When a flock of laying hens gets older, they don't lay eggs as often. Around the time they are 2 years old, most hens stop laying the 6 eggs a week they were producing up till now and the amount they lay will decline each year. They usually drop down to 1 or 2 eggs a week by 6 years old.

What do you do at that point? This is especially concerning if you have a small coop in a suburban backyard which has rules about how many hens you're allowed to have. Do you really want 6 hens that are barely laying?

I've heard people say this when their hens stop laying: "I won't eat them. I would like to find a place that will take them and let them live out the rest of their lives." In fact, that exact sentence was clipped from a discussion a bunch of us were having in a chicken group!

Which is exactly what prompted this post.

Now we all know there isn't some magic farm somewhere that non-laying hens live for 10 more years till they die of natural causes! Unless it's a sanctuary and if that's an option for you, have at it.

Honestly though, it's kinda selfish to keep a chicken for the few years they lay eggs regularly then ship them off to someone else to feed and care for them for what could be many more years with no benefit to the new owner! It's also not necessary.

Expecting somebody else to care for them for years after they're not laying anymore is kind of like getting rid of an adult dog so you can get a puppy. But just because you don't want to keep them doesn't mean someone else is on the hook. There are other ways.

So, what are our options?

First of all lets talk about the actual amount of time you can expect most hens to produce eggs for you and how many eggs that really is.

How long do chickens lay eggs for?

As a basic rule hens start laying eggs around 4-6 months old and continue to lay eggs for around 6 years. There are slight differences for different breeds but that's a pretty good ballpark number.

The 2 year thing that everyone worries about is because that is when commercial egg farms get rid of their hens as they don't make the farm as much money after that. It's really not necessary for you to do the same, as very few of us are running a business with our hens.

Also many people actually rescue those factory hens when the commercial farms get rid of them and they still lay eggs for several more years in their new homes! So, there's honestly no reason to get rid of backyard hens at that 2 year mark!

Granted a 3 year old hen will lay less eggs than a 1 year old hen. She will still lay multiple eggs a week though.

What to do with old hens?

Part of being a responsible chicken owner is making a plan to manage your flock throughout their whole lives, not expecting someone else to care for them when they no longer suit you and aren’t laying anymore.

That plan can be keeping them or sending them to butcher. They are made of chicken after all. The same stuff we buy in grocery stores for dinner. Also, I do understand if you can't eat them as you did raise them. It's a personal choice.

You don't necessarily have to butcher them yourself! You could give them away for someone else or take them to an actual butcher that offers that service. Nobody expects you to slaughter chickens in your HOA backyard unless you really want to!

Or you could just stagger your flock so it's not that big of a deal at all to have 1 or 2 that aren't mass producing eggs!

That being said, there are more reasons to keep hens than just egg laying, and it's not like they hit two years old and just stop laying instantly! It's more of a gradual decline over the years, so you'll probably get more like 6 years of consistent egg laying if not more.

You could cull them humanely, but you don’t have to eat them. You can give away the meat or even prepare it for dog or cat food.

If you can butcher them and eat them, you can make the meat quite tender by using an instant pot. I find older roosters do very well as soup or stew and hens are the same.

Related reading: How to humanely cull a chicken.

If it is important to you that they live out their natural life then make accommodations to keep them in the home they are familiar with. As mentioned above they can still help you with bug control, fertilizer for the garden and even raise chicks for you etc.

There's also the poultry auction, but they probably will end up as meat when the buyer realizes they no longer lay well. Or you can just sell them as stewing chickens to someone who can butcher.

Obviously you can sell them as a laying hen if you want to, but don't be surprised if that person butchers them down the line anyway. The truth is, we just don't get a say once the animal is no longer in our possession.

I have a friend that found this out the hard way. Somebody badgered her relentlessly to sell a particular hen and she would only sell it with it's rooster as a breeding pair as they were quite attached. He didn't want the roo. The guy finally agreed to buy both and they met at a poultry swap.

About an hour later her and I are standing by the truck talking and a lady walks by us with that rooster in a cage and my friend asked where she got him and was told "Some guy gave him to me for free". *sigh*

I tell this story because while she was adamant on what she wanted to happen and he agreed, it was still within his right to do whatever he wanted at that point. So seller beware that people will lie or agree then do whatever they want. Yes, they might say they will never butcher then do it anyway.

But lets get to my favorite option, the staggered flock!

What is a staggered flock?

This is when you stagger the ages of your flock so the hens are at different ages at the same time. Instead of getting an all new flock, then replacing with an all new flock every few years like egg farms do, try adding in just 2-3 chicks every other year. Maybe even let one of your hens raise them because that makes chicks SO easy!

Every 2 years add 2-3 more which will lay great for 2 years before slowing down. You'll always have a few hens at maximum egg laying and they rest will be in various stages from 2-5 eggs a week.

Allowing for natural deaths from predators, illness or age you should be able to keep a reasonably sized flock and still have a good amount of eggs.

I like to keep my flock a little larger than needed because if something horrible happens like predator or illness, there's more of a chance you'll still have a flock afterwards.

How long do chickens live?

The short answer is that a chicken can live up to 20 years, though most don't even make it to 10 years old. Still, that's 8 years past 'prime' laying time. Remember though, she still has many years of egg laying to go, even if she's not laying 6 eggs a week after the 2 year mark!

Related reading: How long do chickens live?

Personally, I do not cull hens. Mean roosters sure, but the hens are allowed to live their lives out here. My current oldest is about 8 and she lays me 2 beautiful dark brown eggs with speckles every week from late spring to the end of summer!

I also have a Silkie hen about the same age and she raises chicks for me every summer.

I figure they have given me eggs and become members of the farm, they deserve to stay and I sure do need the help with bug control in summer anyway! Again, not everybody manages their flocks the same and that's fine.

I think the staggered flock method is probably best for most people as many of us get attached to our chickens and would rather keep them even if they don't lay as often.


In closing I'm sorry if this feels controversial to you. I don't mean to shame anyone for their way of thinking but as mentioned above I was absolutely flabbergasted that somebody thought it was acceptable or even feasible to send their animals away for someone else to care for when it was no longer as useful to them.

Also the concept just feels like an adult telling their 6 year old they are sending the cat to a 'happy farm in the country' and getting a new kitten instead. As if these farms exist.

My goal here was to lay out the different options which are basically keeping them, meat and staggered flock management which also means keeping the hens but keeps egg production at an acceptable level.

Want to know how to help a broody hen raise her chicks? Check out: How to care for a broody as she broods!

~L

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