[mumbley joe]

as the title says what is the best thing to do with any 'ladies' when they stop laying? we have  four, don't ask me what breeds we have,as lame as it sounds they never quite match the pictures in the books. one is brown, she stopped laying quite a while ago, one is black ish one white and one grey. but the egg production is really low now, i suppose we might be lucky if we get into double figures egg wise in a week! although we don't really class them as pets sending them off to chook heaven ourselves is not an option

[joyfull]

mine live here until they pass away, however if you don't want to do this either because of the cost of the feed or the lack of space then culling or trying to rehome is your only option. Over here in Lincolnshire we have a forum called Lincs pets for life where they can be advertised for free so not sure if you have a local one, but most people only want laying hens I'm afraid.

[grinling]

I get about 5 eggs a week from my 2 if lucky. Speckles is 6 and Pecky is about 18 months, but as a dual bird this would normally be the end of her life span. BIL had to put Snowy down for me, whilst I sobbed outside, very friendly hen who went blind.  Instead of hand pulling the neck, you could despatch using a broom handle and pull the legs.

[nerdle]

When the time comes I'll get the vet to do it.  Will be worth the money.

[helens-hens]

Mine are both 2 1/2 plus and I haven't had eggs for a couple of weeks now. They still give me so much pleasure though that I am happy for them to live out their retirement.

Will be getting a new addition to the flock hopefully in the next couple of weeks to get the egg production going again!

[mumbley joe]

thanks for your replies, still not sure what to do but will let it ride for now.

[compostqueen]

I think keep them as they've looked after you with eggs so now you keep them.   I kept my girls when they'd stopped laying.  It never occurred to me not to. A hen is for life not just for Christmas 

[Springlands]

I would agree with CQ - we had one hen who lived for about 3 years after she stopped laying. She was OH's pet hen - always looking for a scratch when he went into the run. We really missed her when she finally passed away.

[kegs]

In the interest of a differing opinion, maybe you've never bonded with your chickens and have them just for the eggs.  You could buy some new pullets to keep you supplied and investigate whether you have a farmer locally who would be willing to do the deed although I doubt there'd be much meat wise on your girls but that would depend on their ages.

[New shoot]

Well my oldest bantie girl is 9 now and hasn't laid an egg for years, so if you decide to keep them, be ready for them to live for a while yet.  

Hybrid layers are usually shorter lived but if it going to stop you getting new hens as your coop is full, it is worth considering.

I've mixed in younger hens as I went but then I've always had a bantie boy to stop the worst of the violence when new girls join the gang