[cbv8]

sorry but yes (you do get the occasional one that will live a little bit longer but sadly not many  ). These were bred as egg laying machines for the commercial industry and were expected to lay practically every day for upto 2 years and that takes a lot out of their bodies.

What if i put Bromide in their water will suppress thier egg laying for a while and prolong their lifespan 

[joyfull]

no sorry 

[Griffete]

I get 2 eggs a day out of 7 but they are very young...to my surprise i got  a golden egg today it was massive
   

[cbv8]

I get 2 eggs a day out of 7 but they are very young...to my surprise i got  a golden egg today it was massive
   

I gather the egg on the right from hens with stunted growth from smoking 

[New shoot]

 

Bet that big egg is a double yolker.  Young hens quite often take a while to settle and lay a couple of double yolkers before they work out the timing of it all 

cbv8 - your hens are not going to be terribly long lived as Joyfull says, but they will have 3-4 happy years being looked after and spoiled by you which is infinately preferable to what a lot of hens have in intensive commercial set-ups. 

I have pure breed bantams and they live and lay a lot longer, but they have rest periods, so you pays your money and takes your choice.  I'm getting a maximum of 2 eggs a day from 9 girls, but 2 are real OAPs and haven't laid for years 

[cbv8]

Hi New Shoot,
Thanks for the info but whats the alternative i initially had my hens because i have moved to a ruralish part of the country and to get a bit closer to nature as it were and obviously to have fresh eggs from happy hens. I was told that Lohmanns were prolific layers hardy happy cheeky and inquisitive breed which is all true but was not told they were coffin dodgers  The whole family (me) are getting quite attached to the girls (sad really i suppose) and are like i said part of the family even the wife talks to them when she thinks i'm not watching  I am now thinking should i get two more hens (long lived ones) to go with the three i already have so if they do start dropping like flies our family isn't too devastated  what do you think and what beed should i go for your advice is very much appreciated   

[Geo]

Hi Chas
When you buy hens they could die after 3weeks 3 months or 3 years. I would not buy them on the strength that pure breeds may live longer. If the lohmanns are as friendly as you say I would stick with them and enjoy them while they are with you.
Geo

[joyfull]

In an ideal world you could have a mixture of pure breeds and egg laying hybrids that way you can get the best of both worlds.
The life span of hybrids and pure breeds is like the life span of giant breed dogs and small terriers - my Neapolitan mastiff will have a life expectancy of about 8 years (she is now 4) whereas my Staffie x English Bull Terrier (aged 1 today) has one of about 15. You always get an exception to this rule - my Newfoundland x German Shepherd should have past away between 8 and 10 years but she is now 12 and still going strong 

[joyfull]

Enjoy your birds - whoever told you that they were prolific layers, inquisitive, happy, cheeky and hardy birds was quite correct - they really are fantastically friendly birds with huge personalities (not a lot of pure breeds could be described like that).

[cbv8]

Thanks both you are both right of course its a case of just live with them and rather spoil them to death rather than boredem to death  Joyfull i know what you mean we had a Great Dane which only lived 7 seven years i think she may have lived a bit longer if it were not for Cancer in her leg that had spread to her lungs/liver etc. That was a real bad loss to all our family and we (the wife) swore we would never have another dog as it is too painful when you lose them  and so the hens arrived   

[New shoot]

You could look to introduce some new hens next autumn. Most hybrid layers are bred to produce the maximum amount of eggs for around 12-18 months, then it slows right down. New point of lays then would tide you over on eggs nicely.

That gives you loads of time to decide what you want and also prepare a home for the newbies as they will need to be kept separate for a couple of weeks at least, but within sight of the others.  This is so you can check they are healthy before introducing them to your existing flock and also so they get a bit used to one another before you mix them.  It will mean some fisticuffs while they settle the new pecking order, but we can talk you through that when the time comes 

As I said, your girls will have a happy life so 3-4 years is not bad.  Think of poor caged birds that have 12-18 months of horrible conditions and then are culled.  Your lot have landed on their feet with you 

[GrannieAnnie]

You think you've got problems

I'm only getting 1-2 eggs a day,3 if i'm lucky and i've got 60 hens

And Brian is complaining about 6-8 eggs a day from 21 hens, 13 of which are now 3 years old!!!   

[cbv8]

New Shoot one of mine is an ex batt she was the bully until i swapped two hens a few weeks ago now she is second its amazing when watching them how the others bit of food is more appetizing than there own bit squabble squabble  I may do what you say next year    GrannieAnnie that is bad i will keep my mouth shut in future as mine seem to be laying more than anyones on here at the moment i had another two eggs this morning     

[joyfull]

don't worry cbv8 because come spring we will all be moaning about having too many eggs 

[cbv8]

don't worry cbv8 because come spring we will all be moaning about having too many eggs