How old do your hens REALLY get?

[KyloChicken]

How old do your hens really get? I have a mixed group of chickens (roosters, hens, and young ones) free roaming. At night they are locked into the coop and as soon as the sun is about to come up the automatic doors open and they are off.

The reason I’m asking: I get VERY attached to every single one of my birds. Ignoring the few that have been taken by predators we had what feels like too many hens die too young. All the people that I talk to tell me they barely ever loose a hen before they are old and go down due to old age. I’m either making major mistakes in my management practices or I don’t know what’s going on!

I know all my birds by name, can pick them all up easily (even the roosters) and can tell if someone isn’t feeling right! I have the impression that those breeds with higher egg laying numbers just either go downhill when they are about to start laying or after a few months of laying.

I spot clean my coop (12 feet by 12 feet) daily and completely clean it at least every 6 weeks. Droppings never accumulate. They free range all day, have access to mixed flock crumbled feed and water in various locations, have multiple options for oyster shell, dust baths, are getting dewormed regularly, and are checked upon daily!

I’ve just had to euthanize 2 birds again and I’m heartbroken! One was young and started developing neurological issues and the other had an infection in the reproductive system that didn’t respond to treatment. Am I doing something wrong? Or is this just what it is like for you as well? The least problematic breed with no losses we have are brahmas which are a year old now!

So please tell me! How old do your hens get?

 

[MysteryChicken]

My oldest hens range from 3 - 4 - 5 - 9yrs of age.

You're doing nothing wrong.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My oldest are 11 or 12 now. I have one from thar group left. Next oldest are either 10 or 11, currently have two left, but in a few days it will be one left based on how my gal is slowing down

 

[lagrange chicks]

How old do your hens really get? I have a mixed group of chickens (roosters, hens, and young ones) free roaming. At night they are locked into the coop and as soon as the sun is about to come up the automatic doors open and they are off.

The reason I’m asking: I get VERY attached to every single one of my birds. Ignoring the few that have been taken by predators we had what feels like too many hens die too young. All the people that I talk to tell me they barely ever loose a hen before they are old and go down due to old age. I’m either making major mistakes in my management practices or I don’t know what’s going on!

I know all my birds by name, can pick them all up easily (even the roosters) and can tell if someone isn’t feeling right! I have the impression that those breeds with higher egg laying numbers just either go downhill when they are about to start laying or after a few months of laying.

I spot clean my coop (12 feet by 12 feet) daily and completely clean it at least every 6 weeks. Droppings never accumulate. They free range all day, have access to mixed flock crumbled feed and water in various locations, have multiple options for oyster shell, dust baths, are getting dewormed regularly, and are checked upon daily!

I’ve just had to euthanize 2 birds again and I’m heartbroken! One was young and started developing neurological issues and the other had an infection in the reproductive system that didn’t respond to treatment. Am I doing something wrong? Or is this just what it is like for you as well? The least problematic breed with no losses we have are brahmas which are a year old now!

So please tell me! How old do your hens get?

What was the infection in the reproductive system? The reason I ask as I have a hen who has laid soft eggs, lash egg and now about once a week lays a huge egg. She can barley walk a day before and day after, have had thoughts of putting her out of her misery. She just went through the calcium citrate with d3 for a week.

 

[KyloChicken]

What was the infection in the reproductive system? The reason I ask as I have a hen who has laid soft eggs, lash egg and now about once a week lays a huge egg. She can barley walk a day before and day after, have had thoughts of putting her out of her misery. She just went through the calcium citrate with d3 for a week.

Yes, it was I caught it somewhat early and managed to stabilize her over weeks. But she never recovered and I ended up euthanizing her before she started to decline again. Broke my heart! These decisions are so tough to make

 

[KyloChicken]

My oldest hens range from 3 - 4 - 5 - 9yrs of age.

You're doing nothing wrong.

Thank you for your response! That makes me feel a lot better and hopeful that some of our ladies will get suuuuuuuper old

 

[KyloChicken]

My oldest are 11 or 12 now. I have one from thar group left. Next oldest are either 10 or 11, currently have two left, but in a few days it will be one left based on how my gal is slowing down

I hope to have some of our ladies stay with us for that long all the best for your old ladies

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thank you for your response! That makes me feel a lot better and hopeful that some of our ladies will get suuuuuuuper old

It has to do with type of chicken(None Hybrid Egg Layers), the feed they get, & how well they're cared for.

 

[Matilda84]

Hybrids generally live for much less time than pure breeds, and hens which lay lots of eggs generally also have shorter lifespans due to increased risk of developing reproductive infections such as egg peritonitis.

Out of the hens I have had (all hybrid egg laying breeds) the oldest any have lived is 4. One had to be euthanized young as she developed chronic lameness and couldn't walk without being in pain, one got sick at about 2 years old, the vet said possibly from an internal tumor, one died just after she turned 4, due to a reproductive infection, and one is 4 and still living but is definitely going downhill and I expect she won't make it much longer. The others are still alive but they are young (about a year old or less). I was also worried I was doing something wrong when I saw online that the 'average chicken lifespan is 7-10 years' and I asked my vet about it and she said for hybrid laying breeds, developing illnesses is relatively common after about 2 years.

Genetics is a big factor in lifespan, so maybe if you got all your hens from the same breeder you could try somewhere else, but honestly I expect you have just been unlucky!

I also get very attached to my birds and I am very sorry for your losses, I know how hard it can be. I wish you all the best with the rest of your hens.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I have all mine written down in my notes I like to know exact hatchdates