Why!!?!?!?!?!??!?!?

[Chick1043]

I guess I can (kinda) understand roosters...But why do people send their hens to freezers camps if they don't lay eggs?

 

[m_shuman]

Because they are getting them for a practical use (lay eggs) not to keep them as pets.

 

[bufforp89]

Because not everyone is into paying for chickens that cant contribute. If I kept every chicken that I ever had just because I would have alot of elderly non-laying hens hanging out eating and taking up room that could be used for functioning flock members...I can't afford to feed mine properly if I don' t get an income from eggs however small it may be...

 

[Mahonri]

I know of a fellow who when he knows they've quit laying, breaks their necks and put them feathers and all into his pig troughs.

 

[patman75]

Quote:
X2

If they are not laying they are just costing $. Unless they are broody or molting.

 

[jenni22776rn]

I know what you mean..when I started having chickens last year..I was told by my my friend that her chickens only lived for about 2 years..could not believe it then she told me that once they stopped laying..they went to the freezer! Like everything..there are those that raise chickens as pets(like myself) and will keep the hens regardless of egg laying or not..and there are those that raise them for the egg production and give them a great life and once they are done egg laying..they are sent to the freezer! It is a personal choice of those that raise them....I had a real hard time with that when I first started..but I now have her hens that are no longer laying in my flock..I am good with providing them with a forever home!!

 

[yinepu]

I have over 100 chickens.. for me it's not cost effective to hang onto an old hen that is no longer laying enough eggs to justify her feed.. may sound harsh to some.. but for us they are here for meat and eggs.. we don't have ours as pets

Also, every year we hatch out new chicks and buy a few from hatcheries for new bloodlines.. now if we were to never cull an old "past her prime" hen.. just think how many birds we would be forced to feed and house in 5 years time... older hens are more susceptible to health problems and disease.. so it's also better for our flock in the long run to cull those who are just getting too old.. and personally.. I think it would be kinder to have a swift death than to linger on and suffer like some of the old hens tend to do

 

[southerndesert]

Quote:
Yup simple as that and here they are not pets per say, but producers. Can't afford to keep feeding numerous non-laying hens.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
Why????!!!!????? can you understand, kinda, doing it to roosters but not to retired hens? Kind of a double standard, don't you think? Both are birds that will not lay an egg and will be eating food anyway. Freezer camp is not a phrase I like...it kind of dulls the meaning of things by using euphemisms. One cannot keep every chicken forever no more than they can keep all the pups or kittens in every litter or every pig in every litter. Unless you have a couple thousand acres and unlimited monies, you will eventually run out of space and money to feed every animal.

For you folks who see chickens as pets, this may seem feasible. For us folks who see chickens as a cheap source of healthy foods for our families and other people's families, then that is entirely unpractical and driven by misplaced sentiment.

If you have to ask this question, you might gain understanding if you read this thread very carefully:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=549401

 

[Cowgirl71]

I keep hens for practical reasons. Keeping hens until they die of old age has several negatives, including...

1) Cost of feed. The good layers eat plenty of feed as is, so much that I've quit selling eggs at $2/dozen cause I ain't making any money. I'm just gonna keep a small flock for eggs/meat for myself. An old hen that's not laying (or only laying an egg or two a week) is not paying her way.

2) Space. I like to get a few new pullets every year to keep egg production up. If I were to keep them all until they died of old age my coop would become way overcrowded and the area around the coop would be eaten down to the ground. In short, the hens would be miserable.

3) Getting rid of the old hens also helps break up the life cycle of different parasites.