life span

I have purchased western rustics for meet birds but i am curious if i can keep a group of 4 of them for laying eggs to put in the incubator. Is it just a matter of diet or should i cull at the 12 week recommended mark? I would just like to stop purchasing meat birds if possible.

Hi everyone! I'm looking to see what your tips are for raising healthy chickens that live a long, happy life. I have a three year old hen, and 7 five week old chicks who I'm going to move into the outdoor coop soon. My other adult hen died a few weeks ago, from unknown causes. Her breed's...

I've got 2 broiler chicks 2 months old (and the size of full grown chickens lol) i want to keep them happy and healthy for their life. I keep them seperate from everyone in their own coop for 2 so they can eat a small amount only at night they free range during the day. The bugs are not as...

My flock is 4 years old this spring. I had one bird I had to euthanize because of ascites about 6 months ago, one bird had internal egg problems about two months ago and had to be euthanized, one bird recently I found dead under the roost and I am assuming it was a liver problem (did a quick...

I was given 2 Red Star pullets about 4 years ago. So I had also just gotten 2 other youngsters, 1 Barred Rock Rooster, 1 Barred Rock Hen and the 2 "Redheads" I named Ginger & Lucy. All 4 were pretty close in age, they got along well and my handsome Roo was such a gentleman, always giving the...

i found one of my older hens dead on the roosting poles this morning. She seemed fine yesterday and ate well. She was a red jack and was 4 years old. She was the first of her flock to die. Is this a normal life span for sex link hens?