Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

MY 3 chooks appear to have stopped laying. They haven't laid in over 4 months, so I think there finished laying for good, and not just "off the lay" so to speak. The longest they've ever stopped laying in the past is about a month. They're probably about 3 years old. When I bought them, I was told I should get about 7 years laying out of them, but I think this may have been BS.

Anyway, my patience has run out, and I'm looking to offload them. If I could be bothered, they'd end up in the pot, but I've got too much on at the moment to go to the trouble of slaughtering/dressing etc.

Anyway, anyone know where I can take them - knocking them on the head for no reason seems a bit of a waste.

if you really want to get rid of them, you can use them for fertiliser for fruit trees. Do the job, dig a big hole, insert one bird and one fruit tree...

alternatively, put a poster up at your local feed store to give them away

Ry ATM we get about 7 eggs a week from 4 chooks, we know 3 aren't laying, most friends that have them are having same story, they do stop this time of the year and will probably start soon, other than that Jaymie had a good suggestion, well the first one anyhow

I have seen this problem, before... honestly, if you were local I'd take em, lop their heads off, dress em and give you a carcass as thanks.
Using good animals as fertiliser or to smell out the car/house of a neighbour you don't like is not a good use for an animal you knew and loved.
Have a think, who of your friends owns guns and enjoys shooting... They'll be more than happy to get some meat that they don't have to shoot, and to eat some fowl they don't have to spit out the seeds from.

Kuda WTF So you prefer to blast the *frack* out of your friends instead. or lop heads off and eat them
Maybe I'll hold off on the Melbourne trip

Well I wouldn't do it to my cats or dog, but rabbits, fish, chickens, cows, yeah sure... however you rarely need to shoot animals you keep. just cows, cos using knife is just too cruel

Yeah... I can't stand the sound of my veges screaming everytime I walk toward them with a knife.... it's enough to turn a man into a meat-eater...

goose

It's a cultural thing ,, in many cultures it is an honour and sign of repect to kill your friend or a respected enemy. ( circumstance differs)
I trust one of my mates to take me out before rotting of cancer in some hospital bed.Actually most likely will be my oldest son ,, he understands.

back to the chooks , well yes they deserve a good ending , and to supply a meal to the family ,, eat them , that is what they are for and it shows the greatest respect for them.

Some of our oldest hens have really slowed down in the laying department plus the rooster is giving them too much curry so we created a chicken retirement home...it's just like the main one but they can get out whenever they like and go and scratch around in the paddock...a few weeks of chicken paradise and BAM, they'll be taken by a fox, dog or eagle. Just letting nature take it's course. I don't thing stringy old hens will make eating that's much good so not worth cleaning IMHO.

I like this idea, they sound like 6 hour boilers anyway, they could free range so you may not have to feed them, you could use them to turn over and fertilize the soil of any dirt vegie garden that is being rested (perish the thought of growing vegies in filthy dirt). If you live rural a fox will take them off your hands.

are you planning on feeding the foxes forever? once they've eaten all your old birds, they are just going to start looking for ways to get the younger birds too. Don't encourage the feral pests!

Ah but if you are still keeping other chickens, you might not want to encourage a fox or other wildlife that your place is a good buffet.

As far as the stringy old hens well they are what you use to make soup and stock!!!!!

However if you don't currently have the time to deal with them, you probably don't have much time to deal with making stock.

So, you have a few options, let them hang around till you find some one who wants to dress them or till you have the time. Or turn them into fertilizer or if you have a nice big hot compost pile, bury them deep in the compost and they will become future fertilizer that way (We compost sick chickens but we have a very hot compost pile.)

or bury them and put a fruit tree on top