WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR OLD HENS?

[donrae]

I also have a flock, not pets. The last time I culled older hens I fully intended to butcher them, I wanted to see for myself if they had the great flavor I've heard of. But, life being what it is, it worked out better to rehome them. I think I just gave them away for free, if I remember right the youngest hen was 3 and the oldest was 7 or 8, so it's not like I was really out any great potential layers. I used craigslist and found a taker that very night, who also took a rooster that had been disposed by a young gun and was very unhappy in the flock. The lady had bought some land and basically wanted some yard ornaments, that's about what she got!

I hatched out 13 chicks this year and looks like I've got 6 roosters for sure. Those will be going in the freezer if I'm ever well enough to help with processing, or we may try craigslist.

 

[Madamegato]

I'm always curious to read the responses to this type of question because I'm trying to figure out what to do with my ladies. Right now I have four that have just turned 2 - they're still wonderful layers (Dominique, Barred Rock, 2 EE's), and we just bought three more little ladies who arrived home today (2 Speckled Sussexes, 1 Rhode Island Red). We're not living on a farm though with acres of land, or even having a big back yard - we are city dwellers with about 180sf for the girls to run about. We bought ours for the eggs, trying to stick with breeds that lay for a while/don't mind small spaces/quiet/docile - but the question still looms... do we make room or let them age gracefully?

It seems like a horrible thing to do after they've served me faithfully daily, eaten bugs from the garden, enjoyed every scrap of food from the kitchen - but at the same time... they've had great lives. My hens have their coop to retire to at night, but are able to leave their coop anytime they want to scratch about, dust bathe, etc. There was a lady on here who said something along the lines of, 'My hens have wonderful lives and only one really bad day.' It really sums up how I look at them... but do I bring about that really bad day, or let nature do it when the time is right?

I'm on the fence - really. The girls know me (they have a different cluck for me than anyone else since I give them food), they are sweet and calm (unless a plastic bag blows into the yard), but... they weren't bought for pets but to provide food in the form of eggs (lacto- ovo- vegetarian here). If I cull any, they'll provide a meaty meal to a family member or friend who knows them and can appreciate them, but it's just the idea of culling these creatures who have gotten to know me.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Always interested, though, in seeing how other folks approach it - no matter which it is. No judgement zone here!

 

[oesdog]

DH says if they don't lay ( we say pay the rent here!) Then they go in the freezer.
However when I asked about the baby chick (what we would do if it is a roooo) He said "OH no we can't eat that one, it's my friend!

We only have 5 girls left now and they are getting on a bit. The youngest is 3 yrs old. Through to the eldest about 6. Isabella doesn't lay much these days but I tell DH her eggs are the larger white ones - only three other birds lay whites so he hasn't got a clue who is or isn't laying! They are in the end our girls.

We did eat one though. Eleanor was a lovely big New hampshire and she sadly broke her neck in the coop in a freak accident (probably murdered by Isobella and Gerty!) I just couldn't through her away without her being useful it seemed such a wast! I did cry though at the state of her in the oven after her being such a beautiful bird. She tasted great! But I still got upset. I can't see be doing it again. I do process and eat Pheasent though without a problem. But the one pheasent that I had living with us never went into the pot he got freedom for Christmas last year! I am far too soft! DH still looks for Phesmo everytime we go near the release site!

As for culling for infantaside - I can see the hurt and disapointment at finding out your chicken is a baby killer. Our Gerty was a baby killer but she never went to the chop. I just gave her a big cuddle and told her I still loved on her and we were never going to have to worry about chicks again! She ended up brooding baby mice and bit me for shooing them out of the nest! Daft bird.
Here is my baby killer Gerty.

How could I not forgive that face!
She passed away earlier this year so is greatly missed about here.

Yes my girls will stay till they die laying or not - they decorate the garden, provide endless hours of Chicken TV and as much fertilizer as I could ever want? Ohh and feathers for craft - my Grandbaby loves making things!

Oes - they are more than just a chicken!

 

[Sophia5]

What do you do with your old

old birds that are not laying any eggs.? Do you cull them? rehome them, turn them into a curry or let them live out their lives on your property?
I keep mine. unless they are a problem bird, and thats if they are a problem at any age, they have to be extremely dastardly to get the chop, for example one of my hens scalped her chicks,, they were all feathered up and she tried to kill them, it was a horrid sight.

I saved one and she was able to make complete recovery.
Mummy lost her head.
I don't eat mine because I am a vegetarian

my kids don't eat them because they are chickens

I don't like the idea that they should go off somewhere to be someones lunch.

