How old do your hens REALLY get?

[KyloChicken]

I’ve had chickens when I was a kid/preteen 2 times before I got my new flock 1,5 years ago and both times they were hybrid laying breeds.

The first pair we got died after 2 years because of parasites and we sadly had no knowledge about parasites at all so we were far too late to try and rescue them. It was honestly traumatising for both my parents and I, after that, we looked up a lot of things, got some books about chickens, and waited 2 years with getting new ones.

The ones after that were two rescues from an battery-cage factory, obviously it would make sense for them to be more sensitive for illness and parasites etc...
They were around 2,5 years and died after 1 year being with us.
After that… my dad didn’t want any pets anymore as broke his heart.

Sooo… we’re 6 years later and chose pure breeds, which are easy to find in my country.
Not from a hatchery though. They’re now around 1,5 years old, and except for coccidiosis, we haven’t had any other issues with them, so hopefully they’ll live longer than just 3 years :’) I also know people who have hybrids who did become 6-7 year old chickens though.

I get y’alls heartbreak! Same here all the best for your current flock!

 

[KyloChicken]

I always worry when people have posts like these. It is almost like a competition. And really unrealistic. Look at the old people around you, some die at 60 and some at 100.

I think it is mostly the luck of the draw. I have had two that reached 5 years of age. Currently I have Gramma feathers, she has to be 5 going on 6, and has raised lots of chicks for me. She can stay. I would not be surprised to find her gone any time, but she is active now.

However, I would not want a flock full of old birds. I like when some go on, cause then I have room for chicks. It is the circle of life. But I don't keep individual chickens, I keep a flock.

Mrs K

Hi Mrs K,

thank you for your response! Not a competition here, but an exchange and attempt to see what other people experience. Me personally I would rather have a flock of fossils that don’t lay then have them die young. But that’s not a value statement, just my personal preference since I keep them as pets that occasionally poop out an egg

 

[Mrs. K]

I do see your viewpoint, but so many people feel so guilty here, as if they are at fault if their birds do not live for 8-10 years. I am a true believer, in good food, good water, good protection, and don't let them suffer and then their lifespan is beyond my control.

If one has a bird that dies young, it is probably a genetic health issue. It happens, real life has a lot of mistakes, not someones's fault.

Maybe I have never had real high quality chickens, but I really think that a 4-5 year old chicken is an old chicken.

Mrs K

 

[KyloChicken]

I do see your viewpoint, but so many people feel so guilty here, as if they are at fault if their birds do not live for 8-10 years. I am a true believer, in good food, good water, good protection, and don't let them suffer and then their lifespan is beyond my control.

If one has a bird that dies young, it is probably a genetic health issue. It happens, real life has a lot of mistakes, not someones's fault.

Maybe I have never had real high quality chickens, but I really think that a 4-5 year old chicken is an

I agree with what you said about managing them and keeping them healthy But I view the responses in this thread from a perspective of getting hope that one of my little feather friends like Obi Hen might get lucky enough to live with me 10 more years I’ve had horrible luck with my ladies so far as well! So no reason to feel guilty! We’re in the same boat here.

I do think that it’s important to have a space where we can ask questions and have exchange happening. Even if we might disagree with the questions/answers.This thread has been a source of great comfort to me and I hope that it’ll be similar for some future readers.

 

[rosemarythyme]

My flock (an assortment of hatchery quality heritage breed birds) is closing in on 4, 6 and 8 years old respectively. The two oldest hens are very clearly old but still in good weight, so they're welcome to continue lying around for however much longer they have.

As I aim for birds that aren't too productive (plus the flock's obviously older by this point) we don't get a lot of eggs but I'm fine with that. On the positive side it also means that we've had very few reproductive issues - one bird had salpingitis two years ago and then again last year, but she's still alive and quite active as well.

 

[KyloChicken]

My flock (an assortment of hatchery quality heritage breed birds) is closing in on 4, 6 and 8 years old respectively. The two oldest hens are very clearly old but still in good weight, so they're welcome to continue lying around for however much longer they have.

