Culling older birds?

[Agathe]

Do you take out older birds from your flock and if so, at what age? We have very limited space in our coop plus feed costs are double of what they were, so I can’t justify keeping birds that aren’t laying well. At the same time I have a hard time justifying culling them too. Our oldest birds are 3 years, so they’re not old old, but they are laying less frequently and one of them hasn’t laid in a year. We lost a couple of birds in the last year so I’ve gotten eggs to hatch but I am still struggling with deciding who to cull and whether to cull at all. Our rooster is also 3 years and as far as I’ve understood he is less useful for fertilizing eggs by now.

 

[LaFleche]

Do you take out older birds from your flock and if so, at what age? We have very limited space in our coop plus feed costs are double of what they were, so I can’t justify keeping birds that aren’t laying well. At the same time I have a hard time justifying culling them too. Our oldest birds are 3 years, so they’re not old old, but they are laying less frequently and one of them hasn’t laid in a year. We lost a couple of birds in the last year so I’ve gotten eggs to hatch but I am still struggling with deciding who to cull and whether to cull at all. Our rooster is also 3 years and as far as I’ve understood he is less useful for fertilizing eggs by now.

If you did not get attached to your birds it will be easier to decide.

How many birds are there now and how many do you want in total?

In case you free range an older and experienced and not human aggressive rooster is worth keeping if he is healthy. At three years of age he will be fertile enough to provide you with chicks.

I would also keep one or two reliable and healthy broody hens.

The one who has not laid in a year would be my first to butcher.

The ones prone to internal/external parasites or egg issues like brittle or soft shells would be next.

Then I would choose the ones that stay and sell or butcher the rest.

 

[Agathe]

If you did not get attached to your birds it will be easier to decide.

How many birds are there now and how many do you want in total?

In case you free range an older and experienced and not human aggressive rooster is worth keeping if he is healthy. At three years of age he will be fertile enough to provide you with chicks.

I would also keep one or two reliable and healthy broody hens.

The one who has not laid in a year would be my first to butcher.

The ones prone to internal/external parasites or egg issues like brittle or soft shells would be next.

Then I would choose the ones that stay and sell or butcher the rest.

There are 7 hens now and I’d like a total of 9. So only room for 2 more unless I cull some. Our rooster is great with our hens but attack me when they free range (he doesn’t attack anyone else) and therefore they can’t free range. He allows me into the coop just fine so he’s been allowed to live for now. Only the youngest ones have been broody but the elder hens have some calmer and friendlier birds that I’m thinking could be good role models for new birds, but I’m not sure that makes a difference. You’re right though, the one that isn’t laying should go. It’s just she is the sweetest of them all and if she hadn’t been so sweet, she would have gone a long time ago...

 

[Australorpfamily]

Could you find someone to take the ones in, there are several people who like older birds as pets/therapy birds and don't care too much for the eggs. To let them love our their lives and let you filter in new ones? I know culling isn't always killing, but my cousin did that(not the killing the giving)with her six yo hens, so just an idea.

 

[LaFleche]

There are 7 hens now and I’d like a total of 9. So only room for 2 more unless I cull some. Our rooster is great with our hens but attack me when they free range (he doesn’t attack anyone else) and therefore they can’t free range. He allows me into the coop just fine so he’s been allowed to live for now. Only the youngest ones have been broody but the elder hens have some calmer and friendlier birds that I’m thinking could be good role models for new birds, but I’m not sure that makes a difference. You’re right though, the one that isn’t laying should go. It’s just she is the sweetest of them all and if she hadn’t been so sweet, she would have gone a long time ago...

Spend some time with your flock to learn about their relationships.
When you know who is head hen and who is friends, it will become easier to decide which ones to keep. Unless you have a breed preference.

I have a problem with culling my older French Marans (5+) as I really love their friendly but at the same time no-nonsense demeanor. Plus they are high ranking hens, still beautiful and laying up to 4-5 eggs per week in the spring and early summer.

