We are not really sure what is up with Omelette our white Leghorn chicken. She is really old, hardly lays eggs anymore and has recently started to just sit in the nesting area all day long, even at night when she usually would sit on the stick. When we go to get the eggs of the other chickens, she is sitting on them. She doesn’t seem to know or care that there is no rooster around to fertilize them.
Omelette giving me the evil eye
Unlike the other chickens, she won’t let us put our hand underneath her and grab the eggs. She has tried to peck us and fluffs up really big to defend her post. When I finally scare her off the nest she squawks like no other. We are not sure what to do. Do old chickens decide they want to go broody? Or is she just getting old and demented?
We would like to get some new chicks to replace her, but I don’t think we could catch her without her screaming her head off. She’s always been a little skittish ever since we got her. Any recommendations or ideas?
As I remember, this is similar to what I experienced years ago with our chickens. As they got older, they became less friendly, and wouldn’t roost at night. I think that their feet had more difficulty grasping the roost rod.
She is a very beautiful, very white chicken.
Wil
Can you retire her onto some fake eggs so she can pretend? How long are they supposed to live?
Well she is getting old and maybe the feet on the roost has something to do with it. So far the other hens don’t seem to mind too much.
We may find her a new home. I did see a sign at a local feed store where a guy will butcher her for $1.75. Problem is she is our ‘pet’ and it would gross me out to eat her….
From what I understand, a chicken’s life expectancy could be a pretty broad range from 5-15 years possibly (15 would be VERY old). We think she is about 4-5. After 2 years, egg production drops approximately 20% each year until they do not lay anymore (as is the case with her). It’s kind of like chicken menopause.
As they approach this “menopause”, the eggs get really big, funky shaped and thin-shelled-or with practically no shells at all like that weird one she laid for us. Most people don’t know an exact (or even approximate) life expectancy because most chickens do not die of old age. They are eaten by humans or other predators long before they could reach that age…Eventually I think Britton and I may try butchering, but we’re not quite ready yet. Probably in PR where it is hard to find decent meat. In any case I think I’ve found her a new home.