offspring now!!

 

[chantald]

very interesting thread, thank you! I was told chickens only lay for one year.. and this had me quite upset.. it is a whole lot of work to raise a chicken to get only 1 year of eggs!

I don't light them in the winter, figure let nature run it's course.. and was hoping to get more than 1 year out of them.. looks like I will

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Actually back when I originally posted this question it was for that very reason. Adding light does not somehow magically increase the amount of eggs you'll get from a hen; only the time frame in which you'll get those eggs.
If you don't add light, your hens may slow down or even stop in the wintertime but chances are they'll keep laying for years to come, at least a few eggs here and there in their senior years.

 

[ranchhand]

When I moved from Austin, TX to SC, I gave my black sex-link to my old neighbor. He added her to his flock. That was in 2001. I don't know her exact age, but she is about 11 years old, and still lays 3-4 eggs a week!

Attilla the Hen is now Attilla the Amazing Hen!