[Hooee]

I don't wish to sound crual or hungry, but what do you do with the girls when they've stopped laying, I;d love  to keep them all, but thats not really going to be practical a few years down the line. just wondered what the options were! any idea's or recipies welcome.

[Foxy]

Well ex-laying hens will be as tough as old boots!

Have a think about getting good utility pure breeds which will lay a little less but will lay a year or so longer than hybrids.

[grenhouse]

Couple of options -
1 - keep them, depending upon how attached you are to the little lovelies,
2 - auction?

I do agree with Foxy though, people overlook pure breeds as they produce less eggs per year than hybrids, however they should continue to lay for longer.

I'm soft so i would end up keeping them!

Steve

[croad langshan]

You can make a good chicken stock from them!!!!! I never waste anything and sometimes what is left from the carcass i put out as fox bait!  :blink:then shoot Mr or Mrs Fox as the bait is tied to string on a tin can! We  shot over 190 foxes last year on the two farms!!!!! I know that the local free range farm gets rid of them at 18 months and they all go to Pukka Pies!!!I avoid these funnily enough!  Horrid thing to watch but that is commercial free range for you! They take six thousand at a time though.

[joyfull]

My oldest ones are only 3 but they will have a retirement home for life with me as a thank you for all the lovely eggs that they have given me  . Any boys that I hatch though will take a trip to the freezer when they are 20+ weeks old, not their fault but I have 4 boys already and don't need anymore just yet.

[GrannieAnnie]

I re-home my old layers when they are past the laying stage.  I put them on Lincspets4life.  There is always someone who will take them on.

And yes they can make a nice drop of stock, just no meat on them!!   

[lisa80]

im not at this stage yet but would probably do the same as you grannie i can never face eating my own birds (silly i know)but mil will always have them 

[cornishgirl]

Clarissa Dickson Wright has a couple of fab recipes in her book "A Greener Life" - Hindle Wakes and Braised Hen. French recipe books are also a good source of inspiration for cooking the older girls.

[Flowerpower136]

Try and rehouse, they've served you well, now it's payback time.

[GrannieAnnie]

Ahhh Lisa, but I do eat my own birds, but only the ones that actually have meat on them!!!! lol

[lisa80]

im sure we have talked about this before granny annie when you asked what i would do with my cockerals :)i did rehome my 2 welsummer boys and afterwards had 3 more people ask for them :)sadly the boy welsummer cross had to go as he was wearing my silkies out mil  had him .i just have a feeling that if i eat one of mine it may well put me off chicken  some of my girls have names and i have my favorites ,there are always family that will take them for a meal but i always try to rehome first, as long as i have the space