[Zippy]

Hi - a touchy subject I guess, but one thing that stops me from putting hens on my plot has been having to dispatch them when they get to that stage where they are not producing eggs so are not cost effective to keep.

The advantage would be the eggs of course and the manure, but do the benefits outweigh the costs of building the secure pen and house, feed, litter and vet care?

What do other folks do - do you keep the non productive ones as pets or do they quietly move on? Sorry - its just a question as I really don't know!

[joyfull]

My hens are all pets and luckily are all still laying - when they stop they will be kept as girls in retirement. However I have had to dispatch a couple when they are not responding to treatment which isn't nice but for their sake has needed to be done. Nobody likes to do the deed and some will even take theirs to the vet to be put to sleep instead. Joyxx

[dizzylizzie]

my hens are pets and will continue to be loved and looked after,even when they stop laying. People get hens for different reasons, so it really does depend why you want them. of course, even after they stop laying they still give you fab manure for the garden

[danmegal]

I would never dispatch a healthy bird laying or not, however I am glad that I do know how to do it if needed. I would much rather do it myself than have to go to the vets.

[kitkat]

All mine are pets, and its just as well
    I dont think its cost effective against eggs, i had a bet with a friend that the girls would earn their keep- i lost

[North Devon Dumpling]

It is an interesting question and a discussion that we have been having today.  Our hen who had the prolapse still hasn't laid (despite being back to her normal self) except for a very strange item this morning which looks like a picture posted last year which someone said was an ovary.  If so she may not lay again (from what I understand).  We then discussed what we would do with her.  DB said it wasn't worth keeping her if she wasn't laying, but I think that she should be allowed to have a nice time and be company for the other one until we get more, and even then I don't think I could dispatch her just becuase she had stopped laying.  Having said that if we had quite a few hens that didn't lay it might be a different matter from a cost point of view.  Ours aren't supposed to be pets and don't have names etc, but with so few you get to know their characters too well so despite our intentions of just having hens for eggs they have become pets.  Lesson from this is that (IMHO) if you don't want them as pets have lots!!!!!!

Tricky subject and as someone else said I suppose it is what you are keeping them for that will decide the outcome.

[SMD66]

I suppose it boils down to whether you want pets or egg producers.  if you have loads of room to let the old ones live out their lives and keep getting newbies to lay then fine.  If you have limited space and just want them for eggs then you will have to cull the ones who are past laying.

The question is..could you do it?

If you think you may get 200-300 eggs in a year per hen, (depending on breed) that would be up to £75.00 woth of free range eggs in one year.
Set up costs vary as to whether you are a DIY person and where you get your coop from etc.
Food costs have to be factored in , plus bedding, feeders, any treatments they may need, etc etc.
I would think keeping hens isn't terribly cost effective but IS very rewarding!