Longevity - what happens in the end?

[Poultrybonkers]

You have high hopes to think a sex link will be alive 5-6 years none of mine seem to live past 3 years old and they start slowing down laying at 3 aswell that's when egg issues come into play, well that I've noticed

 

[jreardon1918]

We started with 7 girls. We got them 3.5 years ago. Over the years, two died, one disappeared. We have an auxiliary run where they can fly over the fence if they choose. We have had a few girls spend a night in the trees outside the run. The older girls are on the decline with respect to egg laying.

We now have three 6 month old girls. That pretty much tops us out for room. The coop is 4'x8'. Unless we do an addition to the coop. In the spring we will probably do a bit of chicken math. It will likely be both addition and subtraction.

 

[Hidrainja4]

beware chicken math- I just lost a bantam today. Now I have a bantam hen with no hen friend her own size. yes, I have 32 standard size hens, but not bantam. So Do I wait till spring the hatchery only sell straight runs. So I better buy five to make sure I get a few hens. Oh, in the catalog they have Buckeyes, I never had Buckeyes may by I should get three. To replace one I should buy eight. I know, put the catalog down and walk away.

 

[rosemarythyme]

As above, I'd say eggs are not the top priority (I thought they were when we began in the summer creating their habitat), and I also think about poop and food, so I don't want to create an imbalance of pets vs. eggs, so it sounds like a rotation of every two years getting two or three chicks might work. I certainly don't want eight or nine at any time - but who knows! At some point, there may be ten out there.

I'd probably do 2-3 chicks every 2-3 years then, in your case. You'll still get eggs somewhat regularly but the flock won't grow too fast or unmanageable that way.

In my case I've been adding 4 chicks every 2 years, but we're close to capacity (self imposed maximum of 12) now, so I don't anticipate adding on again until some of the older birds pass on, however long that takes.

 

[Allthefloofs]

If you"d like your next ones to be calm I suggest day olds and have them around you and yours as much as possible at least the first 6 weeks.
Use a puppy playpen with mesh sides on ground level to brood in.
Sounds crazy, 100% works though.
Almost forgot when your hens hit 3 years old is a good time to add kids.
My experience has been late summer/early fall chicks are more calm than spring/early summer kiddos.

We have the same brooder setup. I would say one of the advantages is that since it is mesh on all sides they get acclimated to human activity pretty quickly. I like a lap chicken, ours are pets and it is a good way for them to see you pretty often. Our girls might or might not be lap chickens depending on personality but they are very comfortable with people even if they don’t like to snuggle. I like to train my girls too as babies starting about 6 weeks. The ones who are receptive to it know to fly up onto my arm when I cue them, which is helpful when I need to examine them.

 

[Sally PB]

Hidrainja4, I'm sorry for your loss!

I was laughing at your chicken math, as it sounded so like my own line of reasoning.

 

[Bodhisan]

You have high hopes to think a sex link will be alive 5-6 years none of mine seem to live past 3 years old and they start slowing down laying at 3 aswell that's when egg issues come into play, well that I've noticed

Okay, well, I've recently learned that our three hens are most definitely sex link, and while I'm glad to hear they're strong egg-layers, it saddens me to think that this rigor also reduces their lifespan, as that's not my idea of a "happy chicken." However, maybe passing at an earlier age and avoiding "old-age problems" is better, somehow. I guess we can always justify any viewpoint we take. All we can do is makes them as happy as possible while they're alive - and I know this cracks up the chicken people who breed chickens purely for eggs and meat and avoid making personal connections with them - and I get and respect that. It takes all kinds in this world (Kurt Vonnegut).

 

[NickyPick]

I'm trying to wrap my head around managing a 6 hen flock over time and I confess, it's difficult. I started with 15 back in 2010. By 2015, only the Rooster, Mr. Feathers, was left, but by then, I had 40 chickens. Mr. Feathers got moved to the nursery/infirmary coop because the younger roosters were picking on him (he was a lover, not a fighter and the best rooster I've ever had for taking care of day old peeps!), so his stress level went down. I lost him this year at 10 years of age. I have a hen that I got in 2011 that is still going strong, but lays about 3-5 eggs a year now. I've found that the EE's live pretty long, if they don't go over fences to neighbor dogs, or have fear issues. I'm up to 95 chickens/turkeys now and I think nearly half my flock is over 4 years of age. The longest lived ones seem to be the EE's and the ones I've hatched from the flock - in other words, the mutts.
I did get 3 white Leghorns from a Library hatch project back in 2017. They're all gone now, so that's one breed that, from my perspective, doesn't last long. But, boy, their eggs are huge and they were good hens. I managed to hatch several of their eggs before they passed, so I have some random Leghorn crosses (with a New Hampshire and a Standard Black Cochin - got two absolutely gorgeous baby roos from that cross, and a white hen that is probably from my one white Americauna rooster)
Anyway, I'm rambling, so sorry about that. I would say my point is, that some breeds or even individual hens can live for a really long time and egg production drops dramatically after they turn 3. Some hens can just drop dead of completely unknown causes. I've had some get egg bound, but haven't had any illnesses go through the flock. Most of my losses have been to predators. And I had many, many more predator issues when I lived in a subdivision on the NW side of Houston (dogs, hawks, foxes, raccoons, rats). I now live way out in the country with a National Forest out my back gate and in the last 2 1/2 years, I've lost one hen to a predator.

 

[Maryot]

So, what could that look like?

You do not know what it will look like. As hard as we try, some die from predators. Those can come in all shapes and sizes. If we could predict it we could stop it but we often can't.

The older a chicken gets the more likely it is to die from a disease. Some parasites can cause problems. Some have strokes or heart attacks.

Sometimes they have accidents. If they are startled they may panic and fly into something, breaking their neck. Or cut themselves on something totally unexpected. Maybe they eat a tack or screw that punctures their gizzard when they try to grind it up and get an internal infection. Or maybe laying problems or an impacted crop or gizzard. Something can happen that either kills them or destroys their quality of life to the point that it is a kindness to put them down.

Some just die peacefully of old age. They go to sleep and never wake up.

No one can tell you how they will go or at what age.

Also, when we do get three more hens, will the three originals, who will then be 3-4 years old (or 4-5 years old), be alpha, or will they be "weaker?"

I have no idea. Sometimes the older ones keep the younger in line. Sometimes they get pushed aside. Each chicken has its own personality, you cannot predict how any specific one will behave.

I’ve had them fall off the roost. Maybe they fall asleep.

 

[Archichicken]

We have three hens (our ordinance allows 6), and they are coming up on six months old. We were told they were a cross between RIR and Leghorn, but when I posted photos a a few weeks back, I was told that was not the case. Anyway, In looking on down the road, I've gathered that our girls will slow down and possibly stop laying around 5-6 years of age. My thought was to get three more in about three-four years, which would keep us in the eggs, while allowing the three mature hens to wind things up. Or should we wait 4-5 years? We don't mind having three "free loaders" in the future, so the plan is to let them "go naturally."

So, what could that look like? Assuming they don't get some disease or develop other problems, will we wake up one day and find a hen laying down, passed?

Also, when we do get three more hens, will the three originals, who will then be 3-4 years old (or 4-5 years old), be alpha, or will they be "weaker?" Just curious.

We keep a radio on 24/7 in our coop. The chickens get used to sound and don't startle as easily when we are around. Also predators don't like the "human noise". Try to find "soothing" music, like country western or gospel; our girls quit laying when we played them rock and roll -silly chickens!