As I aim for birds that aren't too productive (plus the flock's obviously older by this point) we don't get a lot of eggs but I'm fine with that. On the positive side it also means that we've had very few reproductive issues - one bird had salpingitis two years ago and then again last year, but she's still alive and quite active as well.

Picking breeds with a higher egg production for sure was a mistake I made when I got some of our current birds I just looked up each breeds personality and didn’t pay enough attention to the number of eggs which breeds are your older ladies? I’d love to hear your recommendations! one breed we struggled with (kept dying young) is Wyandottes. I just fell in love with their personalities but we won’t get any more of them in the future for that reason! I hope the 3 we still have will stick around for a long time!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Picking breeds with a higher egg production for sure was a mistake I made when I got some of our current birds I just looked up each breeds personality and didn’t pay enough attention to the number of eggs which breeds are your older ladies? I’d love to hear your recommendations! one breed we struggled with (kept dying young) is Wyandottes. I just fell in love with their personalities but we won’t get any more of them in the future for that reason! I hope the 3 we still have will stick around for a long time!

My two oldest birds are a Buckeye and Welsummer. Dual purpose birds with average production rates.

It's likely I'll end up with at least one Wyandotte this year, mostly because they come in so many colors (yes, my top priority is the color of the bird, I just want a very colorful flock haha). So we'll have to see how they do in my flock if we end up getting some.

 

[Possum-Pie]

In nature, animals breed based on their perception of health/strength in their partner. The goal is to have offspring that have the best survival potential. When humans get involved, they force-breed animals for traits that the humans want, color, size, shape, "cuteness" etc. These offspring are then bred with others with the same traits. This often leads to secondary problems. For example, someone once thought a dog with a flat nose/face was cute, bred flat-nosed dogs with other flat-nosed dogs, eventually winding up with the Bulldog and Pug breeds. BUT while breeding for the cuteness, they didn't foresee that these breeds would be susceptible to respiratory issues. Humans have bred chickens for traits such as egg-laying, extra meat, and yes, cuteness. By interbreeding for selected traits, genes of other undesirable traits may also be passed along.

Someone said earlier in this thread that "purebreds" are healthier than non. This is not true, "Purebreds" are manipulated by human intervention in breeding selection tend to NOT be as healthy or live as long (on average) as "mutts" who have been allowed to select their own mates and diversify their genetic codes. I have a problem with humans selectively breeding cats, dogs, poultry, etc. for their own desired traits. it leads to health issues and unwanted genetic problems.

 

[birdlady11]

It sounds like your chickens have a life that most chickens in my neighborhood would bribe the armadillos to dig them out so they could escape their life and come join your flock!

I started out buying several different purebreds almost 35 years ago. But I quickly started hatching my own new chicks mixing my purebreds and also getting fertile eggs from friends and neighbors who had healthy purebreds and mixtures that I liked. All my chickens from from large breed stock that lay large eggs.

I have found the purebreds did not live as long as the mixed breed chickens. At peak I had 31 hens and 1 rooster (always a partridge plymouth rock mix). My chickens are family for life. I am down to 5 ladies - 9-yr-old Puffy Cheeks (a iridescent black mostly Ameraucanas who lays dark olive eggs), 10-yr-old Trumpet (she's mostly buff-laced wyandotte, always singing, and lays huge brown eggs), 12-yr-old Bag Lady (a snow white mixture who is the master of jumping up and ripping open the bottom of any bag to the delight of her flock mates as treats flow forth from the ripped bag) 15-yr-old El Choppo (an escape artist who is mostly RI red and partridge rock, is as round as a beach ball, and boss of the flock), and finally 19-yr-old The Old Lady (a beautiful golden-laced wyandotte mix whose vision in the right eye is failing, who walks with the North Korean stiff-legged march, is otherwise quite healthy and active, and who lays about 5 eggs each spring. I think the trick to longevity is just like in humans - a good and varied diet with a sprinkling of treats, lots of exercise , and lots of happiness.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

A lot of chickens die young due to predators or reproductive issues. Certain breeds rarely reach old age due to being bred for productivity and nothing else.

My two bantam hens (many of their flockmates died of viral Marek’s disease) are 5 and 6 and still behave as they did when they were younger.