[Kitchen Cottage]

Well, I say she's a light sussex, she's white with a black mane but she came from a farm so may be hybrid.

Anyway, the point is I bought her as point of lay in June 2007 soon after I moved here.  She is a FIESTY girl (not in a bad way) and went feral for a while and wouldn't go into the coop but would find her own roosting spot (in the stable with Molly my horse so I wasn't worried  ).  A very young fox came at her outside my kitchen window one dusk as she was pottering back to the stable and she saw him off, she ran at him like a cockerel.  She was very poorly last year and was in the kitchen for a month, I thought I was going to loose her but, following some food advice on here.... she picked up.

Anyway, my six girls currently give me two eggs a day and one is hers.....

Does she count as a really old girl and how long can chooks go on laying for?
Obviously when she stops she's not for the pot, she is a total character.  I love Emily.

[chrismahon]

Lovely to hear about Emily KC. According to a Frenchman's study I read about, hens have 600 eggs to give in all. I doubt you have been counting and often that number is considerably reduced. But we have had hens laying at 6 ½ years old. Most of ours are 4 ½ at the moment and don't lay much though. Emily is laying and must be nearly 6, which is great and quite unusual I think. This may be her last laying year though, but I can't be certain by any means. Enjoy the eggs while you get them.

[in the hills]

We had a much loved Black Rock who lived until she was10 years old. Don't think she was laying for the last few years though. Daughter was heart broken when Peck-peck finally went to chicken heaven.

Our oldest at the moment is a Hy-line ..... about 8 years old.

Don't dispatch any of our old girls .... they've earned their retirement 

[lord flynn]

I had an ancient hyline that I inherited when I moved into a place. she was apparently 8 years old last summer when she died, looked like she just fell off her perch bless her. She was still laying a couple of eggs a week, the summer before 3/4. she was a feisty one too