Aging Chicken

[msmidwick]

I have a 4-year old hen that seems to be dying. . She is not moving much and setting in the pen most all the time. I fear she is old and not going to be with us much longer, but I feel bad. Do I just let Mother Nature take care of her and wait for her to pass, or should I help her live when I know I will be prolonging the inevitable or help her out of her misery? I have had chickens for many years but never been in this situation! Anybody got ideas?

 

[sourland]

For me it is all about quality of life. As long as she is still seeming to have that I would keep her comfortable. Once it became apparent that she was no longer 'happy' I would end her life. I feel that this is my responsibility. It never gets easier, but is part of caring for anything. We should be allowed to make this choice for ourselves, but that is only my opinion.

 

[msmidwick]

Boy, do I agree. I have never done that before. Usually find them. I am not sure how I would go about this. My husband says he will not help. He has helped with roosters and is not happy with what he had to do. haha. Thank you for your caring.

 

[achiekitty]

I have a 4-year old hen that seems to be dying. . She is not moving much and setting in the pen most all the time. I fear she is old and not going to be with us much longer, but I feel bad. Do I just let Mother Nature take care of her and wait for her to pass, or should I help her live when I know I will be prolonging the inevitable or help her out of her misery? I have had chickens for many years but never been in this situation! Anybody got ideas?

How did your hen do? Did she die? Is she still around?
We have a 6 year old and.2 4-year olds. One of our 4 year old, Grey had a prolapsed vent last May and I thought she was going to die because it wasn’t getting better. It went on for almost 2 weeks. But she did survive to my great relief.

 

[msmidwick]

She perked up and has been running with the rest of the flock ever since. I am glad I didn't 'put her down'. I guess letting nature take its course is the answer!

 

[msmidwick]

Well it a month later and we had to put down the same chicken. She became lethargic and not eating and not moving at all and the others (12 other chickens) were covering her with dirt like they were burying her. I separated her but she just got worse and we ended her misery. I guess it was misery. We kinda expected her to just die on her own, but 2 days later she was still alive. My husband asked me to ask y'all how you go about ending the life of a chicken. My question still remains, what is the best way to end the suffering, old age, etc.