When is a spent hen?

[TheyCallMeMrPickles]

When do you consider you hens spent? My initial small flock is about 3 years old that are still laying every other day, do you consider your laying hens spent when they're 100% done laying or just when they're not producing anymore. I still get about 16-24 eggs a week, excluding winter because I don't artificially light. In full disclosure, economically, they'll never be cheaper then supermarket eggs but I'm just wondering if this fall is time to cull them for stock or do you keep them until they're completely down laying?

 

[K0k0shka]

Depends on how many eggs you want. If you want more - then cull and replace with fresh blood. If you're okay with what you have, then keep them longer. Everybody's definition of "spent" will be different and based on what they want out of a hen.

 

[Rose Quartz]

When do you consider you hens spent? My initial small flock is about 3 years old that are still laying every other day, do you consider your laying hens spent when they're 100% done laying or just when they're not producing anymore. I still get about 16-24 eggs a week, excluding winter because I don't artificially light. In full disclosure, economically, they'll never be cheaper then supermarket eggs but I'm just wondering if this fall is time to cull them for stock or do you keep them until they're completely down laying?

Hmm, I'd get more up to laying age first if you're looking to replace because it'll be a long gap if you don't.

Sounds like they're still laying well.

Depends on what you want to do, and possibly even what breeds you have. I know my mom's ISA browns lived to be about 7 before they got old and died. They kept laying all the way through too.

I know some places replace hens every year, but I'm not sure just how much that improves their egg count.

I guess I haven't been doing this long enough to see a difference in younger vs. older hens for quantity of eggs laid.

 

[cluckcluckhens]

I have never heard the word spent before in hens so I'm reading this.

My senior hens are still laying and 8 years old almost nine come October we get two to three eggs from the two Wyandottes that we have a week. We have our new crew that we picked up in 2019 and new chick arrivals that are laying that are seven months old. These ones turn eight months in August of this year. Still, allot to learn about chickens after having the first ones for eight years.

 

[Acre4Me]

Spent hens is usually used to describe the production strains, not all chickens. A production strain (like a White Leghorn) will produce early (16 weeks approx), and nearly everyday. They produce very well for approx 2 years, then their production markedly drops off. So, an egg farm will consider the hen spent bc it is not feasible to keep feeding it to get fewer eggs.

a backyard keeper is not usually running so tight on production. Many will keep hen till they die or need to refresh their flock with younger layers.

 

[Kirkwooder]

Spent is a term that applies to feed - egg production, conversion rates. When ever a hen eats more than she produces she is considered spent.

Now, I am the very first to cull a sickly hen, however as long as a hen is healthy they are welcome in my flock. Usually hens that are older are more likely to become sick so they get culled first. Some of my hens are 5-6 years old, and I have heard that they may live to 20 or so. I never have had any live much longer than 6ish years. They are welcome as long as they remain healthy. After all how much could it cost to keep a "retired" hen?

 

[Perris]

hello @TheyCallMeMrPickles - welcome to BYC
A traditional way to manage a flock to keep up production without expansion is to cull the worst performers after 3 years, and replace them with youngsters, so a third of the flock is 1 yr old, a third 2 yrs old, and a third 3 yrs old. You could of course make exceptions, because as other posters have noted, some breeds and individuals lay better, longer, than others, but as a rule of thumb it is a tried and tested method.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When do you consider you hens spent?

Depends a lot on your goals and set-up. My main goals are to raise chickens for meat and to play with genetics. The "playing with genetics" part means I have to rotate mine out pretty often. My "pet" is the entire flock and the flock has changing parts. The individual parts are "spent" when I no longer need their genetic contribution.

The term "spent hen" comes from the commercial egg laying industry. They use specially bred hybrids that lay a lot of Grade A Large eggs for one or two laying seasons. After they lay for a season, usually a bit more than a year of laying, they have to decide whether to replace them or feed them through a molt until they are ready to start laying again. They keep track of production to help them make those decisions. They manage lights and feed to control laying and molting.

Typically one of their specially bred hens lays really well her first laying season. If she molts she will then go through another laying season where she lays really well and the eggs are even a bit bigger. After yet another molt though the average number of eggs the flock lays drops below what is profitable for them. Depending in their metrics, some operations will feed them through that first molt, some don't. Their specially bred hybrid hens are fine tuned laying machines. A big part of their management is keeping them healthy during the laying season. Due to their amazing feed to egg conversion rate they can easily develop medical problems. They are not bred for longevity, one or two laying seasons is all they can get out of them. When they are no longer profitable they are considered "spent".

Depending on your goals and facilities you'll need to come up with your own method. We all do these things differently.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I agree with what has already been said, spent is the ratio of feed to how many eggs the chicken is laying.
Personally, my spent hens will live as long as a life as they want, whether they are laying or not. I have 8 year old hens that lay an egg once a week.