How often do you get new birds?

[Oz Chickie]

Thelma and Louise won’t ever be eaten or murdered. They will stay as pets for as long as they live.

 

[Judy Todd]

Hello!
I've had chickens for ~3 years, and I've always gotten new chicks in the spring to replace deaths. However, since I restarted my entire flock last February (after a predator got all of my previous girls at once) I've had no deaths, and so I have nothing that I need to replace. However, it's spring, and... I want chicks. So, how often do y'all get new birds?

And, a very connected question, how long do you let your birds live with you? I was very connected to my original flock- treated them like pets- and I was devastated after losing them. I since decided not to get as attached to my hens, and my current girls are much more eye-candy & egg producers than family members. As such, I'm considering transitioning from my plan when I first got chickens- keep them for 6-8 years and replace only as necessary- to getting three/four new chicks every spring and processing my least favorite of the adults every fall once the newbies started laying. (I live in an area with an eight adult hen limit, so this would mean that I'd consistently have 8 layers). How long do you keep birds before 're-purposing' them? On one hand, it feels kind of cruel to cull healthy, laying birds at a year and a half because I don't like them. On the other hand, they'll be better for eating when they're still young-ish, and some of my hens haven't been laying as well as I'd like (I've had at least three that stopped laying in November and still haven't started back up yet. While they'll be fine layers again in March or so, I don't know if I want to keep birds that only lay eight months a year). Also, raising chicks is one of my favorite parts of chicken keeping- and I'd get some good stew hens at least once a year.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts and what you do with your own flocks.

 

[Judy Todd]

Remember a few weeks ago we talked about this exact subject. If you do not cull and get 4 new chicks every spring, yu will end up with a lot of hens. I do not cull at less then two years. They are still laying fairly well and I concentrate on good winter layers.
But cannot resist new baby chicks either, so must cull the less successful layers and there is always, sadly some loss from predators no matter how careful we all are. I suggest you cut down on new chicks every spring and cull at 2 and one half years. You could also rehome your fairly good layers to someone who does not want to bother to raise chicks, cannot imagine that but there are people out there like that. Good luck.

 

[Judy Todd]

I had planned on doing a three year rotation, with new chicks every spring, but based on what I've read on this site, I'm thinking it's better to go with a two year. I have these older birds I'm supposed to process, but I'm pretty sure they are in their 4th year, so I'm wondering if they are too old to even eat if it's better to do it by 18 months.

The older ones make great stock, stewed chicken, good for soup, pot pies and ground up chicken for sandwiches. Never waste a chicken you have raised, so much better then store bought.

 

[Liddy]

This was to be the first year I didn't plan on chick acquisition.

I began wrangling chickens 5 years ago. At the peak, late last year, my flock numbered 64. 63 hens and a Welsummer male that was a sexing error from lasts spring's order. I've found it more reliable to buy chicks from local feed store's mass orders from Mt Healthy. Any weaklings that look questionable are not handed over to customers and being so far away from the shipping hatcheries in the far reaches of northern Maine, the trip is rough on those little peeps. Yes, it's a bit more expensive BUT I have much higher survival rates, which make it a better investment.

I've had turnover due to various reasons: single hens found dead (6), hawk strikes (1), and last week 13 lost to a respiratory illness. I've culled dozens but after raising meat birds last spring, which weighed between 6.6 and 11.3 pounds, the spent hens just don't seem worth the effort of cleaning them. The best old hen went into the pressure cooker for 2 hours, after resting in the fridge for 5 days. She was delectable, on a par with those I've canned.

With a mixed flock, it's well-nigh impossible for me to tell who is laying and who isn't. In general I know who the elders are and cull in the fall. My work schedule last year threw me off my pattern and the illness last week knocked out a dozen of the really old gals as well as the Welsummer cockerel. I'd like to get down to about 2 dozen layers for this summer. If any more begin wheezing and gurgling, I may just completely clean house and plan on a huge "clean, steam and disinfect" project come thaw, with an order of chicks for later in the spring to start anew. I would hate to do that but I am tired of dispatching ailing hens a few at a time.

The prospect of chicks makes me very happy!

 

[featherhead007]

Hello!
I've had chickens for ~3 years, and I've always gotten new chicks in the spring to replace deaths. However, since I restarted my entire flock last February (after a predator got all of my previous girls at once) I've had no deaths, and so I have nothing that I need to replace. However, it's spring, and... I want chicks. So, how often do y'all get new birds?

And, a very connected question, how long do you let your birds live with you? I was very connected to my original flock- treated them like pets- and I was devastated after losing them. I since decided not to get as attached to my hens, and my current girls are much more eye-candy & egg producers than family members. As such, I'm considering transitioning from my plan when I first got chickens- keep them for 6-8 years and replace only as necessary- to getting three/four new chicks every spring and processing my least favorite of the adults every fall once the newbies started laying. (I live in an area with an eight adult hen limit, so this would mean that I'd consistently have 8 layers). How long do you keep birds before 're-purposing' them? On one hand, it feels kind of cruel to cull healthy, laying birds at a year and a half because I don't like them. On the other hand, they'll be better for eating when they're still young-ish, and some of my hens haven't been laying as well as I'd like (I've had at least three that stopped laying in November and still haven't started back up yet. While they'll be fine layers again in March or so, I don't know if I want to keep birds that only lay eight months a year). Also, raising chicks is one of my favorite parts of chicken keeping- and I'd get some good stew hens at least once a year.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts and what you do with your own flocks.

It's hard not to love your birds like family, they are such good companions. And each has his/her own personality.

 

[zchickens_]

I get new ones when the ones I have all die...

 

[NewBoots]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't stand the smell of bone broth. I thought I was just weird.

Got to say I love how the house smells when I am making bone broths. I often mix pork, beef, and chicken bones in my bone broths. If I want a really rich broth with extra collagen I add beef tendon.

 

[featherhead007]

You people make me kinda hungry! I'm ordering pizza'

 

[ponyryd]

We raise Barred Rocks. Our flock runs about 15 with 12 -13 hens and -2 roosters. My wife works at an elementary school so each year we incubate eggs from our chickens for the kindergarten classes. We use the chicks to replace about half our laying flock and dispatch the rest about 12 weeks. The plan is that once the spring chicks are old enough to start laying, late summer early fall, we rotate out the 2 year old hens. This way we always have a mix of young and old birds.

Regarding the roosters, we also raise at least one batch of meat birds each year as well. Every other year when I order the meat bird chicks from the hatchery, we also order 3-5 Barred Rock roosters to replace our current roosters. This insures we always have fresh genes entering the flock.