How Quickly Does Albendazole Work?

[sleepymummy]

In my naiivity, I only realised the other day, that one day my girls will cease to lay. Looking at various bits of info and reading various posts, it may come sooner than I thought. ie in the next couple of years. So my possibly taboo question is...what do you do with your non layers? I don't have the space to look after non layers and we got hens so that we could have eggs....My husband is all up for a nice roast dinner when the time comes but I'm not so sure! I may be rather attached by then, more than I am now at any rate!

[Egluntyne]

Laying hens don't make good roast dinners.

 

You could maybe ask around at city farms, animal sanctuaries or petting zoos to see if someone would re-home them for you.

[OllieC]

My cat hasn't laid an egg for 7 years - I'm thinking I might have to eat her too...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only a joke, but do you see my point?

[Sandychick]

I think it is really up to you what you decide when they stop laying. I wouldn’t criticise anyone for keeping chickens just for the eggs, but mine are pets and eggs are a bonus.

 

I plan to build a walk in run big enough for 6 chickens. Then I will add another 3 when the original girls are 2 years old. They can take over on the egg laying and the older ones can have a happy retirement! I think they will deserve it after all the eggs they have provided me with.

 

You might find you are too attached to them to even contemplate it when the eggs do stop!

[Tweety]

Like Sandychick, I think that my girls will deserve a good rest and a long, happy retirement once they stop laying. They give us so much pleasure, and lots of lovely eggs, and I shall be very happy just to have them around for as long as possible.

[SnowWhite]

My cat hasn't laid an egg for 7 years - I'm thinking I might have to eat her too...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only a joke, but do you see my point?

 

 

He he!!!!! Neither have my four!

 

I was so worried about this problem that me and OH talked about it a lot before we commited to getting hens. We know that they won't lay forever and that means we'll have to make room for more hens and somewhere special for the old girls to retire.

[clootie]

Like Sandychick, I think that my girls will deserve a good rest and a long, happy retirement once they stop laying. They give us so much pleasure, and lots of lovely eggs, and I shall be very happy just to have them around for as long as possible.

 

Good on ya Tweety !!

[Yolky]

I think it is really up to you what you decide when they stop laying. I wouldn’t criticise anyone for keeping chickens just for the eggs, but mine are pets and eggs are a bonus.

 

I plan to build a walk in run big enough for 6 chickens. Then I will add another 3 when the original girls are 2 years old. They can take over on the egg laying and the older ones can have a happy retirement! I think they will deserve it after all the eggs they have provided me with.

 

You might find you are too attached to them to even contemplate it when the eggs do stop!

 

 

This is what I plan to do when my chookies are 2 too.

[Egluntyne]

I have a few old ladies who are no longer laying.

 

They don't eat much when they have passed the hennopause.

[Lesley]

I have a few old ladies who are no longer laying.

 

They don't eat much when they have passed the hennopause.

 

Same here, we have a few old ladies. I sometimes put them onto the veggie plots so that they can earn their keep by eating bugs!

 

We wouldn't eat any of our layers, we just let them retire and when they die a natural death then we replace them with new ones. We sell eggs but only if we have spare ones - so if we have a few more non-layers then we just sell fewer eggs.

[Patricia7455]

I think you can get dual purpose hybrids so that when they stop laying you can destine them for the pot. I don't think there is anything wrong with it as long as a) the chickens have been well looked after during their lives and b) killed by someone who knows what they're doing.

 

Also, I have heard of people breeding chicks and when they get cockerels fatten them up to eat. Again, this sounds like common sense as long as a) and b) above. At least when you eat them you know they have had happy lives.

 

Also on the subject of any animals kept for pets, I think it's more upsetting to see elderly pets of any kind kept going, obviously miserable, for the owners' sakes more than the pets' sakes. Not that anyone on this forum would do that I am sure.

[Paola]

They don't eat much when they have passed the hennopause.

 

I like it

[eggypeggy]

Our chooks are livestock/pets.. I'm not overly attached to them which may make a difference. But we plan to slaughter ours if or when non lying becomes a problem. I have a non layer at the moment but the other three are laying so not in any hurry to do anything about it right now.

 

However we only have the space for 4 or 5 chooks at a maximum in the space that we have and we have them for the eggs primarily. I love having the chooks, they have a good life, free ranging all day everyday. They get treats, leftovers and a lot of attention from my kids.

 

If I were you I would cross that bridge when you come to it. It may not ever become much of a problem. We started off with 2 chooks. Then we added 2 more this year, so we are getting enough eggs between the 4 of them. While the 1st two have dropped off egg laying the 2 new ones have taken up the slack on egg production.

 

Hope that helps, a different perspective maybe. I know if I had more space I would leave them to die naturally, like many of the others above. Ours may still die naturally. We'll just have to wait and see. The important thing is a good life while they are alive.

