When to cull old hens??

[ShrekDawg]

The guy that used to kill the chickens on the farm used to do the dislocation with one hand while the other held the chicken. He placed his forefinger and middle finger either side of the chicken neck just below the head and pulled with a twist.
It was very quick and I never saw him get it wrong. However, he killed hundreds in a day sometimes so I suppose practice makes perfect.

Hundreds in a day!?

 

[Rachel2019]

When they stop laying or don't lay much it could be a time of the year thing I know my pop some times his chickens don't lay or don't lay very much than they start laying again but if they are old than it is time to cull them but it depends on the chicken exactly and with the rooster my pop has had some mean roosters that would attack you the one at the moment is actually really good I don't know much about them and culling them but I know my dad grew up with chickens and that's what he said

 

[LunaMarieWolf]

I just wanted to say here that my chickens are a part-time job for me. I am having to sell chicks and eggs to help save up for college, plus work another job and go to school. Mind you I am a 17 year old who's grandparents bought me my first flock of 6 two years ago. I have not had chickens for long, but I have been trying to balance the feed I put in my chickens. I can not afford to put more money that I do not have into my chickens.

I love my chickens dearly and I would not want them to suffer. I want to humanely kill my older chickens so they do not suffer trying to put more stress on their body by producing eggs.

They have not gone broody and I do supply Oyster shell in a large sheep trough 24/7. All of the eggs I have tried to hatch do not make it, or have deformities.

I cannot use their eggs for hatching eggs, and they don't give me enough eggs to use them as eating eggs. I am trying to rebuild my funds back up so I can give them a better coop so having 'freeloaders' will not work for my system.

Plus eating eggs are going for less than $2/dozen in my town because of the local stores having local "free range" brown eggs for $2 a dozen.

Since these 2 hens are dual purpose hens, Barred Rock and Rhode Island Red, I could use their meat as well for my family.

I have lost many chickens over the 2 years and I am just trying to learn along the way. Any helpful advice would be nice, but understand that I can't have huge flocks and keep all my older hens because I just don't have the space, nor the money to do so.

 

[Mosey2003]

@LunaMarieWolf maybe post over in the Incubating and Hatching subforum and see if we can't work out what's going wrong for you without going off-topic in this thread?
I also recently made an article outlining how I incubate and hatch so I don't have to type it all out, if you'd like to give that a read.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-i-incubate-and-hatch.74808/

 

[chickenMamee]

If they are ragged, they might be getting ready to molt. Eggs and feathers are made of protein, so egg production will drop during a molt. I agree with Mosey2003 on boosting their protein. They will probably resume laying after their feathers are "rebuilt." An adult chicken molts every couple of years, on average, but then they look quite good. I took my 7 year old hen to the State Fair right after she recovered all her feathers after a molt, and she won reserve Continental.

That’s awesome!

 

[chickenMamee]

I culled 25 roosters last weekend and we’re canning them today. I cull roosters when the hen:rooster ratio gets out of whack.

Hens, I cull when they start sleeping in places they shouldn’t or when I need to reduce the population. Or when we want to make soup.

Wow 25 roosters is a lot of birds. Did you cull before they crowed? Just curious because I have 5 acres for free ranging but I couldn’t stand all of that crowing happening. I have three Roos and they are starting to wear my nerves thin. I’m certainly not opposed to culling because I’ve done a few myself. Some were giveaways and some were dinner or not. I had a favorite really large hen that was attacked by a coon that I had to put down. I didn’t eat her. Just couldn’t.

 

[bobbi-j]

I just wanted to say here that my chickens are a part-time job for me. I am having to sell chicks and eggs to help save up for college, plus work another job and go to school. Mind you I am a 17 year old who's grandparents bought me my first flock of 6 two years ago. I have not had chickens for long, but I have been trying to balance the feed I put in my chickens. I can not afford to put more money that I do not have into my chickens.

I love my chickens dearly and I would not want them to suffer. I want to humanely kill my older chickens so they do not suffer trying to put more stress on their body by producing eggs.

They have not gone broody and I do supply Oyster shell in a large sheep trough 24/7. All of the eggs I have tried to hatch do not make it, or have deformities.

I cannot use their eggs for hatching eggs, and they don't give me enough eggs to use them as eating eggs. I am trying to rebuild my funds back up so I can give them a better coop so having 'freeloaders' will not work for my system.

Plus eating eggs are going for less than $2/dozen in my town because of the local stores having local "free range" brown eggs for $2 a dozen.

Since these 2 hens are dual purpose hens, Barred Rock and Rhode Island Red, I could use their meat as well for my family.

I have lost many chickens over the 2 years and I am just trying to learn along the way. Any helpful advice would be nice, but understand that I can't have huge flocks and keep all my older hens because I just don't have the space, nor the money to do so.

Good for you! As you can see, there are passionate feelings on either side of this subject. My feeling is, if someone can afford to keep feeding "freeloaders", and has the room to keep every chicken that comes their way, and provide veterinary care to keep them from suffering in their later years, more power to them. But that is not my reality. I keep chickens for both eggs and meat. When egg productions slows, and we're not getting enough eggs to meet our needs, the chickens will become meat. That's my choice, and that of others here on the forum.

I think you are managing yours in a responsible manner - knowing that you can't have a large flock of chickens running around that aren't earning their keep, and wanting to let them have a good life until one bad day, rather than take a chance of them developing reproductive or other issues that would impact their health and well being as they age.

 

[alcoto]

I have a mix of ages my oldest was hatched in 2008 she is my baby. Some hens retire and stay here for their natural lives others are culled, if they are flighty or mean they tend to go to freezer camp other culls are sold or given away.

 

[huntersmoon]

I only have 7 adults now (and 8 chicks coming along) but I don't cull them and my oldest hen is 8-1/2 years old, and still laying several times a week. I think all of the rest of the adults are between 3-5, and I'm getting eggs daily - am overloaded with eggs even.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I just wanted to say here that my chickens are a part-time job for me. I am having to sell chicks and eggs to help save up for college, plus work another job and go to school. Mind you I am a 17 year old who's grandparents bought me my first flock of 6 two years ago. I have not had chickens for long, but I have been trying to balance the feed I put in my chickens. I can not afford to put more money that I do not have into my chickens.

I love my chickens dearly and I would not want them to suffer. I want to humanely kill my older chickens so they do not suffer trying to put more stress on their body by producing eggs.

They have not gone broody and I do supply Oyster shell in a large sheep trough 24/7. All of the eggs I have tried to hatch do not make it, or have deformities.

I cannot use their eggs for hatching eggs, and they don't give me enough eggs to use them as eating eggs. I am trying to rebuild my funds back up so I can give them a better coop so having 'freeloaders' will not work for my system.

Plus eating eggs are going for less than $2/dozen in my town because of the local stores having local "free range" brown eggs for $2 a dozen.

Since these 2 hens are dual purpose hens, Barred Rock and Rhode Island Red, I could use their meat as well for my family.

I have lost many chickens over the 2 years and I am just trying to learn along the way. Any helpful advice would be nice, but understand that I can't have huge flocks and keep all my older hens because I just don't have the space, nor the money to do so.

There is (or should be) NO reason you have to feel you have to defend your management choices like this. Your reasoning and choice are perfectly reasonable and, most importantly, yours to make! Sometimes others forget that.