Life span of your chickens

[Blondiechic]

Mine, like all my pets are here for life. I guess if no one at all laid we would increase girls but I simply could not imagine getting rid of or eating them because they weren't laying...they are all little personalities out there. When we leave the city I have a secret plan for a chicken rescue...my husband will be horrified lol

 

[Mattemma]

I have a 2yo RSL hen that stopped laying last fall.She was my first,but even if she wasn't I am forbidden to cull her.We shall see how long she will live.

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Too bad chickens don't have teeth and could bite you. It would be so much easier to decide what to do with them when they stopped laying

 

[Mrs. K]

I see that many have addressed the what to do with the older hens, so I will address the other side of getting eggs. If you want consistent layers, you need to have multiple age groups in your flock, you need to add new young pullets every year to your flock. Those girls, typically born in the spring, will begin laying in late summer or early fall, and will lay all through the dark days of winter. The one + year old hens, will lay occasionally through the winter unless your provide good quality additional light, but they will have larger eggs.

I had 3 sex link hens make their 3rd spring this year, but within 4 months, all of them died of what appeared to be old age.

MrsK