Poll: When is the right time to cull a chicken?

[Alagirl]

I think NatJ - you keep a flock, I keep a flock. My hobby is having a flock of chickens. I try to have the healthiest chickens I can. But birds come into and go out of my flock. I do not expect forever friends, but I rather expect to keep a flock of birds for another 20 years.

I never quite understand the posts about the longevity of chickens, why would you want a 9 year old non laying hen? I enjoy them, but I have realistic expectations about keeping chickens.

Mrs K

true, but many of us are city slickers.
I think I know how to dispatch a chicken, but to be honest, safe for catastrophic developments my girls will drop from old age.
yes. O want the yummie eggs from them.
But I am also a chicken .
I have been removed from the farm far too long (2nd gen. My dad left anf never looked back. Mom was raised on homegrown meat. She doesn't want to do that anymore either.)
In the event of a catastrophe. 'sooner than later' should be the maxime....

 

[picklestheduck]

What are you feeding the hen? How old is she?

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

What are you feeding the hen? How old is she?

As to your own problem, what do you mean having trouble egg laying? Do you mean she takes awhile to lay? Or is she prolapsing? If she cannot lay by herself, or internal parts are out, I would cull. If it just takes her awhile, I would not worry.

I don't want this thread to be about this particular chicken. It's more about the general question so I and others can learn when when culling is appropriate (in general).
But I will answer the questions because maybe this could serve as an example of knowing when to cull or not. She is an older hen, but I have no clue how old since she came from a rescue farm. Likely 3-4+ years. My flock is currently eating DuMor 17% all flock with oyster shell on the side and crushed egg shells.

She's generally been a great layer but the past month I haven't seen any eggs from her. She laid a soft shell egg that was hanging from her vent the other day, and was acting lethargic. I thought she was dying. But with some calcium supplement (calcium citrate) she has perked up and is acting normal and eating/drinking again. But still, I see her in the nest trying to lay but no eggs. Maybe she has laid some soft shells that the others have eaten, but either way, something's weird since I see her eating her oyster shells and/or eggshells daily.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

My views on when to cull a chicken:
every option in your poll (except "never"), plus quite a few more.

The thing is, I like to eat chicken. I expect to eventually eat every chicken I ever raise, unless it is killed by a predator or has an illness. So the chickens that I like best will to stick around longer (ones that are pretty, healthy, lay well, and get along well with the other birds and with me.) The chickens I don't like as well get culled (butchered) sooner rather than later.

Reasons I have culled/butchered chickens include:

--I wanted to eat chicken
--I got tired of hearing him crow
--she sang the "egg song" all day long for so many days that I got tired of hearing it
--I wanted to buy new chicks, so I needed to make space to house them
--the chicks grew bigger, so they became crowded, so I needed to remove some
--she bullied others
--she was bullied by everyone else
--she was injured, and I wasn't able/willing to provide proper care for her to heal
--there were too many males
--I had a breeding project, and this chicken was not the right color
--someone wanted to learn how to butcher a chicken, so I butchered one to demonstrate

I've probably culled/butchered chickens for quite a few other reasons as well, but I don't remember them all.

With small chicks, I have culled them (not butchered for eating) if the chick had a deformity or was failing to thrive, or occasionally if I was doing a breeding project and could identify from an early age that some had the wrong color or other traits. "Culling" healthy chicks can mean I give them to someone else, or that I dispatch them (behead) and dispose of the bodies. For me, "big enough to butcher" is about the same size as an adult quail, which is still pretty small but definitely larger than a newly-hatched chicken.

Nat J, i need your advice on HOW to cull without detailed equipment?! I'm just a backyard flock owner of 8 and 1 is blind.....not 100%, but, she's causing me stress.....i cant seem to properly intergrade her and the 2 flockmates I received about 3 weeks ago. I would have already fully integrated the other 2 as I have plenty of space and free range; but now I am figuring out how to accommodate a chicken that can't jump, run.....shes 2 and a half years old. Thank you so much