Thoughts and best practices .. older hens

[ChasesChickens]

Hi everyone,
I'm relatively new to chicken keeping. When I was younger I had a flock of Rhode islands for about 6 years but never really was concerned about culling. When I had roos, I would end up selling them at the local markets stall.
I got back to chicken keeping because I wanted to give my chickens the best life .. I am concerned about the mass produced egg farming industry and also pf broiler chickens
I've now got a flock of 12 heritage hens of dufferent breeds at the moment.
Initally looking to just get eggs .. I'm also thinking of raising and extras for meat.
But I've got a few concerns:
1. What do I do with older hens ( will I end up with 60 hens that don't lay over the next 5 years if I retain them). I suppose it's naive of me to hope there could be some sort of happy medium win win.
2. Anyone have experience in rearing meat chickens and processing them? I don't know if I can stomach doing the slaughtering myself. But I rationalise that a chickens life growing up in my honestead would by likely vetter than that of a farmed broiler one.
3. Should I be more thick skinned and not be so emotional and not look at the chickens as quasi pets

Any thoughts or experiences would be most appreciated

 

[CindyinSD]

1. You can’t keep all your old hens once their egg production dropped off (unless you can and want to continue feeding them with little return). You can advertise them free to anyone who’ll come and get them (I’m told people actually do answer such ads ) or you can slaughter them and cook low & slow & moist.
2. I feel the same about raising meat chickens. Killing them is tough, but it’s part of the deal.
3. You can either have pets or livestock, or some of each. The livestock can’t be pets, though, and it seldom works out for pets to be livestock. We don’t eat our pets, at least in ordinary circumstances. I enjoy my birds but I have no need for them to jump into my arms or onto my lap. That’s for pets. If I make them pets, I can’t eat them. But yes, you will give them a better life than they would have in a chicken factory, and probably a better death as well.

 

[Acre4Me]

Well, you’ll either decide they are pets and spend a lot of mental energy worried about them being eaten, or if they are “happy” (a human emotion), etc or you can take more of a livestock perspective where you provide for them to live comfortable lives until you no longer need that one. We look at them as livestock, but there are three, in particular, from our first flock that have attained “keep till they die” status, and it is not uncommon for livestock chicken keepers to have one or two special ones -they get named, etc.

Meat chickens: they are meant to be culled young (usually in the 7-9 week old range), provide lots of meat within that short time. But, you can do a few things that help knowing they only had one bad moment. For example, we separate out a few meat chickens and place them in a darker area of the barn so they are calm before processing (remove food about 12-24 hours ahead of processing and provide fresh clean water only), then calmly proceed with the butcher step -with confidence-so it is done quickly and right the first time. Cervical dislocation is generally bloodless and many use a broomstick or similar. Others use a killing cone where the bird is placed upside down in a cone (they are calm when upside down in the cone), and use a VERY sharp knife to cut neck and release the blood. Both methods are very quick. Watch some videos if needed or find a local mentor to take you through the process once. Sometimes local farms will offer classes or “homesteader” classes to teach others about things like this. Often farms will have fb pages to advertise their farm and will post things like this there, or find a local fb group for homesteaders or similar etc.

the only other recommendation around butchering I can offer is to know what you will do with the remains (feathers, guts). Some people bury them (large enough space), others (like me) put in garbage. From experience, I can say that you should do your butchering with a couple of days ahead of garbage pick up....NOT the day after.

 

[igorsMistress]

Hi there, welcome to BYC!

I started keeping chickens for eggs, but never thought I'd be able to eat a bird from my flock. It took time but eventually that changed. Your feelings now could change too.

Look around in the meat bird section, you'll be able to read a lot about people's experiences raising various types including hybrids. I have a batch of Red Ranger/Dorking mixes outside and the biggest roo weighs 8 lbs on the hoof at 15 weeks. Not a lot of time to get attached. I realize this is longer than the 8 weeks for cornish x or others, but I've read a lot about raising them and they're not for me.

The actual kill is the hardest part for me, but once that's done and the carcass bleeds out there's not much gross factor while plucking and butchering. Also, a lot of folks will use older birds for soup or stew because the meat can be a bit tough.

Good luck in your future endeavors!

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Totally agree with @Acre4Me and @igorsMistress. My hens are basically for laying eggs, however I have dual purpose breeds. The long-term plan is to have some off spring to become meat birds. I don't plan on doing the butchering myself, there is a USDA certified facility not too far away. The area I live in is pretty restrictive as to what you can throw in the trash so having a butcher do the work and clean up is worth the fee for me. That said, older birds can be used for stewing.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum. You've had some good responses so far.

1. What do I do with older hens ( will I end up with 60 hens that don't lay over the next 5 years if I retain them). I suppose it's naive of me to hope there could be some sort of happy medium win win.

We all have our own goals, facilities, capacities, and desires. What works for me will likely not work for you. You can keep them all as pets provided you are willing to provide facilities and feed to take care of them. You can eat older hens, many of us do. The people that consider them too tough or stringy pretty much don't know how to cook them. You can try giving them away or selling them, but once they are no longer yours you have lost control over their fate. You can try to find someone that would be wiling to take your 60 hens and provide facilities and food for them, manage the poop, treat them as required, and dispose of the bodies as they die of old age, but someone like that might be hard to find.

