Time to say good-bye?

[Fur and Feathers]

I’ve had chickens for many years, only 4 or so at any one time. At the moment I have 2, one rooster and one hen. My rooster is about 10 years old, he is a very nice rooster. He started limping and it progressed to the point of now cannot walk, I suspect arthritis? He has always had a very unusual gait, he needs to stretch his leg out behind him to take a step forward. He can move a little bit using his wings but it takes a lot of effort. I’m fairly certain if I didn’t put food right in front of him 2 or 3 times a day he would starve. Does anyone know what it looks like if a rooster is in pain? He is very alert, still makes cute chicken sounds although hasn’t crowed for about 2 weeks. I haven’t taken him to a vet, I’m assuming they will want X-rays, I don’t really want a big vet bill. I’m thinking his quality of life is quite diminished from 2 months ago. May I please have an outsiders toughts?

 

[sourland]

sorry for the circumstances. 10 years is a pretty good life for a rooster. To me it does not sound as if his quality of life is good right now. It's a hard decision that only you can make.

 

[Byrd gal]

I am so sorry. It is a hard decision for sure. I know you will do right by him. Prayers coming your way.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I'm sorry you're dealing with this. What you describe doesn't sound like a very good quality of life. Remember, chickens try to act as normal as possible even when they're in pain... So if he can't walk properly there's probably something deeply wrong and/or causing him pain.
Only you can decide if he should be put down, but as you say trying to fix this for a chicken very near the end of its natural lifespan might be too much to handle (either financially, or the stress it puts on the bird) if they even could fix it.