Three Year Old Hens

[eggscetera]

OK. I'm tender hearted and can't bring myself to butcher the old hens. But go they must since I have some great new hens just starting to lay. Here's my question:
Will they still lay an occasional egg? Or are they done?
I have a friend who doesn't want to pay the going rate for new layers ($15 to $20 here). I told her I would give her my 3 year old hens for free. But if they won't ever lay eggs again even a free hen is a dud (although you get what you pay for). If I give her these old hens can she expect to get eggs now and then?

 

[Kelsie2290]

They will still lay eggs (assuming they are otherwise healthy), they just will not lay at the rate they did when they were younger. The link below has a graph of what you can expect in general, it varies by individual bird and breed, but you can expect 5 year old birds will lay about half of what they did at their best.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps029

 

[PrairieChickens]

I wish to second what Kelsie said. You can still get a couple good eggs a week out of a retired layer. Most folks with economy in mind butcher older hens because they're not getting back what is being put into them in the form of feed.

 

[cluckcluckgirl]

They should still lay, but not as much as they did when they were younger. I had a hen lay up to 6 years old. Good nutrition and happiness are key, too.