Is my chicken dying of old age/

My hen has a pale face and paling comb. I am worming her with Wazine and I had put her on the medicated feed just to see if that would help . She just stands around with low energy, and when she walks she sometimes stumbles. She has been eating and drinking, though lately it seems she is picker about what she eats. Dooesn't eat her crumble as well but will gobble up earth worms. She has lost a lot of weight, I can feel her brestbone too well. I have also given her some power aid for the electrolytes. She is not molting at this time and there are no signs of injury. I can't figure out what she has unless she is just dying of old age or maybe she ate a bad caterpillar. Any suggestions??

JJ

How old is she? Have you checked her for lice and/or mites?

How old is she? How long has she been like this? Did it start suddenly or gradually? When did she last lay? How is her poo? Have you tried scrambling some eggs for her? Do you have others her age? Are any of the other hens showing some of the same signs? I would lean toward an illness, but then again, I've never seen a hen die of old age...

WOW! Obviously there are somethings I haven't condidered! No signs of lice/mites. No signs of polting. I have 7 other hens showing no signs at all. Her poo has both the white urates (sp?) and greenish liquid. I 'm guessing it is not solid due to her lack of weight. She was given to me so I don;t know her exact age . She was a full grown laying hen then and I have had her for a year. (I was given another one with her and she is fine. ) She is not laying now but she was one of my best layers. . This has been going on for about a week. It's kinda of funny though. When I pull out the worm bin, she is like Pavlove's dog. She perks up and starts talking to me asking for more! Her belly seem kind of "full" or bloated. That is why I thought it might be worms. How long should I continue to worm her, if I should continue?

Thank so much for the help! I am fairly new at this.

JJ

You mentioned her belly is bloated which could also mean ascites or internal laying (which unfortunately don't have many options for treatment) but I don't know if that really would explain the weight loss so take those possibilities with a grain of salt. Keep giving her worms and anything else that motivates her to eat.

I haven't used wazine for worming so maybe you want to do a search on that.

I'm sorry that I can't help you because my hen is doing the VERY same thing! Her comb is even beginning to flop to the side. I really don't think she is that old- maybe 2-3 years old, used to lay very well, but is walking slowly, seems bloated, just sits a lot and acts very tired. She has not laid an egg recently, has whitish discharge from her vent (I checked and can't feel any egg)- her feathers are fine- I don't see lice and she is not molting. She also is not interested in bread like the others (for a treat), but will eat oatmeal, but not much of her crumbles. She just seems very slow, bloated and lethargic. Any ideas??

On the wazine you put it in their water for 24 hours then regular water after that, the wazine only take care of round worms. How long have you been giving her the wazine. I would think maybe egg bound or internal egg layer.

Wazine only works for roundworms. I started using Valbazen because it's a broad wormer.

It sounds like she is internally laying though. I haven't dealt with it personally, but a friend has, and she said her keel bone got super sharp feeling when she lost so much weight.

Thanks everyone for all the info. So if it is internally laying, and seeminly no cure, do I need to have my husband put her down (I sure can't do it) or wait and see...can these things pass? I think I'll do a little research on it.

TeriS,
I'm sorry to hear you hen is going through the same thing. It is hard to watch.

Whenever one of my girls seems a bit "off", I supplement her diet by feeding her some foods that are high in vitamins A, K & E , especially vit. A. She might have a nutrient deficiency, and vitamin A is one of the most important vitamins for a chickens overall health.
Some foods high in vit. A are: broccoli, butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, mangoes & tomato juice. Spinach, peppers & alfalfa leaves for K, and sweet potatoes & broccoli for E.
If you have any of these veggies, boil them up until they are soft & chop them into bite-size pieces or mash them with a fork.
Maybe put a vitamin/electrolyte solution in her water like Sav-A-Chik too.

If you suspect your chickens are not eating enough, try adding a little variety to their diet. Start by feeding chickens at different times during the day. Try these:
Yogurt
Milk
Cottage cheese
Tomatoes
Salad greens
Stir a small amount of water, milk or yogurt into their mash. Cooked oatmeal works well also.

You should also check to see if she is egg bound. Put on a rubber/latex glove, lube up the finger & feel around inside her vent. You should be able to get your finger as far up as you can go if there is no egg inside. If she does have an egg that she is having trouble getting out, soak her in a nice warm bath to help relax her muscles & massage her abdomen. Try to lube up the egg too if you can.
Hope this helps.