Do old chickens get pale?

[fiddleblue]

My head Momma is my oldest gal. She is boss of the flock but she's an older chicken, now just over 6 years old. My understanding is chickens generally live 8-10 years. ANyhow, her wattles and comb have gotten quite pale, a light pink color instead of their normal bright red, as of the last 2 months or so, and she moves around more slowly than she used to. Is this typical for an older girl or should I be concerned about something?

 

[ANelson726]

Usually a pale comb is a sign of illness. I would highly recommend visiting hencam.com. She has a blog and FAQ there. She raises a lot of older hens, and knows quite a bit about health and illness, and how to treat, and when not to.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have found most chickens live between 4-8 years, with an occasional hen living longer, my oldest was 9. She does sound like something internally is going on, unfortunately there's not a lot that can be done if it's due to aging. Good luck.

 

[RonP]

Something is wrong.

Had this happen a few times with older birds.

Some recovered...some not so lucky.

Personally, if a bird has lived a long life, I do not interfere with nature.

I would keep watch over the flock as a whole, making sure there are no issues.

 

[enola]

If you haven't wormed recently, you could try that. Safeguard liquid wormer for goats works really well.

 

[fiddleblue]

Thanks everyone, I will look into the worm issue,and look at hencam.com for more info. If she is ill I'd like to treat her if possible.