We've been looking for some more RIR's for the winter (since our Delawares have all but stopped laying in the cold weather). Found a local guy with 10 RIR hens wanting $10 each for them, seems fair enough . . . BUT he says they are all 2-3 years old. He says they're still laying strong right now even through the cold weather. Is it worth it for these older hens? I know there's a finite egg-laying life to all chickens, not sure how close these are to their retirement age? Another question -- what's your advice for introducing these new ladies to the flock? Existing flock is 9 Delawares (4 roos, 5 pullets, ~8 mos old), 2 RIR pullets (~6 mos old), and 6 RIR/BR pullets (~3 mos old -- one might be a roo). I've heard that when introducing new birds it works better in a large group such as this (I'll be adding ten of these 2-3yr RIR's) but do I still need to separate them for a few days? Weeks? Thanks for your advice!
You need to practice heavy biosecurity. Please read .... https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=70782 Do not add new chickens to your flock without heavy quarantine.
Wow, $10! Around here we get ready to lays for $8 and they quickly go down in price as they age...1 year olds are $3-5 depending on breed...and 2-3 year olds are almost give aways. $10 sounds like a lot of money for an older hen
Quote:I'm sure I could talk him down a bit. $10 for layers is pretty normal here, that's what I typically see in the paper anyway. And normally a bit more of a drive too -- this deal is enticing since the seller is only about 8 mi away. Earlier this fall I had to drive 45 miles for the younger RIR's I bought!
I rotate chickens out of my flock when they're 2-3 years old. Their best productive life is over and there's more of an incidence of things like thin shelled eggs (even with free-choice oyster shell) and other problems. If you want pets, it may be fine but if you are more interested in egg production you may want to reconsider. Also, even if they're laying well now the stress of the move may make them stop laying for a while. $10 seems very high for spent hens. I sell chickens at point of lay for $10 and that's considered very reasonable around here. If you take them, heed MissPrissy's advice and quarantine!!!!!