2. Anyone have experience in rearing meat chickens and processing them? I don't know if I can stomach doing the slaughtering myself. But I rationalise that a chickens life growing up in my honestead would by likely vetter than that of a farmed broiler one.

There are so many different ways you could go with this. Many of us raise the Cornish X or Rangers as meat chickens. I raise my dual purpose chickens for meat as well as for other purposes. Many of us process them ourselves, some people pay others to process the chicken for them. Some cannot kill them themselves but might be able to handle the butchering. Others can't. Don't let any one guilt you into feeling bad for however you feel about this. We are all different with different abilities and emotions. The way I look at it mine have a great life until they have one bad moment and I try to make that moment as short as I can.

3. Should I be more thick skinned and not be so emotional and not look at the chickens as quasi pets

That is totally up to you. You have to find your own way.

 

[ChasesChickens]

1. You can’t keep all your old hens once their egg production dropped off (unless you can and want to continue feeding them with little return). You can advertise them free to anyone who’ll come and get them (I’m told people actually do answer such ads ) or you can slaughter them and cook low & slow & moist.
2. I feel the same about raising meat chickens. Killing them is tough, but it’s part of the deal.
3. You can either have pets or livestock, or some of each. The livestock can’t be pets, though, and it seldom works out for pets to be livestock. We don’t eat our pets, at least in ordinary circumstances. I enjoy my birds but I have no need for them to jump into my arms or onto my lap. That’s for pets. If I make them pets, I can’t eat them. But yes, you will give them a better life than they would have in a chicken factory, and probably a better death as well.

Hi @CindyinSD,
I was thinking the offer to give them away was an idea - but I was thinking that they would likely end up culled unless it went to a family who really just wanted a pet.
Oh, don't get me wrong - if I think they are my pet, then theres no way there are ending up on someones table! LOL. The harsh reality is that I must have to keep them as livestock, and not get too attached. I might just keep a few select ones as pets.
I have seen what goes on the chicken factory, and personally doesn't sit welll with me by any means of the imagination. So Im trying to find a balance I guess

Thanks so much for your thoughts

 

[aart]

I fatten up the old hens, so they have a good amount of meat for the table.

'Fattening' just makes them grow more fat, not more meat
The older non-laying hens I've slaughtered have a huge amount of fat on them.

 

[aart]

Not that type of fattening them up. You should've known what I meant. What I meant by fattening them up which is a common term that means put more meat on their bones. Make sense?

Right, yes, I do.......but you can't really make bird grow more musculature than it's already got after a certain age. Unless maybe you've got some special diet and have documented the muscle growth.

 

[NatJ]

2. Anyone have experience in rearing meat chickens and processing them? I don't know if I can stomach doing the slaughtering myself. But I rationalise that a chickens life growing up in my honestead would by likely vetter than that of a farmed broiler one.

I've done it. If you have a bunch that look alike, it's mentally easier, especially the first few times. (The one that's different always seems to turn into a pet, whether it's a different color, the largest, the smallest, etc.)

After the bird is truly dead (head off and flapping/twitching over), then the other steps don't bother me too much. In fact, I enjoy seeing how all the parts go together--but I only enjoy if after I KNOW the bird is dead, so it's not feeling pain. (This is how it is for me. You might well feel differently than I do.)

For the actual killing, I favor a single quick stroke with a hatchet or machete. I try to keep the setup calm and peaceful, holding the bird gently and securely. It ends up with the neck on the chopping block, the feet and wingtips held together in my hand somewhat up in the air, the bird calm (I keep trying until it is calm.) Then I chop hard one time. (Yes, then it flaps around "like a chicken with its head cut off," and the beak opens and closes and I feel bad for a little, but at least I know that this was a quick end, and it lived a good life.)

I've now got a flock of 12 heritage hens of different breeds at the moment.
Initally looking to just get eggs .. I'm also thinking of raising and extras for meat.
But I've got a few concerns:
1. What do I do with older hens ( will I end up with 60 hens that don't lay over the next 5 years if I retain them). I suppose it's naive of me to hope there could be some sort of happy medium win win.

3. Should I be more thick skinned and not be so emotional and not look at the chickens as quasi pets

I tend to view chickens as "quasi pets" that can also be eaten. So I wouldn't expect to eat my very favorite few, but I would happily eat one that was no longer laying AND was not one of those very favorites.

With 12 hens already, you will probably find that you like some better than others. With more hens in subsequent years, it'll be even more pronounced.

So I suggest that you butcher any hen that causes problems to the point of irritating you (bully or victim, escapes the pen regularly, spend all winter molting and resting while the others lay nicely, etc.) Basically, if you're tired of dealing with a particular situation--consider the stewpot as a solution.

I also suggest that you evaluate all of your hens at least once each year (maybe at fall moulting time), and butcher some of them. Keep only the "best"-- the best layers plus a few pets/favorites.

The favorites will probably change a bit from year to year. I've had birds that were favorites because they were so pretty (Spitzhauben springs to mind) But over time, I decided I didn't like the temperament. So I would expect to butcher even former-favorites if they were no longer favorites.

Over time, if you get 12 new ones each year, you might end up keeping 20-30 at a given time, mostly under 3 years old, but including a few that are quite a bit older than that.

I'm sure my way is not for everyone, but that's how I would handle it.