Topic of the Week - How long do chickens live?

[SwoopKing]

I got my first batch of five chickens when I was five, from hatching them out in our Kindergarten class. One of those from the original batch, Little Peep, survived through predator attacks, free ranging, winters, you name it. She eventually died when I was in high school at age 11. I've had others live to be around 7 or so but none that old. Interestingly enough, she never went broody until she was around 10 or so and hatched herself a young one, though not from her own egg which she would lay about once per week. Maybe she felt her time was near and had to become a mother finally hahah. She laid light blue eggs so my best guess is she was an Ameraucana or Easter Egger. I believe Matilda was the oldest living chicken on record, living to be 16. The important part of that sentence being "on record" who knows how long they can really live.

 

[chickens really]

I got my first batch of five chickens when I was five, from hatching them out in our Kindergarten class. One of those from the original batch, Little Peep, survived through predator attacks, free ranging, winters, you name it. She eventually died when I was in high school at age 11. I've had others live to be around 7 or so but none that old. Interestingly enough, she never went broody until she was around 10 or so and hatched herself a young one, though not from her own egg which she would lay about once per week. Maybe she felt her time was near and had to become a mother finally hahah. She laid light blue eggs so my best guess is she was an Ameraucana or Easter Egger. I believe Matilda was the oldest living chicken on record, living to be 16. The important part of that sentence being "on record" who knows how long they can really live.

Cool story....My first pet was a Chicken....Cheers to Chickens....

 

[texsuze]

I still have two BA hens from my original flock of four. They were day-old chicks in May 2010 and my two remaining hens from that flock are now 6 years old. One of these girls still lays an egg about once every 10 days or so, and her sister will lay an egg less frequently, although her eggshells are nearly paper thin. They are bossy to the other flock members who are all younger, but these two ladies from my original flock are my special girls. They do tend to pick and chose where they spend the day and are smartly conservative of energy, especially in the heat of summer and cold of winter. I worry that they will need some extra heat in the coop this winter, so will monitor their environment closely.

I lost an Ameracauna hen in April, presumably to age-related illness. She had been with me for 4 1/2 years and never laid an egg during that time, although she was purported to be a "good layer" when I first bought her as an adult hen. Last year she had some x-rays taken, related to an illness, and the vet reading the x-rays noted that she looked to be "an older hen". I have no idea of her true age. Doesn't matter--she was a beautiful, wonderful flock member and is still terribly missed.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

I'd say the average life span for me is just 3 years. I'm not sure if I'm just really unlucky or what the problem is.

I do have a Jersey Giant who is 6 and still lays 3 days a week. She's the last of my original four.

Buff Orpingtons just seem so prone to stuff. I've lost them to ovarian cancer, respiratory distress due to too much DE in their dust bath (both of these were confirmed by a necropsy by UC Davis students). I lost a baby who got trampled by her sisters. I lost another baby who was just a week old, just found her dead one morning. I had one who I knew was a bit off her game. She tore her comb and it wouldn't heal. Took her to the vet who was going to lightly sedate her so she could put a few stitches in it and she turned purple and couldn't be revived.

I've lost a few to a crop issue. Wasn't impacted, and wasn't sour. Maybe a bacteria infection? I have one right now who has this and is not doing well. I don't expect her to live beyond tonight and I'm sick about it. She's on antibiotics and a gut stimulant. I'm doing everything I can to help her. (Meds were RX'ed by her vet. I'm not just giving her random stuff.)

I'm wondering if other breeds are perhaps more hardy. Such as my Jersey Giant. I'd get more of her but she's SOOOOO loud and I live in the suburbs. I like the quieter breeds.

I'm thinking about trying Astralorps or Rocks next time I want to add to the flock.

 

[nanasacres]

I think overall, the life span yof a chicken depends more on living conditions rather than breed averages. You can have a chicken breed that is known to live past 10 years and stay generally healthy, but if you don't take care of them and their living environment, you can know that it won't live very long. I think we all need to focus on providing our chickens with a healthy life rather than getting caught up in life span averages.  

Agree whole heartedly
Just as long as you give it a good nutrition, shelter and care, be happy for it. But it is fun to know the possibility of a good long life.

 

[islandgirl82]

I think breed/genetics and quality of life both play significant roles in the longevity of our birds. Without adequate care, any creature will become sickly and die prematurely but some breeds are also more prone to issues, such as reproductive complications in layers or meaties growing too quickly (two reasons why I personally prefer dual purpose birds) and sometimes we can't prevent an early demise no matter what we do. What we can do is care for them to the best of our abilities and enjoy the time we do have with them.

 

[SCHenny]

This is RED. She was a Rhode Island Red. Unfortunately the DH had to cull her last week. We were given her in 2008 and she was at least a couple of years old at that time. She was the last of our original flock.

 

[Folly's place]

My oldest hens were small Black Jersey Giants; two hens who lived to be ten years old. They were very sweet and layed occasional eggs for a long time. Currently I have a Belgian milliefleur hen who's either nine or ten, doing fine. Mary

 

[hnichols]

Currently have a hen who is 9 years old. The same age as my little sister haha! very lovely hen one of my favourites do miss her double yolk eggs though

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

I love hearing that people have chickens who live to be 9 and 10 years old.

But I'd be curious to hear what people say is the average life of their chickens? I feel like 3 years is more of the average for mine. I'm curious if others feel the same or if I'm losing them too young.