My original flock is nearing their ninth birthday. 3 out of 8 ladies remain. 2 are buff orps that look and act like they are young. In fact one of them hatched out her first babies this summer.
The third is my lovely Genevieve, she's an Ameracauna. She's always been small but she's really thin now. Her toes are all twisted they look like old lady hands, she doesn't scratch or dust bathe anymore so she got mites but I treated that. She keeps getting stuff in one eye every few weeks that causes it to close up. Also she seems so limp, like she's a little droopy. She spends most everyday sleeping, sometimes she just falls asleep wherever she's standing or even when she's eating. One night last year she didn't go in the coop at night, I found her sleeping under my deck. She sleeps on the floor of the coop now, she laid two eggs this summer ( both on the floor) which was a big surprise to me because I thought she was done laying. she still loves to eat and drink and will run and practically fly across the yard for corn. She still knows her name. She doesn't get picked on, in fact she's pretty feisty with the babies when it's feed time if they get in her way. I tell everyone she has chicken dementia.
I'm in NY and our winter was just terrible last year. I'm concerned she won't be able to survive another winter but I'm more concerned that she's got an ailment I can fix somehow.
Or is it really just old age?
The third is my lovely Genevieve, she's an Ameracauna. She's always been small but she's really thin now. Her toes are all twisted they look like old lady hands, she doesn't scratch or dust bathe anymore so she got mites but I treated that. She keeps getting stuff in one eye every few weeks that causes it to close up. Also she seems so limp, like she's a little droopy. She spends most everyday sleeping, sometimes she just falls asleep wherever she's standing or even when she's eating. One night last year she didn't go in the coop at night, I found her sleeping under my deck. She sleeps on the floor of the coop now, she laid two eggs this summer ( both on the floor) which was a big surprise to me because I thought she was done laying. she still loves to eat and drink and will run and practically fly across the yard for corn. She still knows her name. She doesn't get picked on, in fact she's pretty feisty with the babies when it's feed time if they get in her way. I tell everyone she has chicken dementia.
I'm in NY and our winter was just terrible last year. I'm concerned she won't be able to survive another winter but I'm more concerned that she's got an ailment I can fix somehow.
Or is it really just old age?
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