elderly chicken

i’ve had this chicken for a long time and i’m not sure exactly how long but 6-8 years maybe. she’s been slowing down lately and i think it’s just from old age. she can’t jump into the roost anymore and i had to build a ramp into the coop since she can’t jump in anymore. today i gave her a bath...

Hi all please be gentle with judgement as this has been a very stressful and anxious situation. This has been going on since summer 2023 and I have been trying my absolute hardest to deal with this. My silkie rooster has had swollen feet for quite awhile now. At the time, I thought it would go...

I have a very elderly hen named Tenebris- she is minimum 7 years old, but I believe she is closer to 8 or 9. She was hatched in my care and is 50% silkie, 25% black australorp, and 25% copper maran. Tenebris has been healthy her entire life except for just recently when she very abruptly...

In all the years we’ve had chickens (at least a decade) we’ve never had to deal with frostbite. Our 9 year old favorite rooster has frostbite on his wattle and comb. The comb is minor damage. The wattles were extremely swollen and once we warmed them up why’ve been hot to the touch. He’s been...

I am down now to one banty hen who is 9 years old. She has been a singleton for about two years and seems content. She always was a loner. For the past four or five months she had decided she will not eat layer feed. I’ve tried several brands. I’ve tried waiting her out and letting her not eat...

Hello! I have an elderly (8.5 years old) Barred Rock whose legs/feet have been gradually growing stiffer and making it difficult for her to walk. A few days ago I noticed her really struggling to stand/walk. I have brought her inside and have made sure she can reach her food and water, taking...

I have one very elderly hen who has been an indoor chicken for the past couple years. about 3 days ago, I moved into a new apartment in a new city and until today my girl has been adjusting wonderfully. yesterday she was especially active and curious. however, today all she’s wanted to do is...

Hello all…I’m a long time reader, but first time poster. I created an account just for this question specifically because I am stumped. This week, one of my hens took a sudden decline. She lost weight, stopped eating, became lethargic and listless, and hasn’t been laying eggs. Her poop has...

Hi, I have a ten year old barred rock hen named combs. It has been months since the last time she layed, and the last time she became egg bound. Yesterday she spent most of her morning in the egg box but seemed fine and left without laying. When I went to feed the chickens dinner I found her in...

Hello all, I have been a silent fan of Backyard Chickens for six years, when I first became a chicken owner. I had three chickens until a few days ago, a Rhode Island Red (Eleanor), a Barred Rock (Iggy), and a Polish (Simone). My girls were best friends and I genuinely believe that there was no...

Today I walked out to the coop to find Val, my eight year old hen, limp in a pile of dirt. From what I can tell, it looks like her comb was pecked at and ripped off by the other chickens. Crusted blood is all over her face, and coming out of her nose... She is also having balance and vision...

Hello, I have an elderly (around 7-8 year old) red sex-link hen, and for the last couple of years her feet and ankles have become more and more swollen. I don’t believe it’s bumblefoot, because there are no wounds or cores on the pads of her feet. Her foot pads, ankles, and toes are just...

I still can't figure out what's wrong with AdaIda our 4 year old red sex link. She was sick with anemia from mites about 3 weeks ago and seemed recovered from it, but for the last week and 1/2 hasn't been herself. We were treating her for crop issues, but now I am not sure. She goes...

So I've had Chester for a little less than five years, and this winter, he ran off to join the neighbor's flock. We thought a coon got him (one of our pullets was taken by a coon a week earlier) so we didn't look too hard. Apparently, the neighbors took about as much care as you'd expect of an...