Life Spans and Space

[calebc311]

I have one Buff Orpington and one Barred Plymouth Rock. They are both female. Around how long will hens live? and how much roaming space does each bird need?

 

[Judy]

I believe the answer on age is around 10 years, with an occasional hen living to 15 or so. There are a lot of things that can go wrong, though, so an individual may not live nearly that long.

There is a "formula" for space, which you should take as a minimum guide, because the simplest answer is, the more, the better, especially of foraging space. 4 sq ft per bird in the coop and 10 sq ft per bird in the run is supposed to be the minimum required to prevent serious problems like severe pecking adn cannibalism. But several factors can alter thatl Here is an excellent article on space:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need

 

[TheEggCollecter]

The average hen will live 7-10 years but there egg production will slowdown around 4. Each hen should have 3 square feet in the coop and 10 in the run.

 

[Mrs. K]

Just so you know, I have had chickens for many years, and none of mine lived more that 3-4 years. Perhaps it is because I am more north, and have harder winters, but in my experience, a 4 year old chicken is a very old chicken. While it is quite possible to have chickens live longer as the above posters stated, I think their estimates are a bit high for an average chicken life-span.

I just don't want you to have unrealistic expectations..... they could live that long, but they don't always.

MrsK

 

[donrae]

I agree with Mrs K. I have had birds live to 7-8 years old, but that's pretty rare. 4-5 seems more the norm for my birds.