[aaronmusgrove123]

hi im sorry if i offend any one but i think it is so wrong just killing the poor little animal because she doesnt lay its like killing my grandma because she cant have kids anymore i am totally against it

Our chooks are livestock/pets.. I'm not overly attached to them which may make a difference. But we plan to slaughterthem.

im sorry but i think that is shocking how could you just kill them beacause they dont lay they are just little old chickwoman

aaron

 

p.s if you didnt know im agaist it

[sleepymummy]

I feel awful for even thinking about it now!!! I may need to find a retirement home then. Obviously it's a bit of a way off, I hope. We only got them in May and they only started laying in July. It's not a teeny garden but when you have 3 small children to add to the mix, space is of a premium. My husband is not an animal lover but it was his suggestion to get hens. Just to have any living creature in our home (other than the children) was unexpected so i jumped at the chance! They are lovely to watch, the children adore them and they give us food. Bonus. If I keep them as pets and not layers, then get 2 more am I going to be overrun by chooks eventually?! I don't think i could eat them, i just wondered what everyone else does. Obviously I'm in the minority for letting it even enter my head! I blame my aunt. She's like Hugh F-W and we were discussing this the other day!

[aaronmusgrove123]

hi thats ok if i where you and could home to many put them in your local paper (adtrade)

ask petting farm things and family freinds are any 1 really

[OllieC]

I reckon it's a moot point anyway, as by the time they get old enough to stop laying, you'd have to be hard as nails to be able to kill them to eat! Better to buy & grow them for that purpose & not get too attached, or outsource your raising for meat to an organic free range meat grower!!

[sleepymummy]

I agree! Even if I was brave enough to have them 'seen to' I don't think I would enjoy my lunch! Needs considering though!

[Paola]

I feel awful for even thinking about it now!!! I may need to find a retirement home then. Obviously it's a bit of a way off, I hope. We only got them in May and they only started laying in July. It's not a teeny garden but when you have 3 small children to add to the mix, space is of a premium. My husband is not an animal lover but it was his suggestion to get hens. Just to have any living creature in our home (other than the children) was unexpected so i jumped at the chance! They are lovely to watch, the children adore them and they give us food. Bonus. If I keep them as pets and not layers, then get 2 more am I going to be overrun by chooks eventually?! I don't think i could eat them, i just wondered what everyone else does. Obviously I'm in the minority for letting it even enter my head! I blame my aunt. She's like Hugh F-W and we were discussing this the other day!

 

Do not feel awful at all We are a diverse lot on the forum and a few of us (unfortunately I do not have the space to do so) do keep chickens for dinners. I must admit I would do if I had the space. It would be great to be more self sufficient. At least I would know that the chickens were well cared for and happy and not like the whole chickens that are sold in Tesco for less then a fiver

[aaronmusgrove123]

yeh poala i no what you meen but i just couldnt its just not me

[sleepymummy]

That's what makes me think we should go for it! Self sufficiency, boo for Tesco etc etc. they aren't pets to me like a dog would be but i am rather fond of them!

[..lay a little egg for me]

If I were you I would cross that bridge when you come to it. It may not ever become much of a problem. We started off with 2 chooks. Then we added 2 more this year, so we are getting enough eggs between the 4 of them. While the 1st two have dropped off egg laying the 2 new ones have taken up the slack on egg production.

 

I think eggypeggy is right...it could be quite a while before you need to make a decision. I read somewhere that with each year a hen will lay 20% fewer eggs than the previous year, so the decline in production may be quite gradual. Also, sad to say, many hens do not live all that long, so the decision may be taken out of your hands. It is a bit soon to decide how you are going to feel in 2 or 3 years time...

[Olly]

Don't feel bad about it, it's a valid point. I think Egluntine's first answer is the most important one though - egg-layers are bred for that purpose, and you wouldn't get much of a dinner off one, especially once it's 2 or 3 years old! (Although my cleaner, who is from a very rural part of Romania, eyed them speculatively from the kitchen window and murmured 'yes, you need to boil them a long time' )

 

 

I wasn't offended by the question - I just know I couldn't do the deed myself.

[prunio]

Hope this doesnt shock everyone, but don#t you think we are all a bit soft these days? So long as an animal is alive, you should give it the best possible treatment - but dont you like steak?

we used to eat a couple of our peacocks at christmas! we dont have any since we moved, sadly

[chickenanne]

I think there's a very big difference between eating pets and eating livestock....!

So few people are vegan's, what do vegetarians think happens to commercial hens when they stop laying? Male chicks of egg-laying breeds? Or for that matter, how do they think milk is produced - what happens to male calves?

I honestly think that there's nothing wrong with himanely despatching hens after they've stopped laying. even egg-laying breeds can be used them for soup-making etc if you're so inclined.

But I do think it would be very odd to despatch a pet when it's no longer productive.