Death by Old Age?

[blythe7887]

I haven’t been able to find too many post about old age and chickens, specifically hens when they’re coming to the end of their time. I have an old red star crossed we picked her up about four years ago as part of A new flock after we lost our old one to predators. We picked up a handful of bullets on the verge of egg laying, and my husband at least wanted one bird that was laying eggs.

We never actually asked Rosie‘s age from the lady we got our birds from. But I figured she was at least two years old. Now having her for years, that would mean she is about six years old.

This morning I came up to give the ladies some treats, and Rosie didn’t come running as usual. She has always been our lead hand, not too aggressive, just enough to keep everybody else in line. So, when she didn’t break out for the treats, I knew something was wrong.
This morning I came up to give the lady some treats, and Rosie didn’t come running as usual. She has always been our lead hand, not too aggressive, just enough to keep everybody else in line. So, when she didn’t break out for the treats, I knew something was wrong.


I took a short video of her which I’m going to try to post here. Basically her symptoms are as follows:

Not interested in food water or snacks.

General overall weakness.

Kind of attempting to walk around, but nothing weird going on with her legs (Splayed, paralysis, or any other deformity).

She has no respiratory issues, no wheezing, gas being, coughing, drippy eyes, swollen eyes, or any other thing that would lead me to believe that she sick.

Has anyone had a hen that we’re just old and died due to old age? And if so, what were the symptoms of “old age” with a hen?

Video wouldn’t up-load...sigh...

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

It does sound like old age. So sorry for the loss of your sweet, sweet hen! Bear hugs!!!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Bless her heart... growing old is hard!

When was the last time she laid? What are you feeding regularly including treats and supplements?

Can you feel any heat in her legs or notice any swelling in her joints?

Her feathers are bit ragged... could be parasites bugging her or wear and tear getting close to molt. Maybe even molt setting in and causing the weakness/withdrawal. Have you ever done a fecal float for worm or wormed? I'm not suggesting these be the actual issue... but they could have an impact.

If it were JUST old age... I would expect to see some slowing down more than a literal over night change. Some stiffness when moving. Maybe slower to get out of bed and earlier going in. But kidney failure can be instant as I'm sure many other things can also.

I would NOT be feeding her layer... but a formulated ration with oyster shell on the side for active layers. Maybe not less than 18% protein like a grower ration... I like flock raiser with 20% protein and OS on the side...

Too much calcium (>3%) fed long term to birds not in lay *can* (doesn't mean will) cause gout and even kidney failure. Usually in birds that are genetically predisposed or have been fed excess treats.

I would personally... offer scrambled egg and give a direct dose of poultry nutri drench... while looking further into the clues and seeing if she can recover. Hydration is KEY, though. She won't starve to death but getting dehydrated can cause issues with electrolyte/mineral imbalance and be deadly fast.

How do her dropping look? You can use youtube or vimeo to upload your video here, I think.

 

[Mrs. K]

Yes, I think she is old and on the way out. I would move her out of the coop/run, as I have seen healthy birds be mean to a bird in this position.

She has had a good run for the money, I would not harass her too much, just let her be.

Mrs K

 

[alexa009]

When was the last time she ever laid eggs? She definitely looks like a Red Sex Link. Red Sex Links are are more prone to egg bound and prolapse of the uterus than other breeds. Besides that, I think she is just getting old, you were very lucky to even have a Red Sex Link at that age.

 

[Saaniya]

I haven’t been able to find too many post about old age and chickens, specifically hens when they’re coming to the end of their time. I have an old red star crossed we picked her up about four years ago as part of A new flock after we lost our old one to predators. We picked up a handful of bullets on the verge of egg laying, and my husband at least wanted one bird that was laying eggs.

We never actually asked Rosie‘s age from the lady we got our birds from. But I figured she was at least two years old. Now having her for years, that would mean she is about six years old.

This morning I came up to give the ladies some treats, and Rosie didn’t come running as usual. She has always been our lead hand, not too aggressive, just enough to keep everybody else in line. So, when she didn’t break out for the treats, I knew something was wrong.
This morning I came up to give the lady some treats, and Rosie didn’t come running as usual. She has always been our lead hand, not too aggressive, just enough to keep everybody else in line. So, when she didn’t break out for the treats, I knew something was wrong.


I took a short video of her which I’m going to try to post here. Basically her symptoms are as follows:

Not interested in food water or snacks.

General overall weakness.

Kind of attempting to walk around, but nothing weird going on with her legs (Splayed, paralysis, or any other deformity).

She has no respiratory issues, no wheezing, gas being, coughing, drippy eyes, swollen eyes, or any other thing that would lead me to believe that she sick.

Has anyone had a hen that we’re just old and died due to old age? And if so, what were the symptoms of “old age” with a hen?

Video wouldn’t up-load...sigh...

Yes , cover up her lifespan

 

[blythe7887]

So it turns out Rosey has gone blind! Clear normal eyes that are dialated.

A little back story....we went away for 3 nights/2 days of camping (we have a great setup and can actually go away for 7 days if we have someone to collect eggs). Our neighbor came by to collect eggs while we were gone and on the second day found one of our pullets (6 months old) dead. He froze her for us and I could see no reason for her death, but she had an empty crop.
A couple days later is when Rosey (4years + old) seems to have become blind and unable to find food or water. She lost a lot of weight but we’ve been force feeding her for the past 5 days.
Her eyes are dialated and have just barely started reacting to light. But she still can’t find her food or water ( she’s been in the house since we started force feeding here).
If just resting, she keeps her eyes closed.

3x she has started drinking while holding her and a bowel, but when holding pellets and tapping the bowl she just misses.

I found another thread here where the hens had the same symptoms and it seemed to be due to eating some type of poisonous plant (maybe). But there was no resolution.

Has anyone heard something similar?