[cammi]

I only have enough room for 6 hens, so whats nagging in my mind is, what happens when they start to not lay so many eggs?  Is the drop off not that noticable.  It seems so mean to kill them just cause they don't lay anymore, especially as they have come pets now not just egg machines, but then i wont have any room to replace to non layers.  Or do chickens tend to get ill as they get older and need to be dispatched for their own good.

We have all hybrids now, not got round to changing my sig)

How many of you 'backyard' chicken people who only have a few despatch and how many let them just die of old age?

Sorry to ask its just been going round and round in my head

[joyfull]

I keep them in retirement but I have the room. You could always try putting them free to a good home on lincs pets for life but it depends on how attached you and your boys are to them.

[GrannieAnnie]

Not quite a backyard keeper, but I don't like just killing the girls when they get older, so we put them on lincspets4life as Joy said, and can usually find them homes.

[joyfull]

I think the best solution for those with room for just a few birds is to get birds like goldlines/warrens etc that live for shorter lifespans and start off with 2 or3 one year increase by 2 or 3 the next and then replace as and when the older ones die off.
However it is sensible of you to think about this in advance.

[Kaye]

My hens are ex bettery hens so are here to retire. They are pets so I wont ever kill them or move them on. The eggs are a bonus for us

[Beakybird]

My hens are ex bettery hens so are here to retire. They are pets so I wont ever kill them or move them on. The eggs are a bonus for us

Same here, Kaye When they arrived I told them that egg laying was optional and that their only job was to be a hen and enjoy life! I would never kill a companion and friend

[wolverine]

plan ahead and buy a coop that can hold more birds than you buy then stock rotate
when my girls stop laying they will retire and hopefully not attack ( too much ) the new girls I buy for eggs. then the idea is when they die my next girls will be due to retire and I buy more for eggs 
I realise this will not work perfectly but hey ho got to have a plan

as for killing them I realise it's not nice to have no eggs so why not just get rid of 3 of the least frequent layers then start the rotation system buy putting your other three into retirement.   
I'm not by any means an animal rights vegie or obsesive vegan animal lover but after all those eggs and gaining "pet" status I think they deserve to chill out
I would be mighty peed off if when I turn 65 and choose not to work the tax man came round with a shot gun 

[Robster]

I also am planning to rotate the girls.  I have 3 that are over two years old and 2 that are a year old.

Like others I would rather not kill them but I may need to before they pass away naturally.  How long does a hybrid hen live in a free range situation?

[wolverine]

Not sure about life span but that's the one variable that can mess up my master plan!
as much as I want them to live long happy lives I don't want them messing up my system ha ha
how unbelivably selfish is that 
still if they do then they do I'll just need a bigger coop 

[wolverine]

Ok just checked it out got this from a BBC article


• How long is the lifespan of a laying hybrid hen?
Hybrid laying birds don't live as long as their pure breed parents but you can expect a hen to live about 4-5 years.

Source
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northamptonshire/content/articles/2009/03/25/easter_chickens_feature.shtml

[Robster]

Thanks for that Wolverine.  I am embarrassed that you found that answer so quickly as I have been looking for this piece of information for a while.   
I may just be able to cope with them being naturally retired which will avoid the upset of my youngest daughter

[New shoot]

I'm a softie and let mine live out their lives.  I've got purebreed bantams and my oldest is 8 this spring, but very much still enjoying life.  For the handful of layers mash she costs me each day, she's welcome to her retirement 

I've got a big run where I try and get a couple of new girls in every other year or so to keep the eggs coming.  I find I lose my banties from around 4-5 years on but it varies.  I had 2 silver laced wyandottes and lost one fairly early at around 4, while her sister is still going at 6.  Similarly I had 2 black & red yokohamas and one went early, while the other is also now 6.

[sarah f]

i sell on after 2 years old, i couldnt kill them not that im against it but its just me lol.

besides i have a few  6 week olds ready to go out into big coop run, a few pekins and a white americauna

[joyfull]

the length of a hybrids life can vary depending on what variety it is, the general brown hens (warrens/goldlines etc) are around 3-5 years however blackrocks have been known to live to over 8 and still lay the occasional egg 

[Squiggly]

Funnily enough I was talking to my OH about this last night, I thought he'd say we kill them and get more but he said 'I hope no one starts killing us when we retire! Of course we wont kill them'

Lol so we both agree on that which is good, we came to the conclusion that the ones we just can't bring ourselves to give away will be kept here to retire and the others will hopefully go to nice new retirement homes