AGING hens

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It's just sad see my favorite hen wasting away in front of my eyes. Its almost like she has a mental capacity issue. When ever I call the flock for a treat all come running except for Chanel, I have to go and find her and she seems confused about what it is I want and have to lead her 90% of the way to treat time when not to long ago she led the charge. She doesn't want or at least doesn't eat much of the treats. When I can manage to catch her I don't see any obvious issues, no mites/lice, her crop has food in it, no sour crop symptoms...the only thing I/we can agree on is we had a week long cold snap here in south Texas it got as low as 19 at night and did not get about 32 for a 7 day period the week of Christmas. It's part of life and we know it will happen to all of them at some point in time, just thought it would be 4-5 more years.
 
City Farmer Jim said:
It's just sad see my favorite hen wasting away in front of my eyes. Its almost like she has a mental capacity issue. When ever I call the flock for a treat all come running except for Chanel, I have to go and find her and she seems confused about what it is I want and have to lead her 90% of the way to treat time when not to long ago she led the charge. She doesn't want or at least doesn't eat much of the treats. When I can manage to catch her I don't see any obvious issues, no mites/lice, her crop has food in it, no sour crop symptoms...the only thing I/we can agree on is we had a week long cold snap here in south Texas it got as low as 19 at night and did not get about 32 for a 7 day period the week of Christmas. It's part of life and we know it will happen to all of them at some point in time, just thought it would be 4-5 more years.
Click to expand...
The cold can definitely make a difference ... for ALL of us, not just our chickens. How old is Chanel and what breed?
 
She turned 4 in September, she's a Barred rock/Plymouth rock which ever you like to call them ...she was forced into head hen if you will. Her breed sister gave her life protecting the the other 5 in the flock from a hawk attack so she took over as head hen. She's a very good chicken and would/does come by and peck at my shoes and then hop into my lap 15-20 minutes and then go on about running the flock. She's my favorite hen....hate seeing her in decline. I'm going to get some medicated feed and see what happens with her.
 
City Farmer Jim said:
She turned 4 in September, she's a Barred rock/Plymouth rock which ever you like to call them ...she was forced into head hen if you will. Her breed sister gave her life protecting the the other 5 in the flock from a hawk attack so she took over as head hen. She's a very good chicken and would/does come by and peck at my shoes and then hop into my lap 15-20 minutes and then go on about running the flock. She's my favorite hen....hate seeing her in decline. I'm going to get some medicated feed and see what happens with her.
Click to expand...
She should NOT be obviously declining at four. Something is wrong. I highly recommend treating the entire flock for coccidiosis. Coccidia exist EVERYWHERE. They live in the soil, and varieties vary from one yard to the next. There is no escaping them, especially if your birds free-range.

It's a relatively inexpensive treatment - and benign, so it won't hurt them. It could make all the difference in the world. I've had "dying" chickens bounce back within 24 hours by treating for coccidiosis.

  1. Get yourself some amprolium - in the US, it's commonly sold as "Corid." Most feed stores (and Tractor Supply) carry it.
  2. Replace ALL of the water in your coop and with Corid-treated water. Do not offer any other source. You need to be certain they are all getting it.
  3. DO NOT use vitamins or medicated feed during treatment. Amprolium kills coccidia by depriving it of Vitamin B. Using vitamins or medicated feed will totally wipe out the effects of the medication.
  4. Using an eyedropper, lay a couple of drops alongside Chanel's beak. She should swallow it reflexively with no issues. You can do the same with your other chickens, but Chanel (and any other bird showing lethargy) should be treated individually to make sure they get the full, immediate effect of the treatment.
  5. After the full treatment (usually five days, but check your medication's directions) remove the treated water and replace it with fresh water.
  6. Once the treatment is over, I usually give the birds a good poultry vitamin. While coccidia require vitamin B to thrive, so do your birds. If any are weakened from the illness, vitamins should keep them from "crashing" after treatment.
Good Luck! Let us know how she does.
 
MROO said:
She should NOT be obviously declining at four. Something is wrong. I highly recommend treating the entire flock for coccidiosis. Coccidia exist EVERYWHERE. They live in the soil, and varieties vary from one yard to the next. There is no escaping them, especially if your birds free-range.

It's a relatively inexpensive treatment - and benign, so it won't hurt them. It could make all the difference in the world. I've had "dying" chickens bounce back within 24 hours by treating for coccidiosis.

  1. Get yourself some amprolium - in the US, it's commonly sold as "Corid." Most feed stores (and Tractor Supply) carry it.
  2. Replace ALL of the water in your coop and with Corid-treated water. Do not offer any other source. You need to be certain they are all getting it.
  3. DO NOT use vitamins or medicated feed during treatment. Amprolium kills coccidia by depriving it of Vitamin B. Using vitamins or medicated feed will totally wipe out the effects of the medication.
  4. Using an eyedropper, lay a couple of drops alongside Chanel's beak. She should swallow it reflexively with no issues. You can do the same with your other chickens, but Chanel (and any other bird showing lethargy) should be treated individually to make sure they get the full, immediate effect of the treatment.
  5. After the full treatment (usually five days, but check your medication's directions) remove the treated water and replace it with fresh water.
  6. Once the treatment is over, I usually give the birds a good poultry vitamin. While coccidia require vitamin B to thrive, so do your birds. If any are weakened from the illness, vitamins should keep them from "crashing" after treatment.
Good Luck! Let us know how she does.
Click to expand...
This is great advice.
 
City Farmer Jim said:
What is the typical life expectancy of a standard hen ? We have a mixed(ages) flock of 14, our oldest girls will be 4 in
Click to expand...
According to Victoria Roberts BVSc MRCVS in the year 2000 when her book was first published the life expectancy of a free range Bantam was 10-12 years old.
For what we would call dual purpose chickens their life expectancy was 8-10 years old.
A more recent study which I can't find at the moment gave similar life expectancy.

Much like humans it's often genetics that determines in what age range one is likely to drop dead, so the provenance of the chickens can have a major influence.

Predation and injuries are factors that need to be taken into account with such estimates, free rangers likely to fare less well than contained birds.
Free rangers are also according to studies are more likely to get sick due to their wider range of opportunities to exposure of pathogens and diet complications.
 
I'm sorry but I miss diagnosed what was/is going on with Chanelle...she has sour crop...its the second chicken to develop this malady. What am I doing wrong. I caught and checked her the Tuesday the week of Christmas and she had food in her crop. Today I caught her and the second I touched her crop she expelled copious amounts of brown fluid. I am afraid I have waited too long for her to recover.
 

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