Culling Older Laying Hens

The days are starting to get longer and a bit warmer. Our hens are beginning to lay again after slowing down and taking a break during the winter. Now is the perfect time to start culling older laying hens to make room for the new, younger ladies who will start laying this spring.

Why it’s important to cull laying hens

Laying hens are most productive in their first two years. While we have kept hens longer than this, if you are aiming for efficiency, it’s best to keep young thriving hens in your flock. They will provide you with an abundance of eggs.

We like to bring in new chicks in the fall so they are mature and ready to start laying in the spring. By doing it this way, we can rotate out the older ladies and bring in the new girls without missing a beat in egg production.

Introducing new chicks and culling older laying hen — Photo credit: Murray McMurray Hatchery

What to do with the retirees

Many people don’t mind, or even prefer, an older hen who is still laying eggs even though she is past her peak. Based on their production, or lack thereof, we will either sell them as mature laying hens or butcher them. If the hens weren’t laying well before their winter break and aren’t showing signs of laying again, they are good candidates for freezer camp and will make a nice stewing hen.

What to look for outside of low egg production when culling laying hens:

Pale waddles, combs, earlobes
continual molting
susceptibility to pests or sickness

When culling laying hens, these are all signs that your hen may be past her prime for egg production. Of course, any hen that is showing signs of sickness should not be butchered and kept for the freezer.

On the other hand, it may be difficult to say goodbye to hens you’ve had for a long time. Although, one has to take into consideration the rising cost of livestock feed when deciding whether to keep unproductive hens, if you simply enjoy watching your chickens scratch about the yard and find more pleasure in chicken keeping than maximum egg production, hanging on to one or two favorites is not going to break the bank. Finding a happy balance between simple country living and farmstead efficiency is key.