How to support an aging arthritic bird?

[Pheonix_in_wonderland]

So we have this hen (New Hampshire red) named rusty, shes one of the only 2 birds we still have left from when we got chickens again years ago. We have had her for at least 6 years, I think longer (we got Her as a chick so that’s her age). but her arthritis is acting up and it’s spread to at least one of her knees. This week she’s been deteriorating. Saturday she couldn’t keep her balance, and seemed all off. and yesterday she was falling over and needed help getting up. i also can definitely see that this is taking an emotional toll on her and worry about pushing her into depression If I seperate her from the flock. She’s a core part of the flock, she’s at the center of the majority of activities they do up untill this week and she’s still participating as much as she can.

I definitely don’t think she’s sick, this seems to just be her getting old. when she falls and needs help it’s usually cuz she’s trying to avoid putting weight on her feet. she’s had arthritic feet for years tho and they didn’t cause her any trouble. soaking the feet in epsom salt and warm water definitly seems to help. with any other bird I would be separating them and putting an extra thick layer of bedding in their area To see if that helps at all. But considering her role in the social structure of this flock that would devastate her.

what can/should I do to help support her through this?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Saturday she couldn’t keep her balance, and seemed all off.

Often a symptom of crop dysfunction, is she still eating and drinking? Can you check how it feels.. squishy full, flat empty, hard with stuff, etc.. might be good to check now and then again in the morning.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

What are feeding at this stage in life? You say she's one of two, but it sounds like there may be more than just them from later groups or is just the two elder ladies?

Meloxicam is available by veterinary prescription as an anti inflammatory.

If a bird is actively trying not to put weight on their feet.. that is NO quality of life and euthanasia would or should be a consideration.

When was her last egg? Can you feel her belly between her legs.. does it feel similar to her sister's or is their any swelling/squishyness?

 

[texsuze]

Good on you for going the extra mile for your hen! You can try giving her baby aspirin, dissolved in water, then used to make a small batch of mash (using her standard feed). Azygous, on BYC would have more specific details on mg and dose; I would check in with her.

I had a special needs hen with mobility issues who I placed in different comfortable, safe spots around the barn while I was cleaning, etc. I also provided a small rubbermaid tote, no lid, with a "U"-shaped cutout in front (like my nest boxes); lined with hay or shavings. If I found the right spot, she could rest in there and still feel like she was participating without being pestered. Sometimes, they might use the "tote" nest box at ground level, if safely located, to roost at night.

Reducing the angle of any ramps she's required to use will help. I'm still in the process of that in consideration of my 8 y.o. Dominique.

I also have two different 2x4s (with sanded-down corners), maybe about 18" long, secured horizontally on very short wood blocks, flat side up, total height to top of 2x4 only about ~3" off the ground; these are 'handicap roosts' that any hen can be on and still feel like they are roosting on something.

 

[Pheonix_in_wonderland]

Often a symptom of crop dysfunction, is she still eating and drinking? Can you check how it feels.. squishy full, flat empty, hard with stuff, etc.. might be good to check now and then again in the morning.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

What are feeding at this stage in life? You say she's one of two, but it sounds like there may be more than just them from later groups or is just the two elder ladies?

Meloxicam is available by veterinary prescription as an anti inflammatory.

If a bird is actively trying not to put weight on their feet.. that is NO quality of life and euthanasia would or should be a consideration.

When was her last egg? Can you feel her belly between her legs.. does it feel similar to her sister's or is their any swelling/squishyness?

She’s still eating and drinking fine, I was a bit worried about her drinking a few days ago but she’s alright on that. Her crop feels alright. We have those two old ladies, as well as a bunch of younger birds. the other old bird is snugs, she’s a black Cochin and has her own space she doesn’t get along well with the entire flock. She’s struggled a lot with keeping on weight and that sort of thing. Rn snugs is with another Cochin whos probably 2 or 3 and 4 very young birds (less than a year old but they arent really chicks anymore). Including rusty their are 9 birds in her coop at the moment. if I decide to merge the little ones with the main coop their will be 14, but I’m tempted to leave them with snugs cuz she really likes them.

