What do y'all do with older hens?

[Xerocles]

@JoCoKS . please tell us where you live? I hope you have lots of chicken room, because with all the WONDERFUL people here on BYC I suspect you will soon be up to your eyeballs in chickens.

 

[angela0408]

I run two flocks. The working girls and the specials. Working girls stay for two winters and I start culling them when they start laying bad eggs, or not at all. It’s too expensive to feed them when they aren’t giving anything back. Specials are for life. Nice to have some of both.

 

[Gooseopolis]

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?

Our birds are family to us. I have two older, retired hens. They are great at teaching younger chickens the ins and outs of chicken life and they come right up to us for treats and snuggles. They are easy to take care of. We let them live out their golden days until the very end!

 

[greenlydia]

I've been raising chickens for a very long time and each and everyone of them is a pet. Go ahead a laugh at me......call me whatever name makes you feel superior.....I have reached the age where I happily just don't care what anyone thinks. When my girls stop laying, after years of giving me beautiful big brown eggs, they are welcome to live out their "old age" hanging out with their friends, free ranging when the dogs and I are out there to protect them, enjoying a dust bath, (even if it is just where I planted next years tulips) When the end is obviously coming, I do my best to make sure she can still roost and if not, I have reserved a few bottom nest boxes with deep bedding so she is warm, yet still very close to all the other girls. I also make sure none of them are picking on her, which is fairly common and one of the traits of chickens I find rather despicable. I give her extra treats, but when I notice he is no longer eating or drinking, spends most of her time just sort of huddled into herself, I know it's time. I refuse to allow any animal to suffer, so my wonderful neighbor comes over and puts her down. (He uses my .22 rifle) which is quick and painless. I bury them under flowering shrubs around the property. I am not against people raising birds for meat. It's just not something I can do. It's a personal choice and I don't believe either one is wrong. Culling an older, non-laying hen to give to someone as a "pet" I think IS sad, and I disagree with that option. After living with her flock for many years, animals that are suddenly alone I think is cruel, and I've seen, so often, the hen who no longer has her "herd" around will quickly begin to fail physically. If you are rehoming 5 or 6 older hens, that is different. Adding new chicks to an existing flock presents it's own problems, as well as rewards, but one needs to be diligent about integrating the new chicks. There are excellent sites that explain the best way to do this and I'm sure there are people here who can advise you.

 

[lisaparksdurant]

I feel that when you take an animal into your care it’s for their life not just until it becomes inconvenient

 

[lisaparksdurant]

Our birds are family to us. I have two older, retired hens. They are great at teaching younger chickens the ins and outs of chicken life and they come right up to us for treats and snuggles. They are easy to take care of. We let them live out their golden days until the very end!

Good for you. You will reap rewards for your generosity

 

[Ebony Rose]

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?

I eat my older hens. Chicken & dumplings is a favorite recipe. I get attached to all of my hens and provide the absolute best life possible for them, but when the time comes, then it's time. I love to 'pet' my hens, whisper soft words of encouragement, hand feed healthy treats (banana's are a huge favorite here). A hen spends her entire adult life putting food on my table and her final act of kindness is to feed me once again. The 'trick' to being able to eat my hens is keeping in mind from the day of their hatch until the end of her life, that she was born to put food on my table. Knowing that I provide the best care, attention and nutrition to her well-being over the span of her lifetime makes it easier for me.

 

[JoCoKS]

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.

Thank you very much for your very kind thoughts, I have been fighting depression and loss of my girls may push me over the edge into depression. I no longer have Henrietta fusing up a storm at the door when she wants food or her favorite thing in the whole wide world meal worms. I will probably never have another group of hens pecking at my sweats when the want meal worms or my attention. They brought thru my darkest hours of recovering from 7 surgeries with their crazy behavior and it makes me sick I could not care for them as I promised all the days of their lives. Since I was a small child I always loved pets and cared for them the best I could with my loving father making sure I took care of them properly. I guess my girls kind of also filled in for all my loved ones I lost over the years because my father was 56 when I was born and mother in her forties along with other relatives so now they are all gone.

 

[JoCoKS]

Just goes to show that every living creature responds to love and kindness and they cost nothing!

I agree 100%.

 

[JoCoKS]

Mine are first pets, then for eggs, so they will be staying. They are not really old yet, 3yrs old, and still laying, so not really a problem. I just added 3 new pullets to extend the egg laying years, and I probably will replace only as needed from natural attrition. Those that keep well cared for chickens as food, have my deepest respect, it is much more honest than keeping pets, and then buying meat that was not well cared for, IMO. I try to get pasture raised meat when ever possible.

For me it was never about eggs and they laid eggs like crazy even more then they were suppose to according to what I have read.