[Rupert the bear]

I know its a fact of life that they die at some time. This morning I let the birds out for breakfast , all present and correct , collect eggs all normal apart from our black and white bantam, she is out and eating and amenable to a  tickle. I go back two hours later for the late layers eggs and find her head under wing in the nesting box passed away.
Looking back in the register She was the oldest bird We incubated , She hatched 11th January 2012, The last one of her brood died over a year ago.

[Rosemary]

That's pretty remarkable. The oldest hen we ever had was Blossom, a wee broon hybrid, who got to eight.
What a lovely life she had 

[chrismahon]

A good age that and testament the the environment and care she was kept in and given. Oldest we've had was just over 12; one of our Wyandottes brought over from England. We had Dutch neighbours who bought bantams with them they had hatched there and the last died at over 16, which at the time we believed was a record. She had a deformed beak which prevented her from picking up pellets so she was hand fed dog food!

[Richmond]

That's an excellent age. Our oldest was 13, a crossbreed bantam who produced many many offspring, whether we wanted her to or not  . She even laid a few eggs in her final year (distinctive from all the other hens so knew they were her eggs). It was truly a sad day when she went.