Lifespan of hens

[chickengeorgeto]

Welcome to BYC. The hybrid high production birds do burn out faster. Many develop reproductive tract problems leading to their deaths. Heritage breeds, bantams, game fowl can and do live into their teens.

While living into their teens is possible it is the rare heritage, bantam, or game fowl who lives that long. All chickens go down hill once they reach 3 or 4 years old. The truth is that hybrid chickens are as a general rule more healthy than their more inbred brothers and sisters.

 

[TiggerzPooh731]

I have a Rhode Island Red that is 13 years old and does not lay eggs anymore not since she was 9 years old

 

[chickengeorgeto]

... What's your experience with Cockerel lifespan do they live longer than the girls as they aren't producing eggs?

Intresting that you mentioned life spand and egg production in the same sentence. As a general rule a hen will produce fewer eggs in her second year than she produced during her first year or salad days. Then in her third and fourth year her egg production falls below the cost of her feed and each year her egg production will decrease even more. I have personally owned a hen who was 14 and a cock bird of 11. The rooster was blind for several years but for old times sake I kept him in a 2X2 foot stall. This way he could find the food cup when I filled it. He was absolutely useless for anything because when he was put in a brood pen he would hit at any hen or pullet that came within range of his spurs or who bumped into him. I am not especially proud of keeping this old fellow but I relate this so that y'all know that I am not as blood thirsty as some of you think. I doubt that the 14 year old hen had laid an egg in 5 or 6 years before the old master called the poor thing home.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Intresting that you mentioned life spand and egg production in the same sentence. As a general rule a hen will produce fewer eggs in her second year than she produced during her first year or salad days. Then in her third and fourth year her egg production falls below the cost of her feed and each year her egg production will decrease even more. I have personally owned a hen who was 14 and a cock bird of 11. The rooster was blind for several years but for old times sake I kept him in a 2X2 foot stall. This way he could find the food cup when I filled it. He was absolutely useless for anything because when he was put in a brood pen he would hit at any hen or pullet that came within range of his spurs or who bumped into him. I am not especially proud of keeping this old fellow but I relate this so that y'all know that I am not as blood thirsty as some of you think. I doubt that the 14 year old hen had laid an egg in 5 or 6 years before the old master called the poor thing home.

@chickengeorgeto , you need to delete a few extra posts, I thought I was going bonkers.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

@chickengeorgeto , you need to delete a few extra posts, I thought I was going bonkers.

I guess when your screen locks up that swearing at your monitor and repeatedly mashing the <enter> key is the wrong thing to do.

But that action is so pecking orderish that I can't resist.

I must have been around chickens too long.

Hold on here one dad burn minute. It is impossible to be around too many chickens.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I guess when your screen locks up that swearing at your monitor and repeatedly mashing the <enter> key is the wrong thing to do.

But that action is so pecking orderish that I can't resist.

I must have been around chickens too long.

Hold on here one dad burn minute. It is impossible to be around too many chickens.

Whew, thank you. I thought I was having a stroke.

I take care of old man roosters too, so no shame in that. Currently I have 2 with one being mostly blind.

 

[Marieaa70]

Dang - I have never even come close to those kind of years.

My one old girl is 10 or 11 and still lays , Molting right now so all my girls are off laying , Bantam live longer I find,

 

[currycat]

We've got a Speckled Sussex and 2 Buckeyes that are 8 yrs. old, a Partridge Rock and a black Australorp that are 7 yrs. old. They were all still laying til the weather changed. We let them be natural, no lights or anything to try and get them to lay more. My Buf Orp. was still laying at 7 1/2 til an opossum got her, we free range til they go into their coop at dusk. Her name was Wilma Rudolf cause she loved to run, just no match for a opossum.

 

[ChickenJV12]

My longest living chicken lived like 9 years.

 

[NickyPick]

Aww, I have one left from my original group of 15. He's a rooster, Mr. Feathers (his feathers in my avatar). He'll be 9 in February. He's an Easter Egger, never was very aggressive - more of a nuturer than a fighter. I moved him to the nursery coop to help raise chicks and injured hens when he was 4 and he's stayed there ever since. We had to add a ramp from the roost last year as his feet got so bad he couldn't jump up or down anymore. Since I have room and he's in a safe place, I will keep him there until he passes. It's funny. I'm not so attached to any of the other roosters, but Mr. Feathers is special. He's awesome with the chicks. If he's with pullets that are near laying, he'll spend time showing them all about the nest boxes and how to make a good nest. I've got a 7 year old hen in with him. She's an Australorp and lays about once a week in the spring, but is basically past her laying age now. She's good with the chicks too, so they both have seen several batches of chicks pass through their coop. It will be sad when they pass.