How long do they live

[pumpkin cuddler]

Hello

When we bought our Isa Warrens the lady told us they would not last for much more than a year. They were 16 weeks old when we bought them and still seem to be thriving.

As we were told they would have, what we felt was quite a short life expectancy are we going to soon find they have died.

They have always laid very well 7 eggs a week for the best part of the time, then it dropped to nearly every day plus they are moulting and still laying.

What we really want to know is should we be preparing the kids for the worst??

[Snadger]

Hello

When we bought our Isa Warrens the lady told us they would not last for much more than a year. They were 16 weeks old when we bought them and still seem to be thriving.

As we were told they would have, what we felt was quite a short life expectancy are we going to soon find they have died.

They have always laid very well 7 eggs a week for the best part of the time, then it dropped to nearly every day plus they are moulting and still laying.

What we really want to know is should we be preparing the kids for the worst??

Your chooks ae the same as they use in battery hen farming methinks! the difference is you've had them since point of lay and looked after them properly!

Mine have been ex bats and are coming up to 2 years old with plenty of fight in them. I am expecting 6 to 8 years from them with diminishing egg production.

The happier they are I would imagine, the longer they live!

PS The woman you bought them off was probably referring to full production for a year!

[Nicos]

They can live for 14 yrs...but Iunderstand they can only lay for 2-3 yrs????

..I hope longer for laying.......

[lynda66]

How long do hens lay eggs?
Egg productivity diminishes after the first year. It is still good the second year, but then declines rapidly.
At about three or four years, production is not very efficient. Most commercial and farm hens are culled after their second season of laying.

The Poultry Guide - A to Z and FAQ - Poultry - General

[djhs196]

Hey there,

I've had a couple of hybrids and they are fab characters - but I would say that they are live fast, die young girls. A year tho is perhaps on the pessimistic side, but they were bred with egg production rather than live span in mind.

My first two hyrids lived to 2 1/2 and 3 1/4 years respectively. They slow down a little (you only realise if you get younger chickens in tho!) and were really active until the last. Both died from complications from laying - egg peritonitis. Both times it was very sudden. My vets had a number of similar cases with hybrids.

I know it's a morbid topic, but perhaps it's worth introducing the topic of successional planning and the idea of getting a young pair half way through next year if the housing can cope? We waited until one went, and then introduced a new pair.

It's a difficult subject, but I hope that helps!

[NSB]

I'm expecting them soon and I was advised 2-2 1/2 years, as they are the egg machines they eventually burn out this reduces their life span

[BrideXIII]

no offence to anyone, but why are you buying 'egg machines' ( not my term) is there not a happy medium between production and longevity?
I know full well my mums chickens are way older than 3 years and still producing? (albiet less)

[djhs196]

BrideXIII,

Initially that's what I was given when I started and I didn't know much on the differences between hybrids and pure-breeds in terms of life span / eggs or how much one impacts the other.

And until you know more about hybrids and pure breeds, it's difficult to know what's the norm.

I'm happy to have less eggs for a long lived chicken and, for myslef, I've ear-marked a few potential pure breeds next time around - Welsummer / Plymouth Rock /Faverolles / Orpingtons.

[BrideXIII]

BrideXIII,

Initially that's what I was given when I started and I didn't know much on the differences between hybrids and pure-breeds in terms of life span / eggs or how much one impacts the other.

And until you know more about hybrids and pure breeds, it's difficult to know what's the norm.

I'm happy to have less eggs for a long lived chicken and, for myslef, I've ear-marked a few potential pure breeds next time around - Welsummer / Plymouth Rock /Faverolles / Orpingtons.

understood, as i said no offence meant, i suppose we are looking at the difference between self-suffiency ( produce maximum eggedge), battery rescue( eggs would be nice but a soft heart is uppermost) and a happy medium, less eggs maybe but happy chickens, and not having to explain to the bessotted kids why we have to keep wringing necks.
I am sure you love your chickens, and you will keep them as long as they last, I hope you will have plenty of advice as to what to go for in the future, maybe hybrids are not the way ,maybe the type of hybrides we should be looking for are a cross between longevity and egg production, and maybe i have rose tinted glasses about the balance between man and his egg producers
don't get me wrong , i am from farming stock, but i still think we should be moving backwards to move forwards, a more caring kind of relationship with our stock, not sentimental, more sensible.

[Snadger]

I intend getting some more in the spring. They could be hybrids or pure breeds or ex bats, not sure yet. Continual replacement with a few now and again should keep my egg production up and even give a few for the pot if I go for pure bread large fowl!

[Flummery]

I understand that 4 - 5 years is not uncommon in a hybrid but they lay well only for a couple of years.
Pure breeds live longer, seem stronger but go off lay in winter for longer periods. It's all about balance really.

[Hilary B]

My first hens were the black type of part RIR hybrid (Black-rock?), and none of them lived less than 5 years. 1 was still going strong (and laying the occasional egg) at 12. I've had 'bred-for-battery' types that lived 6 years or more. Whether they lay LOTS in the first 2 years, and then the egg-count goes down fast, or "quite a lot" in year one, and a few less each year, can be affected by feeding and how you keep them. If you let them discover short winter days, you will get fewer eggs, even from the start, but the number will reduce more gradually throughout the life of the bird.

[djhs196]

understood, as i said no offence meant

None taken! Wouldn't have changed them for the world!