We had some friends over a couple of weeks ago, and the chickens were a big hit. They have feathers, they cluck, they like us...what more could we want?
Well, there IS more that we want. Namely, eggs. Yep, our chickens are falling down on the job. We do get eggs, but not enough. Not nearly enough. At their zenith, our 19 chickens were laying at least 15 a day. Now it is averaging 7 or 8 a day.
We are not experts on chickens so we're not sure what the problem is. Some are definitely molting. All are somewhat old from an egg laying perspective, as they are 2 and a half years old at this point.
So yes, it may be "off with their heads". We won't personally kill them (probably) but perhaps they will be someone's chicken stew.
Or maybe we will find someone who doesn't mind older hens who still lay 6 to 10 eggs a day. For our family of 9, 10 isn't cutting it. Perhaps a smaller family would be content with that number.
We will get new chickens at some point...young chickens. Egg laying chickens. It will be fun.
As for the current batch, we do like them but are not specifically attached to them. They exist in my mind as an entity "the chickens". I hope the kids aren't attached to these particular chickens and welcome the new ones happily. Chickens are fun.
1 comment:
I'd say butcher them. 6 to 10 eggs wouldn't be enough for our family either :)
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