HOW OLD IS YOUR OLDEST CHICKEN AND HOW MANY EGGS DO YOU STILL GET

[crazy huhn]

Somebody at work asked that question today. So I was looking up this post from more than a year ago and thought it would be interesting for everyone on here, too. My oldest girl goes on 4 years now, laid 6 eggs last month, none in December due to light and molt. How old is your oldest, laying or not and what breed is it?

 

[gsim]

Quote:
That is what I would like to be able to do. Mine are only 7 months old, but I have 24. No way I can keep all of them for years not laying unless I build new quarters for a new flock. I will have to deal with this when it comes time to.

I dread that.

 

[eggsrcool]

My 2 oldest hens are 4, going to be 5 on 1st September 2010

I get the odd egg from them still

 

[urban dreamer]

Both of my two year olds are taking the winter off. They started molting in November and haven't laid since. Then again, my one year old isn't laying either. When it was warmer, my 2 year olds laid 5 eggs a week.

 

[Chicken Chaperone]

Henrietta is a barred rock, is 8-ish years old and lays 4-6 eggs in the warm months until she moults. This year she moulted in October. Bless her little heart- even though she's getting up there in years she's like the little engine that could when it comes to laying!

 

[M To The Maxx]

My friend had a 13 year old hen that layed 1 egg every month.

 

[Firework]

My oldest is 15 months old , and I don't get any eggs from him, he's a roo!

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
That's so sweet!

 

[Barred Rockstar]

When I was a kid we had a bantam hen and rooster that were around ten years old. We had decided to keep them after getting rid of the rest of our chickens because they were our first. The hen was still laying, (sorry I don't remember how often) and managed to successfully lay a clutch and go broody. I remember my mom telling me how silly it was that the old hen was sitting, surely these old chickens weren't fertile anymore, chickens rarely even live that long. Well those old chickens managed to hatch out 12 little chicks, half of which turned out to be roosters! Don't count your ladies out yet, they might surprise you.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

Most of my hens are regular (my definition 4-7 eggs per week) layers up until about 4 years of age. My oldest chicken was dumped in my yard. Based on her condition and my experience I guessed that she was between 4 and 6 years old when she was dumped in my yard. I have had her about 3 years. That would make her between 7 -9 years old. She is quite elderly but in excellent health and was a fairly regular layer until this year. She is a speckled sussex.

One of my Polish hens who is going to be 5 this spring has begun laying again (daily) after almost a one year hiatus. I also keep all of my chickens until thier death. It's doable if you maintain your flock size at what you can afford, adding only one or two layers per year. I have found that with good management many of my ladies have been productive flock members for most of thier lives. Another thing to keep in mind is that not all birds live to old age regardless of how they are kept. Accident, illness and the unexpected all take differeent ones at different times. Just because you have 10 now doesn't mean they will all live to be 10 years old or older. I use the old girls for gardening, and my yard stays pretty low on bugs. Another thing ...and maybe someone should study this, but I have very little problems with fighting, picking, bullying etc, in my flock. I sometimes wonder if the long term social hierarchy in my pens has anything to do with the harmony between my chickens?