When to cull old hens??

[aart]

My 'Chicken Math' is hatch and slaughter every year,
for optimal egg production and winter space limits.

All cockerels go before 16 weeks,
older hens go before molt
(hopefully, cause those pin feather are a bear!).

 

[Mrs. K]

ah, well my plan is the same as AArts.... my actions, sometimes don't quite measure up!

 

[aart]

ah, well my plan is the same as AArts.... my actions, sometimes don't quite measure up!

Mine either!
I procrastinated slaughtering the hens this year,
had to skin all but one because of pin feathers,
also selling extra pullets until too late too....so almost too crowded over winter.

 

[bobbi-j]

ah, well my plan is the same as AArts.... my actions, sometimes don't quite measure up!

Mine either! My "extra cockerels" are now 11 months old. The old stew chickens I got from my mom are still around, too. Winter caught up with us all too soon.

 

[Mrs. K]

And this winter has lasted forever! We are getting snow tonight, and Friday. Good grief.

 

[bobbi-j]

And this winter has lasted forever! We are getting snow tonight, and Friday. Good grief.

It's forecast for here Saturday and Sunday, and another potential system around midweek next week.

 

[333113]

What about roosters? When is the time to cull them?? I have a rooster who is getting mean towards humans and towards the other hens (pulling out clumps of feathers for no reason, leaving the run littered with feathers). And that is not going to fly with me.

Also, I only consider one hen a true pet, and she is still laying fairly well.

Almost all my hens I have are dual purpose thankfully.

Keep in mind that chickens are flock animals. If you only have one favorite, you should probably still have at least one chicken friend for her. Unless you are moving in to be her roomie!

 

[LunaMarieWolf]

Keep in mind that chickens are flock animals. If you only have one favorite, you should probably still have at least one chicken friend for her. Unless you are moving in to be her roomie!

I have 2 sister hens that always stick by my little favorite girl. I only have 2 older hens that I was thinking about culling. I would keep those 3 (the two sisters and my fav.). The two sisters are the best broodies and they are barely a year and a half old now.

Plus I already have some new hens and chicks that are being raised to replace and add on to my flock.

 

[Acre4Me]

They aren't putting out many eggs and its's costing more to feed them than the eggs they are putting out. Plus it seems like I will have to invest in more expensive feed if I decide to use their eggs for hatching eggs.

I've seen a post on BYC indicating that someone would only hatch eggs from older laying hens because then it was selecting for a longer laying life. Might be an option for you.

 

[Mosey2003]

It's all up to you, they're your chickens.

A couple things stand out. You say you'd need to get more expensive feed to hatch AND that they're looking ragged and not laying. Are you feeding scratch or something very low protein right now? Lack of protein will hinder egg laying. If you only want to keep birds that will lay on low protein feed, you'll want to cycle them out faster.

The rooster can go any time.