9yo barred rock hen with walking problems

[cgalarraga]

Hi all -- I have a flock of 13 hens at a half-acre school garden in New York City. A few of our girl are as old as nine, and some are as old as three.

One of our 9yo old chickens is a barred rock who has had trouble walking for the past few months. It used to be that she could keep up still with the others, but now she is very slow. Walking looks like it pains her, and she spends most of the time sitting down. She is still eating and drinking, amazingly (and even up until a month ago was laying eggs!). Her weight is pretty good, too -- not light like other chickens before they died.

She has been separated from the other hens for about a month in a separate, predator-proof enclosure because the other hens started ganging up on her, leaving a pencil-eraser-sized hole in the top of her head. I treated the wound and she recovered, but they did it again once I reintegrated her with the regular flock. The wound has healed again and her feathers are coming in. My concern is that she is never going to be able to fight back against them, and that they will keep doing this, which is why she is separated for now. The other hens range almost every day for a few hours, so I'm not concerned that they aren't getting enough time outside.

I have wondered if it's arthritis, something else, or if there are any supplements to maybe help her, but I am worried that this is just old age for her. If you were in my position, would you keep her separate for the rest of her days, or would you euthanize her to end her suffering? I'm attaching a link to a video, which will hopefully work, so you can see what she looks like. And, if you were to euthanize her, how would you recommend going about it, for someone who has never done it?

Thanks for listening, and for the help.

 

[Eggcessive]

Poor girl. She definitely is having trouble moving her right leg normally. If she were younger, I might worry about Mareks disease, but it usually affects younger chickens. It can strike at any age, though when exposed by a new bird who is a carrier. She could have some internal issue (reproductive disorder or infection, tumor, that is putting pressure on her sciatic nerve in the leg.

Euthanizing her is a choice only you can make. She still has some enjoyment from walking around eating. Human vitamin B complex tablets 1/2 tablet daily added to some food daily might help some. Prescription meloxicam can act against pain and inflammation. Aspirin 81 mg can be given orally once or twice daily for up to 3 days. Chicken slings can be helpful in getting them up and in front of food and water if they tolerate them.

 

[ManedWolf]

Your hen sounds almost exactly like mine! I have a 9 year old Orpington hen who's had trouble walking for around a year. I believe it's arthritis.
She has some bad months, and some good ones.
Last month she got a lot worse and couldn't walk at all, so I separated her from the flock and kept her in a very small cage for a week (so she didn't try to move around too much). She recovered enough to walk again. I keep her separated from the main flock, but she can still see them through the fence. She also has a companion, another hen who was being bullied.

Euthanasia is a tough choice, it can be hard to tell when their quality of life is good or if they're just hiding it. If you're not ready to make that call, or don't think it's the right choice, you can try what I did.

I hope she is able to recover, even if just a little bit!