Whats your oldest hen?

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Wow, you mean she took on babies when she hadn't even been broody?

Yes she did. I had incubator babies in a cage inside. She was out in the coop with a poopy bottom (an issue with silkies), so I brought her inside for a bath. Nice and clean and mostly dry, she needed a heat lamp as it was evening and cooling off outside, and they were all in use with babies. So I popped her into the one cage with two older babies. They did fine. When I cleaned cages and moved growing birds to larger cages, I put her and hte two babies into a rabbit hutch. Then I tried adding some younger chicks--she took right to them. Bucky is a good mama. I cannot say that about all my hens. I won't let the partridge hatch eggs any more. One of the two hens kills her babies when they hatch; I can't remember which one, so....

 

[aveca]

we had one 10 yr old australorps and was still laying nice eggs. she did start to look her age a bit. she stopped laying eggs at 11 and died at 11 1/2

 

[b.hromada]

My oldest hen is a Columbian Wyandotte, her name is Chicken Jane, she is 2 y/o!

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Lucky is 12+

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! I had 2 Barred Rock hens that made it to either 11 and 12 or 12 and 13 (can't remember). They both passed quietly in the first big heat of the year --- the younger last year and the older the year before.
They were both still laying a couple of eggs each a week right up til the end.
They were good old hens

Lisa

 

[Lynn57]

I love the pic of the racing chicken. The name is quite fitting

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

...but thanks for sharing...

Lisa

 

[ruby]

11 or 12 year old Rhode Island Reds.

 

[Kev]

Interesting. Seems 12 is about the average?

My oldest hen(a turken from McMurray.. her name was.. McMurray.. lol) was about 12 years when she passed. In her last several years, she still laid a few eggs per week but they did come less and less often and took her longer to start laying after molt, brooding etc.

I have a showgirl that's about 10 now. She has not laid any eggs for about 3 years or so(really would like to get chicks out of her, sigh). She still goes broody(will sit on nothing, but will very happily take eggs presented to her), and is being a mom to a couple chicks right now.