The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: AndrewMBaines on August 24, 2012, 10:05:12 am

Title: Maximum age for a chicken?
Post by: AndrewMBaines on August 24, 2012, 10:05:12 am
We started keeping chickens a little over 8 years ago with a random selection of 6 hens from an acquaintance.
They weren't all new then, not really sure how old they were.

One of them is still alive, so she's close to 9 years old. Last year, she would have funny turns and fall over for 5 minutes, so we assumed we'd lose her when the weather turned cold. This hasn't happened at all this year, so looks like she's still going!

Anyone got any older?

Andrew
Title: Re: Maximum age for a chicken?
Post by: darkbrowneggs on August 24, 2012, 10:17:22 am
Someone came to me to get some Cuckoo Marans.  His last one had just died at over 12  :o
 
I said "I expect she hadn't laid for years"  "No" was the reply "She was laying the occasional egg until a couple of weeks before she died" 
Title: Re: Maximum age for a chicken?
Post by: in the hills on August 24, 2012, 10:18:48 am
We had a Black Rock that was over 10 years old when she finally went off her legs and had to be dispatched.  :'(


Bless her.
Title: Re: Maximum age for a chicken?
Post by: Rosemary on August 24, 2012, 10:26:37 am
A friend of mine recently had to have Noodles put to sleep - she was 14 and had been a wonderful broody once her laying days were over  :bouquet: