Three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of brining and cooking procedures on the tenderness of spent hens. These experiments included tests on the effect of brining and cooking procedure on 84-wk-old hens; effect of brining on the tenderness of 39, 84 and 108-wk-old hens; and the effect of force molt or low salt diet as well as brining on the tenderness of meat from 108-wk-old hens. Shear values were significantly lower for both light and dark meat from brined hens. Light meat from both brined and unbrined birds was significantly more tender than dark meat. Cooking procedures did not appear to affect tenderness of light meat, but smoked dark meat was significantly more tender than oven-roasted dark meat. Feeding a low salt diet or force molting did not significantly affect the tenderness of meat from 108-wk-old hens.