For several years now I have been continuously downsizing my flocks and breeding stock for various reasons, but I am willing to keep some beloved older pet birds and have lots of space to do so.

 

[aart]

I used to hatch and slaughter every year,
so as to have fresh layers in the winters.
I slaughtered the hatched cockerels at about 14 weeks of age,
the older hens before winter set in due to limited winter housing.
I had 3 age sets I rotated every year.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What are your goals with chickens? Why do you keep them? What do you want to happen? I think that is the first question you need to answer to yourself. Then you can plan how to get there.

My goals are to raise them for meat and play with genetics. I keep dual purpose chickens, not meat birds. The eggs are a nice side benefit but most are given to a food bank or friends. We can only eat so many. Every year I raise 40 to 45 chicks. That is enough for us to eat and to furnish replacements. I usually rotate the rooster every year, that depends on what genetics I'm playing with.

My target flock is 1 rooster and 8 hens but for various reasons the number of hens kept is between 6 and 9. So every year I keep probably 4 replacement pullets, keep the 1 -year-old hens from the previous year, and after the laying season is over I butcher the 2-year-old hens.

I usually butcher my cockerels between 16 and 23 weeks of age. Aart targets 14 weeks, we all have our goals and methods. I usually keep my pullets until they are 8 months old so I can evaluate them to see which I want to keep. I eat my pullets as there are only two of us. We get two meals out of a small pullet and often a lunch for me. I like the larger cockerels because we get our meals and I get two or three lunches. Before I butcher the older hens and have decided which pullets to keep I often get 16 to 20 eggs a day.

Instead of eating their excess pullets some people sell them to help pay for feed. Some people sell excess eggs. I do what I feel most comfortable doing.

Rooster fertility and spirit can drop as they age. Many if not most roosters should be able to keep a flock of 9 hens laying fertile eggs even when they are 5 or 6 years old, but some cannot. A 2 or 3 year olde rooster should be able to keep a flock of 20 to 25 hens laying fertile eggs. I'm using weasel words like "can", "most", and "should" because each chicken is different and each flock has its own dynamics. A 3-year-old hen "should" be laying pretty well but not all do.

 

[Agathe]

Sorry I am so late to reply, I hadn’t seen the new posts and for some reason I rarely (but sometimes) get notifications.

My main goal with keeping chickens is the eggs. I see it as a means to being self sufficient. However, I have a child and we also have very friendly birds, so they’ve been kept a lot like pets. Not so smart looking back but I guess I had hoped somehow that things would resolve themselves, like how two of our older hens got sick and had to be culled. But of course things don’t always turn out that way. I don’t keep chickens for the meat as much although we do eat culled birds that have enough meat on them.

I could try to give the older hens away, but I live in an area where keeping chickens isn’t super common, so I somehow doubt it would work. Also I worry about how they’d be kept. If the new owners know how to merge flocks or if they have sufficient care. I know people personally that I’d never give birds to and I’d rather cull them myself than for them to have sad lives or be pecked to death.

 

[LaFleche]

Also I worry about how they’d be kept. If the new owners know how to merge flocks or if they have sufficient care. I know people personally that I’d never give birds to and I’d rather cull them myself than for them to have sad lives or be pecked to death.

Yes, your concerns are justfied as I know from my own experience which is the reason I do not sell or give away any of my birds anymore but to one dear neighbour and two close friends.

Maybe this will work for you: Let your child choose one of the older birds as a pet and butcher the others, unless this would weigh too heavy on your child's conscience, in which case it should be you making that choice knowing which bird is the one your child is most. connected to.

 

[texsuze]

If you decide to reduce flock size you can always post your "gotta go" birds here on BYC. Put in the 'Buy-Sell' forum and be SURE to include at least a general geographic location in the the subject line. Pictures are always helpful. My girls are pure pets so often live beyond their "production years". In years past I've adopted hens as companions to others in my flock for various reasons and some of those birds weren't laying.