Thanks for the great reply! How long do hens usually live? I have discussed this with my wife and she is OK with eggs, but would think of them as pets so no fried chicken if we get any!!!
I’ve had hens live to be 5-6 years old. They usually just ‘give up the ghost’ and die peacefully in their sleep, usually ‘at their post’ in a nesting box.
Then they get a proper ‘burial’ at the end of the farm lane (about a mile from the house; don’t want to lure the coyotes to my hen house!) as I leave them there for coyote food. They’re ALWAYS gone by the next morning; the dogs and I walk the same route each morning and evening.
Circle of Life and all that rot. ;)
The highest mortality rate I had was a few years ago when I had a rouge, pregnant female racoon getting into the coop and killing hens. You know, I don’t MIND that Nature has to eat, but if you’re going to KILL my hens, then EAT them! She didn’t; she did it for fun, the jerk.
A Hav-A-Heart trap later, laced with peanut butter bread (Heck, I’D crawl into a trap for peanut butter!) and she was caught...and dispatched, but I won’t go into details here; it’s a family site, LOL!
And really, that’s the only problem I’ve had with other critters pestering my hens. I even had a Great Horned Owl roost in the coop one night; it was late fall and chilly, so the hens just cuddled right up to him on the roost, LOL! Simply amazing! (And solid proof that they’re not all that smart; sleeping with the raptor enemy? Come on!)