Some questions

[Vian]

I have four 6 week old rhode island red pullets. I've read that RIR's are used for both eggs and meat, making them a dual purpose bird. At what age would one slaughter the bird for meat? The last RIR I had mostly stopped laying after about 2 years, we kept her for another 2 years, then rehomed her to some people who just wanted pets. I thought if the chicken is too old, they don't taste as good or are tough and gamey? I don't have enough room for much more than 4 birds, but I'd like to keep getting more each year to continue having eggs. It seems the only solution is either to slaughter the older ones for meat, or try to rehome them on craigslist.

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

a layer breed that is raised just for meat i usually slaughter about 5-6 months depending on their weight gain. It is true, an older bird does taste more gamey, and a kind of tough and not very meaty...hence why old birds are called stew birds, since they taste batter in a soup or broth. I personally don't mind it, and have so many that if i didn't butcher the old ones, i would never be able to find good homes for non-laying birds. If you only have 4, you may have luck trying to rehome them

 

[Vian]

My other thought was to just pull them out of the run area and let them run loose in the rest of the yard until they die of old age. There's a space under the house where they can roost at night (my old chickens slept there instead of in the coop, even though they had access to both spots) and keep the new laying birds in the run/coop area.

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

My other thought was to just pull them out of the run area and let them run loose in the rest of the yard until they die of old age. There's a space under the house where they can roost at night (my old chickens slept there instead of in the coop, even though they had access to both spots) and keep the new laying birds in the run/coop area.

that would work too...if predators didn't get em, they may be awesome pets for a long time! If i were you i would add a nest box (can be as simple as a box turned to the side) to encourage them to lay there instead of wherever they want. After the first couple years, laying drops from say 5-7 eggs a week to about 4 or so, but they do continue to lay...oh, and the eggs get much bigger too.