[novicesmallholder]

Hi,
 
our ex batts have now stopped laying - 26 of them and 0 eggs today! When they do lay, they eat them. This has been going on for a few weeks now. Checked for red mite etc. Just think they have come to the end of their laying life. Looking to replace with new hens in 2 weeks, but.........need to deal with old hens first. Is there abbotoirs which take hens for pet food, or will I have to do the deed myself. If I do it myself what is the best way to dispose of the carcasses - are there regs I need to follow?
 
Thanks in advance.

[Castle Farm]

Where do you live?

[novicesmallholder]

West Midlands/North Worcestershire

[SallyintNorth]

26 is a lot - but I'd be looking at boiled chicken, chicken pie, chicken stews and soups.  Not much meat per each so don't spend too much time plucking & gutting - skin them, cut off breasts and legs, dispose of the rest.  That's what I'd do anyway - might gut a small number to use the skeletons for stocks.

[Sylvia]

Or someone's dogs would love them, though I would eat old hen for weeks

[chrismahon]

You will find the breast meat OK but the legs will be as tough as old boots. I'd cut the breasts out leaving skin and feathers on the carcass and have a very big bonfire to dispose of them.

[deepinthewoods]

youd be better off burying the skin and feathers to add fertility for a veg bed next year

[hughesy]

All the burning, burying etc ideas are very likely illegal. Your local council won't be too pleased if you stick a couple of dozen dead chickens in your wheelie bin either. The correct approach would be to find out who deals with fallen stock local to you and get them down there.

[SteveHants]

My dogs seem more than happy to eat any chickens too tough for human consuption. You can't give dogs chicken bones cooked, but they are fine raw. They'll eat the lot, minus feathers.

[omnipeasant]

A lot of dog breeders went over to raw chicken because of fears about what goes into tinned food. My friend used to give chicken wings to newly weaned pups and they ate everything. Steve is right, uncooked chiken bones are okay, cooked are lethal. Try an ad in the dog section or your pet shop.

[plt102]

Oh sounds such a shame to kill them all. Our ex batts all used to eat their eggs. We remove them frequently and put golf balls in their nest boxes. They get bored of pecking them. Could you not eat a few at a time to reduce the need for a mass cull and give the others a bit of love and some feed supplements to try to encourage a few more eggs? Good luck.