Which hens to cull? How to assess egg-layers during molt?

[BarnyardChaos]

I can't put it off any longer - it's time to thin the flock. But I can't move myself to choose which ones to cull. Why? Egg production has fallen to about 25% of last year's numbers, and I have too many chickens to feed through the winter months. The coop is over-crowded. About half my girls are 3+ years old, and the other half are pullets about to start laying soon. I've read how to check a hen's belly etc. to see if she is laying, but they naturally stop laying during molt anyway, and they are nearly ALL (older ones) deep into molting. How can I tell if a hen will start laying again after she finishes molt??? Some of the girls are rescue chickens that I don't know how old they are.
We plan to go into the coop well after dark, pick the girls off their roosts one by one, check for signs of laying, and if not - simply wring their necks. Clean, quick, as pain-free and bloodless as can be managed.
How do I go about choosing which older girls to keep and which to cull?

 

[MysteryChicken]

I simply go by age, & what I traits want, or don't want for breeding.

Hens I usually butcher are between 2-4yrs old most of the time. Depending on the cross, I butcher at 6-8 months at youngest.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I wait until molt is over before culling. All those pin feathers to pull are a pain.

Next year I'll be starting a high cull project, so we'll be eating alot of chicken.

 

[ChickenLeg]

Id go by the ones you know are the oldest, since those wont have the best laying amount from here on out. Idk of any way to tell whos gunna lay again soonest after molt but if they are older and have a pale comb they usually arent laying currently so thatd be my targets

 

[WhySayWhat]

The pullets will give you more eggs than older chickens over the course of the winter. I wouldn't cull them simply because they haven't started laying yet.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

The pullets will give you more eggs than older chickens over the course of the winter. I wouldn't cull them simply because they haven't started laying yet.

My pullets all have leg bands, so they're easy to identify. The older girls have none - and it's those I need to cull. I don't want to kill ALL of them; I'd like to keep those who are still productive, and good broodies, aunties and grandmas to help the younger girls learn the ropes.

 

[aart]

You can't really physically asses a non-laying bird...got to go by your experience.
Just cull the oldest, as many as you need to get your winter numbers right.
Might want to skin instead of pluck because of the pin feathers during molt.

 

[Folly's place]

I hate this part of flock management!
It's time to sort the group, and we also have a hen with an infected hock who's on the list. At night off the roost will be least traumatic, and I'm not ready either...
Must be done though!
Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

How do I go about choosing which older girls to keep and which to cull?

Read through this, especially if your hens have yellow skin.

https://afs.ca.uky.edu/files/evaluating_egg_laying_hens.pdf

I don't find this all that easy, often it is not clear, but this link is the best I can do. I zip tie mine on the left leg to identify which year they hatched and go by age, but you are not there yet. Maybe in future years. So just do the best you can with what you have.

 

[Folly's place]

I remember all that from Poultry science! Have I applied it when picking hens? Not always, for sure.
Mary