What do y'all do with older hens?

[LozzyR]

I had my Rhode Island Reds (2) stolen after I had a tree trimmed in my backyard that was not visible from the street by some illegals. For 3.5 years I never lost a hen to anything not even decease. I was almost killed by a drunk with a suspended license for drunken driving 4 years ago and my girls were my "comfort pets" since I am still recovering from being rear ended after 7 surgeries with a pump in my back to help care for pain. Before the accident I had perfect health but not now, my father was in much better shape at 90 then I am at 70 years old. They brought me a lot of happiness and it was so much fun caring for them since my #1 hen was a real character nipping the back of my slacks when she wanted more meal worms and squatting down to let me know she wanted me to pick her up and spend time with her. They were suppose to not lay as much because of their age but that did not stop them from laying like young hens. It is hard enough to loss them to a predator animal but it is extremely hard to think they became so human garage's dinner. My wife of 42 years does not know what to do since she can see I am getting very depressed. I planned on keeping my girls healthy and happy as long as they lived so this has really brought me down big time. I have looked locally to see if any one is selling hens (they probably never be like my girls) and could not find any which is probably best since the drunk left us with tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills so we really have no money to buy chickens. Feeding was not a problem see they got stuff from our garden, remains from diner, etc. along with their feed they really did not eat much of. To add to my stress and my wife's stress she may have breast cancer (we will find out next week) and we both enjoyed my girls for all the joy they brought us. My wife would make spaghetti for them and make special treats and got a go laugh watching them chase after me or come running when they saw me and it is now all over because the tree trimmer brought a bunch of Mexicans with him and they stole my chickens by lifting up the roof of their coop and grabbing them. I feel sick all over, all this is way too much for me to handle.

I am so sorry you have had such a terrible time, with your health and loss of your precious chooks. I hope things get better for you soon.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I do the same thing to my old hens as my roosters; treat them as pets. Doesn't matter to me whether my chickens lay eggs or not. I even have a flock of roos.

 

[Shezadandy]

I only have a half dozen egg customers, all friends/acquaintances,
not a seller either and selling to the public is a PITA...have done(tried) that in other arenas.
Have had a few favorites, try to sell those, but can't always.....set the precedence early on that chickens are for food not pets, and I don't anthropomorphize any animal, even my dogs.

It can be. I've fired egg customers for being a huge PITA, and I think that's the key to happiness in egg selling.

 

[jenswinebar]

I have replaced non-laying hens before and restarted with new hens, but this year I wont be due to an outbreak of MG at my house. So anyone here now will have to stay until their time comes, or a predator gets them. Or I decide to eat one.

 

[Kadu]

I had my Rhode Island Reds (2) stolen after I had a tree trimmed in my backyard that was not visible from the street by some illegals. For 3.5 years I never lost a hen to anything not even decease. I was almost killed by a drunk with a suspended license for drunken driving 4 years ago and my girls were my "comfort pets" since I am still recovering from being rear ended after 7 surgeries with a pump in my back to help care for pain. Before the accident I had perfect health but not now, my father was in much better shape at 90 then I am at 70 years old. They brought me a lot of happiness and it was so much fun caring for them since my #1 hen was a real character nipping the back of my slacks when she wanted more meal worms and squatting down to let me know she wanted me to pick her up and spend time with her. They were suppose to not lay as much because of their age but that did not stop them from laying like young hens. It is hard enough to loss them to a predator animal but it is extremely hard to think they became so human garage's dinner. My wife of 42 years does not know what to do since she can see I am getting very depressed. I planned on keeping my girls healthy and happy as long as they lived so this has really brought me down big time. I have looked locally to see if any one is selling hens (they probably never be like my girls) and could not find any which is probably best since the drunk left us with tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills so we really have no money to buy chickens. Feeding was not a problem see they got stuff from our garden, remains from diner, etc. along with their feed they really did not eat much of. To add to my stress and my wife's stress she may have breast cancer (we will find out next week) and we both enjoyed my girls for all the joy they brought us. My wife would make spaghetti for them and make special treats and got a go laugh watching them chase after me or come running when they saw me and it is now all over because the tree trimmer brought a bunch of Mexicans with him and they stole my chickens by lifting up the roof of their coop and grabbing them. I feel sick all over, all this is way too much for me to handle.

So sorry about your hens! Have you tried checking craigslist? You’ll never get the same hens but if they gave you happiness in a very difficult time, you’re better off with a couple hens than not, don’t you think? I’m sure if you put your story in a craigslist ad someone will just give you a couple hens. I would if I was nearby. I have one that grew up inside a house wearing diapers, and real tame. When she came to my farm she didn’t even know that she could eat green things! I’d totally give her to you!
I live in Arkansas. Where do you live? Maybe we can find someone that can give you a couple hens here!

 

[SarahGfa]

I live in Arkansas. Where do you live? Maybe we can find someone that can give you a couple hens here!

That is a great idea. @JoCoKS please post your location. I would give you two of my hens in an instant!

 

[MissouriDogMom]

I know all you chicken addicts want to get new chickens every year. This becomes a problem later on because you will still have some of your older hens that have stopped laying.

I want to know what y'all do in this case. Do you process older hens? what do you do if you get attached?

Speaking only for myself, I keep the older hens as usual, safe and with good food, for the duration of their lives. They worked hard to provide food for me over the years and deserve to just be the best chickens they can be. I have never eaten any of my own hens; it seems like a betrayal.

 

[ChickEngineer]

I think letting them live to their natural end is the payment for years of great eggs, a fair trade off.

 

[Xerocles]

"I will hug them and love them and squeeze them and call them George!"

I'm 67. My productivity is way way down. When the days get short and cold it stops completely. You can hug and love and squeeze me if you want, and my name is already George.

 

[Lynn Woehrle]

All of our "chicken kids" usually die of old age. Some are nine years old. They layed for us for years and are now in retirement. They all have names and are tame.