Chicken keepers, can I ask 2 questions?

[aleene]

I am writing a story with chickens in it. Can I call upon your chicken knowledge to ask these 2 questions?

(1) Am I right in thinking chickens have an egg laying life shorter than their actual life...what I mean is they stop producing eggs and are old chickens? What usually happens to them at this point if this is true?

(2) would chickens eat flowers in someone's garden, roses in particular?

Thanks if you can help!

1. yes. Commercial chickens get culled, domestic chickens would once have got eaten (they would be old and stringy so only good for soup) but most of the people who have chickens nowadays as part of the suburban chicken keeping boom just keep them on as pets. It's a lot of work to prepare a chicken for eating, quite a apart from the squeamishness/sentimentality things

1. absolutely - mine stripped nearly an entire rosebush, including leaping up to get at some of the higher flowers! (They haven't eaten any other flowers that I'd noticed though.)

they can do big leaps but not fly though so very high-up roses would be safe.

Fantastic! Thank you for your reply. my plot is good to go

can we read it when you've finished?

Okay although I'm afraid chickens is a minimal part of the plot

is are

Sethstarkadder - I can "oven ready" a bird in less than 20 mins - it takes me far longer to get to the shops top buy one

Wow!
MMB, I am so impressed!
People I know who've done it say it takes a few hours - but then they're all people who've done it a few times, rather than regularly.
If I ever decide to eat one of mine, can I come to you for lessons please?

What bit takes them hours?

Plucking and drawing is v quick on a hen - geese take forever, though! - they have fluffy pjs on underneath the feathers

Then get your paint-stripper gun to burn off the fluff.

However I do get lazy - just cut the breasts out of last weekend's pheasants that someone gave me.

will have to enquire
would a kitchen blowtorch do the fluff-burning bit?

Yep.

A candle/taper is traditional but time-consuming.

(Sorry for hijack, OP)

mine are at point 1 (I think), I am probably going to get rid of them - it seems that is to a friend who has snakes...

Mine at point one lived a happy life in the back garden for quite some time. Sniff. Still miss them.

(1) Am I right in thinking chickens have an egg laying life shorter than their actual life...what I mean is they stop producing eggs and are old chickens? What usually happens to them at this point if this is true?

actually, this is not true - technically, a hen can lay until she dies. It doesn't usually happen like that, though, as older chickens (especially commercial hybrids) have complications that stop them laying.
a hen's laying reduces dramatically every year after the first laying year, so their practical laying life is shorter, but they don't have a menopause. (hence them being culled if they're in the industry)

(2) would chickens eat flowers in someone's garden, roses in particular?

yes, if they can reach them! and not just roses, either! and there's a lot of scratching too.

Don't know if it helps your plot OP but hens that have retired themselves from laying can still pop out the odd one. Which can literally be odd - weird shapes or rubber egg.
YY to the roses. They'd also scratch everything up so would leave bedding plants whole and uprooted. The buggers.

Mine have eaten mynpotted up displays as a tasty cocktail snack