When to cull old hens??

[bobbi-j]

I have an off-brand Instant Pot, and for older birds I set it at the highest pressure and the highest time it will go, something like 80 minutes?

That’ll do it.

 

[Banditschickens]

 

[Noellereagan]

they have provided food for you in the form of eggs almost their whole life; it would be pretty ungrateful to kill them as soon as they stop! they have laid eggs for you (not an easy thing; that's like having a baby every day), and as soon as they stop, you kill them? be grateful for what they have done for you!

Hey, you: don't get triggered over this comment. Live and let live.

I like this. A lot.

 

[Noellereagan]

I have my one flock and I will never have another. My chickens were my retirement gift to myself and at almost 68, and in relatively good health if you don't count the well-controlled chronic leukemia, I hope to go out when the last chicken does! (So, I'm trying to take very good care of them!)

I’m wishing both you and your birds the best! Your comment made my day.

 

[Noellereagan]

I don't support this matter I'm sorry weather egg or anything if I have hens and they stop laying I wouldn't cull it's hurting because elderly comes on everyone then it's not like that to kill them just because they are eating and not giving eggs everyone have their right to live so I let them live as long as they can ..this is the thing I call humanity they can't speak but they have emotions pls don't cull ur birds just because they are useless

I’m in your camp.

 

[Noellereagan]

I've had game bred hens that died of old age at 15 or so years, and still sat great and laid about 3x a week.

Wow! Must be a well taken care of girl. Nice work!

 

[Eggscaping]

Actually, yes, at high pressure(15psi) that's pretty close...can depend on the type of bean.

I got this in my inbox today, about kidney beans and pressure cooking. I hadn't heard it before. Any knowledge on this, Aart?

Cooking dried beans in a slow cooker is incredibly convenient. Just throw them in with a bit of a broth and several hours later you'll be rewarded with some creamy and tender legumes. But if you try this method with red kidney beans, you risk giving yourself a severe case of food poisoning.
According to research from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), red kidney beans contain high levels of a toxin called phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) that causes extreme nausea, severe vomiting, and sometimes abdominal pain.
PHA is present in red kidney beans that are still partially raw from undercooking, or haven't been heated to a safe temperature to destroy the toxin.
Red Kidney Bean Poisoning, as it's named by the FDA, has a rapid onset and the severity of symptoms is related to the amount of contaminated beans that are consumed. White kidney beans, by comparison, have only around one-third the toxin amount that red kidney beans contain.

While this information may sound scary, it shouldn't stop you from enjoying kidney beans. All you need to do is use the simple method below to ensure that what you're cooking is safe for you and your family.
How to Safely Prepare Dried Red Kidney Beans
These instructions follow the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's recommendations:

1. Soak - Raw kidney beans need to soak in water for at least five hours.
2. Boil - Drain the beans and change to a fresh pot of water. Bring to a boil (212°F) for a minimum of 10 minutes.
3. Prepare - Once you've followed the previous two instructions, your kidney beans are no longer toxic and can finish cooking in whatever method you prefer, such as in a slow cooker or on the stove top.

 

[aart]

I got this in my inbox today, about kidney beans and pressure cooking. I hadn't heard it before. Any knowledge on this, Aart?

Cooking dried beans in a slow cooker is incredibly convenient. Just throw them in with a bit of a broth and several hours later you'll be rewarded with some creamy and tender legumes. But if you try this method with red kidney beans, you risk giving yourself a severe case of food poisoning.
According to research from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), red kidney beans contain high levels of a toxin called phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) that causes extreme nausea, severe vomiting, and sometimes abdominal pain.
PHA is present in red kidney beans that are still partially raw from undercooking, or haven't been heated to a safe temperature to destroy the toxin.
Red Kidney Bean Poisoning, as it's named by the FDA, has a rapid onset and the severity of symptoms is related to the amount of contaminated beans that are consumed. White kidney beans, by comparison, have only around one-third the toxin amount that red kidney beans contain.

While this information may sound scary, it shouldn't stop you from enjoying kidney beans. All you need to do is use the simple method below to ensure that what you're cooking is safe for you and your family.
How to Safely Prepare Dried Red Kidney Beans
These instructions follow the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's recommendations:

1. Soak - Raw kidney beans need to soak in water for at least five hours.
2. Boil - Drain the beans and change to a fresh pot of water. Bring to a boil (212°F) for a minimum of 10 minutes.
3. Prepare - Once you've followed the previous two instructions, your kidney beans are no longer toxic and can finish cooking in whatever method you prefer, such as in a slow cooker or on the stove top.

Nope..... I don't cook dried kidney beans, get those from a can.

 

[cassie]

If you want eggs and are unwilling to cull old hens, and can't afford to feed freeloaders, you are better off just to buy eggs from the store. That way you won't be faced with that problem. Not everyone, and that includes me, can afford to support non productive livestock. I give them the best life I can and when they stop laying into the pot they go. Look at it this way. Very few animals in the wild ever die peacefully in their beds of old age. Sooner or later they become somebody's dinner.

 

[Eggscaping]

We plan to have dual-purpose birds. They will have a great life - good food, lots of space, plenty of sunshine and fresh air and things to scratch in and play with - unlike battery hens who are usually confined in dark, dirty, cramped quarters without access to the type of environment that lets chickens be chickens. When we kill and eat them, we do so with the knowledge that our eggs...and the chicken meat we eat...were both the products of humane, kind animal husbandry. I have no problem with folks who want to let their birds grow old and die naturally, but that's not what we will be doing. The fact that we don't wish to support hens who are no longer laying many eggs rather than let them live out a longer life is mitigated - at least to me - by the fact that their lives will be happy.