Mine retire and live out their lives with me, they have earned their retirement.
And if you name it you cant eat it unless you name it after a priminister or an MP

maybe I shouldn't say that, eeeeek.
I get very attached to them,
I love my birds

You could always let them free range until they pass away?
You could let them go roam free at a farm or free them in the wild. (it's a hard thing to do, I let mine roam free at my parents farm)

 

[hdmax]

What's more humane, allowing them to get so old that they suffer and die a slow death, or take them while they are still healthy? While providing a good healthy meal for the family!
I Don't understand how anyone could have food walking around and spending tons of time, and money keeping them healthy, and not use them for the intended purpose they are here for!

A chicken by any other name is still a chicken! They serve two purposes, egg, and meat production. Everything else is just a bonus.
To the OP, isn't eating eggs the same as eating meat? Or are you a selective vegetarian? (Not trying to be mean, I really don't know!)

Last night at work, I was eating homemade chicken noodle soup with green beans, corn, peas, celery, and parsley in a gravy like sauce I made. A lady that sits at the table with me, ask if I made it, I replied yes, all of it. Even the chicken? She replied. Yes I raised and butchered it myself, She said, stop, I don't want to here it, and then says, I would never eat a butchered chicken. I had to laugh and asked her how she thought Kroger or Walmart got theirs! She said that's different, it comes already packaged.

Getting back on subject; If you don't want to butcher them, Give/sell them to someone that needs/wants them! Problem solved. (Just don't turn them out to be eaten by predators, or allow them to get older and die a slow painful death.) Just my opinion!

 

[texas hiker]

The whole naming chickens thing has really, really intrigued me. I heard from the beginning, as I am sure many of you did, that you shouldn't name them if you have to cull them later.

All of my chickens have the same name, I called them "Nugget".

 

[SilkiesForEver]

Let them live out the rest of their years in happiness on my farm.

Even after they've stopped laying.

I figure they've worked so hard producing for us that they should be rewarded with some love, and just be spoiled.





Just a couple of my old hens...

 

[Muffinburgler]

What's more humane, allowing them to get so old that they suffer and die a slow death, or take them while they are still healthy? While providing a good healthy meal for the family!
I Don't understand how anyone could have food walking around and spending tons of time, and money keeping them healthy, and not use them for the intended purpose they are here for!

Well, that argument could be used for all animals, really. Why have a dog or cat if you're not going to eat it?

I don't consider chickens to be food, they're pets, family members. Mine have names and personalities and I love them as much as I love my cats and dogs and parrots.

My oldest chicken is 13, and I can promise you she's not suffering nor dealing with a slow death She still flies halfway across the yard to get to her favorite sunny spot and still beats up the pullets when they get in her way. Who am I to decide she's no longer deserving of life? That's up to her.

 

[bobbi-j]

What one does with spent hens a personal choice, and there is no right or wrong answer (unless, of course, you're torturing them or letting them unnecessarily suffer, but that's a whole other topic). If your chickens are your pets only and you have plenty of room for them can afford to keep feeding them after they're done producing, keep them. Good for you, and more power to you. But not everyone is of that mindset or in that situation. Some people have chickens for meat and eggs and have limited space. If my egg-laying hen has quit laying and I have a backyard flock in the middle of a city where I can only have 3 or 4 chickens, then that hen needs to be replaced. Some people sell eggs. When the hens quit laying, they need to be replaced. If you have a laying flock of several hens, and you replace them, it's expensive to keep feeding a bunch of chickens that aren't laying. And if you replace them every 2 years or so, and the spent hens can live for many years after that, just eating feed.... That's a lot of chickens just hanging around eating feed. So, to each his own and let's not be judgmental toward others who do things differently than we do.

 

[bobbi-j]

You could let them go roam free at a farm or free them in the wild. (it's a hard thing to do, I let mine roam free at my parents farm)

In my opinion, this is more cruel than humanely killing and processing them. By "freeing them in the wild" you are leaving them unprotected and vulnerable to predators. And believe me, they WILL be killed at some point by a predator. What is kinder - a quick, humane death that is over with in a matter of seconds, or being grabbed by a predator, carried off and potentially being eaten before it's completely dead? I'm not sure that a coyote, fox, raccoon, hawk or other predator is going to think, "I should kill this poor bird first so it doesn't feel a thing when I tear into it or remove wings, legs, or innards to eat them". One other thing about just turning them loose, you are also possibly condemning them to starve to death if they do manage not to get eaten any time soon after being "freed". Where I live, there is nothing for them to eat for several months of the year because the ground is covered in snow.
Quote: You didn't know that? Yeah - packages of chicken just magically appear at the grocery store. No actual chickens are harmed in the packaging of this meat. It's just there....