[too many girls]

i know my girls are for life cathangirl but if my girls stop laying then they will have to be culled believe me i wont want that to happen but i did get hens to produce eggs for family and an freinds not as for pets as such i cant afford to keep an animal that is generally

regarded as livestock an get nothing from it

i must have read it wrong, i was thinking your hens have slowed down with laying and when they stop altogether (which they will do) your having them culled, i apologise if i'm wrong!

[too many girls]

if my girls stop laying then they will have to be culled

?

[nicchick]

If they are not to be kept as pets but for eggs then why go for ex-batts? I was under the impression that Little Hen Rescue and other such organisations for re-homing did so under the proviso that they were non-commercial homes for life and if your situation changed so that you could no longer look after them then they would take them back to re-home.
I think people are impressed that you have given your girls a lovely life and are quite shocked that you would consider getting rid of them because they were no longer profitable. After all as you have said yourself they have been very productive for you in the past. I'm not trying to make you feel bad about this I'm merely wondering why you would offer to have ex-batts. Nic.

[karlooben]

i went for ex batts as most ppl told me they were easier an lay more eggs etc etc . but no one needs to worry as i wont be getting anymore birds , my order has been cancelled so thats another 6 girls that wont get a good home an no doubt have to get killed a nasty way . if in time i find someone in my aera that does pol for dirt cheap then i mite get some but so far the cheapest i have seen in the papers is £20 or more per bird . if not at least i will always have probably the best furit cage around if all my girls died though illness .

[too many girls]

calm down Looby, no one is suggesting you shouldn't keep hens, just shocked at what may happen to them if and when they stop laying, whoever told you ex batts were easy first time hens and layed more eggs misinformed you, if you really need the eggs  and have limited space you would be better shoppng around for pol, i'm off to clean out my ducklings (dirty little tikes) before i upset anyone else.

[nicchick]

Whoever said they were easier obviously didn't have the ones we had! Hard work, stressful but very rewarding. I did say that you had given them a lovely life and I know you work hard to keep them well. I'm also a realist and am not against people making money or culling animals if need be either for food or for compassion. I was just a bit worried that you had entered into an agreement to take in a rescue animal for a home for life and that was so clearly not your intention from the beginning. For this reason I think you would be better in the long run emotionally and financially getting pol rather than ex-batts. I have not said that you don't care for them extremely well and want the best for them.
I have to go and clean out ducklings too, must be the time! Nic.

[Aunt Sally]

I haven't kept up with all of this topic unfortunatly but will just add that it is up to any chicken owner what they do with their birds when the stop laying. 

Some keepers rehome them if they can, just like the battery farmers do with some birds.  Many keepers cull them and restock with POL hens as most commercial egg producers do and some who class the hens as pets allow them to live on until they die of disease or old age.

It is entirely up to the individual keeper to choose which is right for them.

So having said that I'm locking this topic now to maintain our forum friendliness.