Oldest Hen Age and Breed

[Tookie]

My oldest I've had, and who is still alive, is a bit over 10yo now. She's a mixed breed and her name is Hawk. She's the last one remaining from my original flock.
She still lays too! Though she isn't laying as much as she had last year, and she only lays in spring.
I also have a 9yo whom I hatched from my original flock. Her name is Egghead, and she also has laid some eggs this spring!

Hawk is the grey and white one, Egghead is the black one.

 

[my spoiled chickens]

First time I see someone writing Cherry egger. Knowing what the name Olive egger stands for I find this name misleading. The eggs are not reddish at all.
I know them as RIR or Red’s. My bantam Red is still young. She will be 4 yo the last day of April. 10 days later I hope to have double milestone. The fraternal Dutch twins Black and Pearl become 10 on the 10th of May.

I dont know man I was 8 when he died

 

[500Chickens]

an ISA brown named Red. she died in the heat 2 summers ago. she was the last survivor of our "junkyard chickens"

 

[BackyardinWales]

My oldest is 20 months, and her health has not been great since she moulted last Seprember. She no longer lays, and she is having issues with her legs, but she'll be staying with me till her time ends as she is my first hatchling.

 

[BDutch]

My eldest's are two ISA Brown hens. They are 5 years old. How long do ISA's usually live?

ISA Brown hens, usually die between 3 and 6 yo. Occasionally one gets older and can get up to 8 yo (no experience/from reading).

 

[Faraday40]

I still have one of my original hens from 2012. This July she’ll be 13. She’s a tough old EE and was quite feisty fearless and curious when young. (Thought she was a small cockerel so she was named “Tyrion”) These days she doesn’t move as fast but is still going. Her egg laying period shrinks each year. She layed 2 eggs in March so she is probably done for 2025. (When young she layed Feb through early Sep)

When she was 8,9,10 we kept saying that “this is probably her last winter” to prepare ourselves for the eventual loss. However now we’re just speechless and gratefully accept all the remaining days she is with us.

Tyrion has always been the flock gossip. She needed to know who was laying, in which box, and announced when they were done. She loves her treats and always makes sure to grab more than her fair share of scratch. For years the nest box on the end was reserved for her. She would kick out any hen who dared sit in her nest Before Tyrion laid her egg.

Another quirky behavior is her newly found maternal instincts. Although she has never gone broody nor hatched eggs, she started showing interest in other hens’ babies around age 7. We called her “Aunt Tyrion” because she would hang around the broody family, shield chicks from threats, and even tidbit… but then return to her single life when bored. In her old age she has taken it to a new level. She is now “Grandma Tyrion” and fully mothers all chicks as her own. She’s the matriarch of the flock so it’s not like the mama hen can object. They co-brood equally and often the mama quits long before Tyrion.

 

[Grandma The Chicken]

The oldest chicken I've ever had is Grandma, a Plymouth Rock. She is 9 now and she's still with us to this day.

 

[BDutch]

….
Another quirky behavior is her newly found maternal instincts. Although she has never gone broody nor hatched eggs, she started showing interest in other hens’ babies around age 7. We called her “Aunt Tyrion” because she would hang around the broody family, shield chicks from threats, and even tidbit… but then return to her single life when bored. In her old age she has taken it to a new level. She is now “Grandma Tyrion” and fully mothers all chicks as her own. She’s the matriarch of the flock so it’s not like the mama hen can object. They co-brood equally and often the mama quits long before Tyrion.

My oldest (10yo) has been a broody several times. But last year, she still sort of mothered her chicks when they became juveniles and started to lay.
The chicks hatched in June, and they still sleep together in a separate playhouse. One change since a couple of weeks. One other hen, who preferred to sleep alone decided to join.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Right now I just have two bantam hens, they’re 6 (sebright) and 7 years old (d’uccle). They both still lay during the summer and they both crow if I don’t feed them on time.

I have a family member who has an even older flock; a bantam RIR and two Cochin bantams who are all 9 years old. The RIR bantam has a few health issues but is still pretty sassy. He also has a Wyandotte and an Easter egger who are over 10, I’ve asked him to try and figure out their exact age. The Wyandotte is in good health, but she did have two Wyandotte sisters who already passed. The Easter egger is struggling with heart problems.

 

[EChicky]

My oldest was 11 and she was a barred rock. She was from our first batch of chicks and was the head of the flock her entire life. Her name was Molly and I honestly believe that she could have been fine for many more years, as she still had so much energy, but there was a disease running through our flock and she caught it