WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY OLD HENS THAT HAVE STOPPED LAYING AS THEY ARE WORTH NO MONEY AND TAKE UP SP

[philipchickymad]

I HAVE 6 OLD HENS THAT HAVE STOPPED LAYING AND TAKE UP VALUBLE SPACE AND FEED AND I NEED THEM GONE BEFORE THE COLD WINTER PLEASE HELP WHAT SHOULD I DO AS THERE IS NO MARKET FOR OLD HENS IN IRELAND

 

[ChickenLegs13]

Eatem!

 

[AK Baha]

Why don't you eat them?

 

[Granny Hatchet]

their either pets or their not, feather pillows, dog food, chicken and dumplins, fertilizer.

 

[Fred's Hens]

their either pets or their not, feather pillows, dog food, chicken and dumplins, fertilizer.

A use seldom mentioned here, but a valid use nonetheless.

 

[appps]

Well if they are pets maybe you should let them live their days out there then. I mean dogs and cats and budgies are pets that serve no purpose but we keep those

Realistically you will be lucky to find a home for old non laying hens that doesn't include a pot. Though some people keep them and don't eat eggs so always worth a try advertising them for sale but chances are they won't live happily ever after.

 

[aart]

their either pets or their not, feather pillows, dog food, chicken and dumplins, fertilizer.

A use seldom mentioned here, but a valid use nonetheless.

....and how do you use an old hen as fertilizer...compost the body?
I know I've read about composting all kinds of livestock corpses, if you do it right it breaks down pretty quickly.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

ive never done it but i know they use the bones ground up powder as calcium supplement in fertilizer, dont know from what but guess it wouldnt matter if we knew everything that we put back in our yards , i probably wouldnt even sit outside.haha

 

[DesigningLife]

Hi, I am brand new here but just wanted to mention the article I read (here on this site) a bit ago. If you have compost, maybe you could put those non-laying hens to work "turning it up" for you. The bugs, grubs and scraps they would get out of it would be enough to feed them without "paying for processed feed" for them. I think the article is called "Composting with Chickens" here on BYC. Or, like others said...make room in your freezer

 

[Granny Hatchet]

i think putting them to work is a great idea! now can u talk to my kids?