Prized for their friendly disposition, hardiness in cold climates and large brown eggs, black and white barred rock hens are a familiar sight in many backyard chicken flocks. Assuming she’ll be treated as a beloved pet – as well as a great egg-layer -- and allowed to live out her normal life, your barred rock hen should live between 8 and 10 years. Of course, there are exceptions -- some have lived to the ripe old age of 20 years.
Young female chickens less than 1 year old that have fully feathered out and are about the size of large pigeons are called pullets. Expect your barred rock pullet to start laying eggs when she is about 16 to 20 weeks old. Once she begins laying, she should produce one egg every 25 hours – except during the cold, dark hours of winter when she may not lay at all -- until her first molt a year later.
Between the ages of 1 to 2 years, your barred rock hen is an "egg machine" -- producing a medium to large brown egg approximately every 25 hours. Egg production drops during the shortest winter days unless you provide artificial lighting. By her third year, while still laying healthy eggs, her production begins to decrease as she ages. According to chicken expert Gail Damerow, a healthy hen should still lay until she is 10 or 12 years old.
By the age of 4 or 5, your barred rock hen is considered “old." She’s still producing eggs, but her peak years are over. Even though she's no longer a super egg-layer, she's your pet: friendly and curious, active and alert; amusing to watch as she chases bugs and scratches in the dirt. In her retirement, until her natural death, she deserves the same care and treatment as any other beloved pet. After all, you raised her from a chick and watched her grow.