What do you do with older hens?

[LavenderMotherHen]

I’ve got some hens that are 3+ years old, and I’ll need to decide what to do with them in a year or two. Do you keep them? Process them? Or rehome them? I know I’m going to want to refresh my flock every few years, and naturally, I’ll need a plan for the older ones since I have limited space and resources on our 1/3 acre lot. In the past I’ve rehomed them, but I wanted to see what y’all do

 

[Ridgerunner]

I eat mine and use them to make chicken broth.

 

[3KillerBs]

Retired laying hens make the best chicken and dumplings ever cooked.

If you choose to rehome them make sure that their new owner understands that they are older birds who cannot be expected to lay well so that they won't be on here pleading to understand why their new chickens don't give them any eggs.

 

[Isadora]

Our flock is younger so we haven't run into this with our own birds, but we've had friends from church give us their older hens. We process them and cook them low and slow in the crock pot. When I prepared my first one and didn't know any better, I baked the drumsticks in the oven just like I would normally like young chicken from the store. It felt like eating rubber bands! Low and slow is the key, my friend.

 

[aart]

I slaughter extra cockerels from hatching and older hens almost every year.
The older birds will be best if you rest the cleaned carcass for a few days before cooking or freezing.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I keep all mine. I do add new chicks to the flock about every other year. I do have some 8 year old hens that still lay eggs, not everyday, but I get enough eggs everyday to supply people with eggs.

 

[FortCluck]

I keep them. I have one that’s 6 right now and she’s good bug control. They still have jobs as they get older. They till gardens and kill off pests.

 

[Acre4Me]

We get new chicks every spring. So, we would have too many chickens if we never got rid of any. Since we have gotten rid of younger (18 month or younger) chickens, we take them to auction. We label them with hatch date/breed/color egg they lay and they’ve always sold well.

we do have 4 from our original flock, and they will stay until they die. But, that has more to do with the resident teen who wants to keep those 4 original ones.

 

[TheDuckGuy]

I’ve got some hens that are 3+ years old, and I’ll need to decide what to do with them in a year or two. Do you keep them? Process them? Or rehome them? I know I’m going to want to refresh my flock every few years, and naturally, I’ll need a plan for the older ones since I have limited space and resources on our 1/3 acre lot. In the past I’ve rehomed them, but I wanted to see what y’all do

I keep them

 

[fishygirl25]

I am planning on keeping all of my hens. I could never eat my pet chicken. Processing chicken is not permitted in my county anyway.