Possibly Silly Question from Newbie - What Can You Do with Older Chickens That Stop Laying?

[JessRoll]

Hi,

I'm a vegetarian so I won't be eating my chickens that I am raising for eggs. I'm only allowed 4 hens. My family consists of myself and my husband. The chickens get about 1 hour of free-ranging per day and we do have predators but so far so good. The 3 hens we have now keep us in eggs nicely (although one of them is only laying about 1 egg every 3 days).

The chickens are about 1 year old now and I don't have space to add a lot more so I'm wondering what are my options if I am not interested in killing them and they stop laying?

Thanks!

Jess

 

[sourland]

Many let them remain as 'pets'.

 

[Kittyf]

You may consider giving them away to someone who will eat them. We intend to keep ours as pets for their lives, but we know of places in our area that will process them for meat if we wish it. We know they live healthy, happy lives, and we are grateful for their eggs, but we know they will not lay forever.

Ours will become pets, but we have room for several more. You may also consider integrating a younger hen into your flock as the others age to keep eggs coming when your original 3 stop laying. And they may lay for several more years after their initial 2 year high production run, just not as often as they do now, so they may not stop entirely for a long time.

You never know with chickens - it's part of their mystery and appeal, I think.

It is something we all consider as our chickens age with us, especially if we love them as pets.

Kate

 

[gryeyes]

I first got chickens almost 3 years ago, without really caring if they laid eggs or not. I wanted the fertilizer and bug eradication they provide. Eggs are their gifts to me. Of course, now I have far more eggs than I could ever use myself, as my flock is pretty large.

For that reason, my chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys will get to stay as long as they live. They will continue to provide fertilizer and keep the yard bug (and weed) free. More than that, their behaviors are so much fun to watch. They deserve retirement as much as me. But I do understand that many folks don't have the space to keep all their chickens "forever" - and many have restrictions on the number they can keep.

If egg production was important to me and I could only keep a few hens, I'd do what Kate/Kittyf said: integrate a younger hen or two into the flock and try to find a home for the older, less productive girls. There are a LOT of people like me who just like chickens and aren't that concerned about the number of eggs they produce, for the reasons I mentioned. A friendly hen or few is just nice to have in one's yard.

A hen "on a mission" running across the yard is just a hoot to watch. How can you not laugh at that sight?