# Chicken longevity



## Little Rascal (May 22, 2020)

About four years ago I purchased some ISA browns. This past year, five of them have died. I understand this breed doesn't live that long. I recently visited a Rural King and seen they have several varieties including Rhode Island reds, Leghorns and Barred Rock and several others. Can someone suggest a breed that has fair to good egg production but lives longer than the ISA's?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Not really. If it comes out of a hatchery chances are they are going to have about the same life span. It has to do with breeding for either the most eggs or the most meat.

This is a discussion a bunch of us had years ago. When looking at the big picture it's birds that come from breeders that live the longest but that also sacrifices the number of eggs.

My non hatchery birds still laid regularly until about 5 after that they began to slow down. They were usually done by age 8.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

What Robin said. Modern breeds are developed to grow so quickly. Hatcheries are in the business of selling chicks, if you need to replace your birds sooner, that works for them. BTW, 2020 should get an award for the weirdest hatchery year ever. Then, there are the folks, like myself who hand raise antique strains which are slow to develop. But some of these birds can live to be 17, 18 or 20 years old.


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