Where do you retire chickens if you don't want them killed?

[buckabucka]

I'm struggling with this issue recently. I'd like to get some real producers (leghorns and comets) because I have egg customers that are always asking for eggs. I'm getting 2-4 eggs per day, which is not enough. There are 16 hens just over a year and a half old, 5 pullets that are 7 months old, and I just got 6 more pullets that are almost to the point of laying.

I will likely be overwhelmed with eggs this spring, but we stopped eating eggs this winter in order to try to fill egg orders. I'd love to do a hatch this spring, but I don't know if I will have the heart to eliminate many in the older flock next fall, and I certainly don't have room for more birds right now unless I get rid of some. Most of mine are hatchery birds, so I'm not sure they will lay much in their 3rd year. These are my first chickens, so I'm not sure what to expect.

 

[chickened]

Something to consider when keeping a bird past the laying age is that every year a bird increases with age the likelyhood of contracting disease increases even in closed flocks. Then they transmit that disease to new birds that have been introduced at an earlier age.

 

[Evelle]

i found this just now
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_(chicken)
thought it was cool.

 

[BitsyB]

I had been wondering lately about keeping my girls (going on 3 yrs. old) even though they aren't laying much these days. Then I realized that I LIKE taking care of them, it gets me out and about in the yard whereas the cold weather would otherwise keep me inside. Plus they may start laying again when the days get longer, I want to give them a chance! We keep our dogs and cats even when they get old, so why not our pet chickens?

Besides if I wanted to eat them they'd probably be dissapointing- mostly feathers, skin, and bones. (For the record, when we do eat chicken it's from a farmer who raises them on pasture, so at least they had a good life.)

So, as long as they are healthy, my sweeties have a home here in my yard.

 

[buckabucka]

Quote:
This is an interesting point, -one that I had not considered. I try not to think of my hens as pets, but it is hard not to get somewhat attached when I am taking care of them. I don't really handle them or carry them around.

I guess I will wait until spring before I make any decisions and see how they are laying. I really like the idea I saw from Fred's hens on another thread: keep 2 flocks, one for production, and one for "yard art". That would mean adding on though. Decisions, decisions!

 

[chickened]

On the rare occasion I will keep a bird beyond 3 years if it is an exceptional bird and I always am concerned when they die that they have an unknown cause and it may infect my other valuable birds. If they die suddenly like a heart attack that is OK but when they obviously get something that effects older birds I am always on alert.
Quote:
This is an interesting point, -one that I had not considered. I try not to think of my hens as pets, but it is hard not to get somewhat attached when I am taking care of them. I don't really handle them or carry them around.

I guess I will wait until spring before I make any decisions and see how they are laying. I really like the idea I saw from Fred's hens on another thread: keep 2 flocks, one for production, and one for "yard art". That would mean adding on though. Decisions, decisions!

 

[annie3001]

my chickens are my pets first, providing me with eggs as a reward. I would not give them up... after they stop laying. nope, never.

 

[Chickenaddict]

My chickens are also pets. My oldest hen will be 7 in feb. She hasn't laid an egg in well over a year and im in no hurry to dump her because of that. She was one of my very first chickens and the last one standing out of the original group. She has been thru the ringer and then some over the past 7 years. Her first incident was when she was just a few months old and a big piece of plywood fell over on her. Then she got an injury to her eye which left her blind in that eye. She is a 5 lb bantam cochin so she is also overweight and needs assistance off the roost in the morning. She had a stroke last summer and I was sure I was gonna loose her but again she pulled thru.

I keep my birds as my therapy ( I am manic depressive/bipolar) as well as a part of my family, the eggs are just an added bonus for me. If I was raising birds for dual purpose I would certainly do things differently but I am not so this works for me. My birds will remain here until they die.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Quote:
It may be too soon for many owners to answer these questions. I know I simply could not afford to feed a 20 bird flock in which 90% of the population were non-laying, retirees. I'd be both buying eggs to eat and expensive feed for those birds. As ChickenCanoe said, "placet cuique suum", to each his own.

 

[fishnet1971]

you can just ship them to me, i always have a place for more girls, laying or not. need a bigger coop though, so i would need your coop too!!!!!!!

Maybe that should be my calling, chicken retirement nation!!!!!!

my girls and 'Bird are pets to me as well, so laying or not they are here for the duration. My MayMay is a rescue from the Buffalo SPCA and she has only given me one fart egg in a year, but she is still my comedian. I spent more in cat food and fish food last year than in chicken feed. My cat died last year and i notice no difference in money. what i did in her, i now do in them. I have also saved a lot of money on fertilizer for my garden, and pesticide for my roses and garden ( no more japenese beetles)

There may be a lot more your girls can do for you other than lay eggs such as make you fertilizer (chicken tractor?), eat your bugs, mix your compost pile for you, etc. Would that maybe help offset their cost of feed? Use them for education programs in your community or schools? I take my MayMay to work when I know i have kids around or an education program. (I work in an agricultural field, so it's kinda the norm)

There is no right or wrong answer to this question, but I am glad you asked the question anyway to see what your options can be.