Where do urban chickens go when they’re done laying eggs?

Apr 30, 2012 -

Where do urban chickens go when they’re done laying eggs?

When an urban chicken’s egg-laying days are over, she might become dinner, she might live out her life as a pest-eating pet, or she might even be moved into a “retirement home” for aging urban chickens.

A far-fetched idea in decades past, the poultry-retirement home’s existence serves as a reminder of the growing popularity of urban farming,* the need for animal owners to plan ahead for the lifetime of their animals, and a portrait of the “livestock-as-pet” phenomena that probably occurs more often than many farmers admit.

Do you keep chickens? And if so, what are your opinions on a “retirement home” service like this?

: Stella the friendly urban chicken, one of NAIA’s regular subscribers.

^{* Portland, Oregon has more than 26 times the number of urban chicken permits today as it did twelve years ago.}