she seems better today and only tryed to shift the weight off her feet every so often and that’s when she was falling over idk for sure if she was avoiding putting weight on them or just was having a very hard time balancing so that’s what it looked like. I havnt seen it happen again today and it was only an issue in the evening yesterday. I think her feet probably are just getting extra tired and she needs a break or something gentler to walk on. She still lays well, she usually lays 2 days in a row than has a break. yesterday was her most recent one. today is her break day. She’s still eating layer pellets but will honestly eat anything you give her! She’s foraging still as well. Her eggs have had those calcium lumps on them idk what it’s called but just an extra bump of shell. that’s not surprising to me though since she’s old. The average life span of a New Hampshire red is 7 years, so I really do Think it’s just age.

yesterday evening her crop was squishy and still feels squishy but less full, feels more like she’s drunken more today than eaten witch makes sense since she’s been mostly foraging and drinking water today she is more interested in the plants than grain witch was the opposite of yesterday.

she’s also eating mosquitoes out of the air so she’s got good cordination, reflexes, her appetite is fine, her vision is good. it’s just in regards to her legs she’s having trouble. our other old bird has a hard time eating out of my hand no way she could grab a bug mid flight like Rusty’s doing rn!

 

[Pheonix_in_wonderland]

Good on you for going the extra mile for your hen! You can try giving her baby aspirin, dissolved in water, then used to make a small batch of mash (using her standard feed). Azygous, on BYC would have more specific details on mg and dose; I would check in with her.

I had a special needs hen with mobility issues who I placed in different comfortable, safe spots around the barn while I was cleaning, etc. I also provided a small rubbermaid tote, no lid, with a "U"-shaped cutout in front (like my nest boxes); lined with hay or shavings. If I found the right spot, she could rest in there and still feel like she was participating without being pestered. Sometimes, they might use the "tote" nest box at ground level, if safely located, to roost at night.

Reducing the angle of any ramps she's required to use will help. I'm still in the process of that in consideration of my 8 y.o. Dominique.

I also have two different 2x4s (with sanded-down corners), maybe about 18" long, secured horizontally on very short wood blocks, flat side up, total height to top of 2x4 only about ~3" off the ground; these are 'handicap roosts' that any hen can be on and still feel like they are roosting on something.

Thanks! This is really helpful especially about having nest boxes around, that sounds like a great idea. especially if her falling issue was related to her feet being tired since she wasn’t having that sort of trouble in the morning or right now. She also slept on the floor of her coop last night And she seems more tired than usual so I’ll try giving her a shorter roost and nicer place on the floor to sleep. thank you

 

[Pheonix_in_wonderland]

She’s still eating and drinking fine, I was a bit worried about her drinking a few days ago but she’s alright on that. Her crop feels alright. We have those two old ladies, as well as a bunch of younger birds. the other old bird is snugs, she’s a black Cochin and has her own space she doesn’t get along well with the entire flock. She’s struggled a lot with keeping on weight and that sort of thing. Rn snugs is with another Cochin whos probably 2 or 3 and 4 very young birds (less than a year old but they arent really chicks anymore). Including rusty their are 9 birds in her coop at the moment. if I decide to merge the little ones with the main coop their will be 14, but I’m tempted to leave them with snugs cuz she really likes them.

she seems better today and only tryed to shift the weight off her feet every so often and that’s when she was falling over idk for sure if she was avoiding putting weight on them or just was having a very hard time balancing so that’s what it looked like. I havnt seen it happen again today and it was only an issue in the evening yesterday. I think her feet probably are just getting extra tired and she needs a break or something gentler to walk on. She still lays well, she usually lays 2 days in a row than has a break. yesterday was her most recent one. today is her break day. She’s still eating layer pellets but will honestly eat anything you give her! She’s foraging still as well. Her eggs have had those calcium lumps on them idk what it’s called but just an extra bump of shell. that’s not surprising to me though since she’s old. The average life span of a New Hampshire red is 7 years, so I really do Think it’s just age.

yesterday evening her crop was squishy and still feels squishy but less full, feels more like she’s drunken more today than eaten witch makes sense since she’s been mostly foraging and drinking water today she is more interested in the plants than grain witch was the opposite of yesterday.

she’s also eating mosquitoes out of the air so she’s got good cordination, reflexes, her appetite is fine, her vision is good. it’s just in regards to her legs she’s having trouble. our other old bird has a hard time eating out of my hand no way she could grab a bug mid flight like Rusty’s doing rn!

And her crop was empty today so it’s definitely not a crop issue. She’s doing better today again, and i tried the roost idea as well as adding more shavings so they have an extra thick layer. She definitely slept better. Today I can work on putting boxes around for her. I stand by it having to do with aging.