What do you do with your chickens????

[Mattemma]

I have 2 that will be 2yo in May. I know my kids will not let me kill them for food.In the least I can humanely kill them one day, and then get some new chicks to help the kids refocus.I am sure I will *hear* about it for a long time though. I can not get more until I remove the old ones.Limited space here with under an acre. If I get meat birds I WILL NOT let the kids name or interact with them. If they don't eat them I am sure dh and I will enjoy them!

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Mine are pets and will live long happy lives until they decide to leave us.

Of course, mine are only a year old so I haven't had to cross that bridge yet.

I just have the three and thought I'd add one more maybe in 6-12 months or when one goes broody. And continue to add one every 12-18 months or so to try to keep one power layer at all times. I also selected chickens that don't typically lay every day. I've ready that if you have a hen who only lays 3-4 days a week, she'll lay longer in her life because she won't exhaust all her eggs in her first few years.

It would be a bummer if I ended up with 6 hens who were too old to lay but they also do an amazing job controlling the bugs in my yard and eating slugs and snails. And I compost their waste into fertilizer so I'm getting more from them than just fresh eggs. And there's the entertainment value they add watching them cluck and strut around the hard. That's priceless.

 

[cravenchx]

I have at least 2 years to worry about this,
but I hope I can find a local butcher to do the
job for me.

 

[darkmatter]

You haven't tasted Chicken Noodle Soup until you use an old hen to make it.

 

[afj6710]

Haven't dealt with this yet, but our plan is to mostly "harvest" the older chickens. We've already told the kids that we'll be eating all but a couple of the males and the hens will be harvested after they stop laying. In reality, I know that I'll probably get attached to a few and want to keep them as pets but we are really striving toward a small family farm where everyone has a job to do. And, I would much rather eat one of our chickens that i know had a good life and was loved and cared for than something at the grocery store that lived such a pitiful existence.

 

[packmomma]

I have this problem right now. Most of my two year olds are not laying. I got me a rooster to breed everyone. I will keep the eggs and incubate them before I process all but two of my two year olds. I love them but my favorites have died. I did get these for meat also so I must cull. I know two of my two year olds are laying because they are EE and lay green..and faithfully there is one or two eggs that keep showing up. I will cull from now on every Oct 1st or so before they start getting winter fat on too bad.

 

[Farmer Mike]

This is a question I will have to think about. My wife was not happy about the idea of a harvest. I got the hens mainly for eggs. I can hope someone might want the older birds for something as I prefer productivity, not pets. Alas, we treat them very well and are considering naming them which makes it all the harder to harvest.

Hopefully someone will want them in a couple years...if not we keep our favorites and others become soup.

 

[BigSkyChickens]

Really interesting thread.

I promised my current girls they could stay forever; Now that egg production is waning, I am seriously regretting that promise.

But a promise is a promise, even to a chicken.....so my old biddies will stay as long as they are healthy & happy.

I will NOT be making that promise to any of my future chickens. I strive to be a practical farmer-woman....but grew up very pet-oriented.

 

[jettgirl24]

I don't process my girls. They continue to lay eggs after 2 years albeit at a slower pace. I'm ok with that. I figure they have given me plenty, much more than any of my other animals, and I am happy to give them a beautiful life of treats and love for as long as they stick around. I am lucky to have plenty of room for them so I don't need to worry. I understand where those who have limited space or resources may feel differently.

Roos are another story. Roos get to stay as long as they are good to their girls and mindful of me. If they turn mean they become dinner. The way I see it, they have a nice place to live, protected from the elements and predators as well as is possible. They want for nothing - I feed them, give them treats, and plenty of girls. If they can't appreciate that then off they go!

We recently processed a year old roo who was the biggest, meanest rooster I've had. Let me tell you, he was one of the tastiest birds I've ever eaten. We roasted him whole and enjoyed a wonderful Roasted Mean Roo dinner

We used what was leftover to make lots and lots of chicken soup. Older chickens are excellent eating and you shouldn't feel limited to soup! With older birds they key is to roast low and slow with lots of basting. Brining doesn't hurt either for juicy tender meat although we didn't do that with the last roo and it was delicious. Older chickens have an immense amount of flavor compared to the yound birds you find in the supermarket. The meat has a slightly different texture that supermarket chicken but if cooked properly shouldn't be tough. Back in the day it used to be that most chicken came from older, dual purpose birds. It wasn't until poultry farming became industrialized that you started seeing the young, production breed chicken that we buy now. Many of the recipes from our grandparents and great grandparents became harder to find but I've come across many of these online. They seem to be coming back as more people keep backyard poultry. Google recipes for older chickens and you should find quite a few methods for cooking

 

[karlamaria]

Quote:
I will do the same, keep my special girls, and add to my flock. there is always someone out there willing to take chickens for eating, me Im not one to kill my pets, and with my autistic little one this would kill him. So off to " other farms or homes, and adding new to my flock every 2 years. I will be adding 5 to next years flock, but not getting rid of any yet. mine are just 6 months old. I have 5 and want 10 next spring