Hen can't jump into nesting box

[dreamdoc]

I have an older hen, 5-6 yrs who still lays eggs. she looks healthy but no longer jumps up to roosts. She has slept in nesting boxes which are lower to the ground. Now she's sleeping on coop floor. I built a little ladder to a nesting box so she now climbs it to sleep in box. She doesn't look sick and is eating and active. From experience, this seems to be a pattern I see with my older birds when they are heading toward illness/death. Any opinions? Is this just natural aging? Any feedback would be very welcomed.

 

[N F C]

Since she doesn't seem to be ill or injured, it sounds to me like aging (I don't jump as high as I used to either). Are the other birds in your flock treating her ok?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have an older hen, 5-6 yrs who still lays eggs. she looks healthy but no longer jumps up to roosts. She has slept in nesting boxes which are lower to the ground. Now she's sleeping on coop floor. I built a little ladder to a nesting box so she now climbs it to sleep in box. She doesn't look sick and is eating and active. From experience, this seems to be a pattern I see with my older birds when they are heading toward illness/death. Any opinions? Is this just natural aging? Any feedback would be very welcomed.

Could be aging as @N F C mentioned, but you will want to check her over really well.
Still at 5-6yrs old I would think that she should be able to roost - it sounds like she is in a gradual decline since she went from roosting to sleeping in nesting boxes to finally the floor.

She still lays eggs? Give her abdomen a feel for bloat/swelling or fluid. Check her for lice/mites, see that her crop is emptying overnight and inspect the bottom of her feet. Having a fecal float to check for worms/coccidiosis is always a good idea too.

Weigh her now and write that down so you can do comparison weigh-ins to see if she is gaining/losing. Some chickens will act like they are eating when they are not.

 

[dreamdoc]

Since she doesn't seem to be ill or injured, it sounds to me like aging (I don't jump as high as I used to either). Are the other birds in your flock treating her ok?

Everyone is treating her fine.

 

[dreamdoc]

Could be aging as @N F C mentioned, but you will want to check her over really well.
Still at 5-6yrs old I would think that she should be able to roost - it sounds like she is in a gradual decline since she went from roosting to sleeping in nesting boxes to finally the floor.

She still lays eggs? Give her abdomen a feel for bloat/swelling or fluid. Check her for lice/mites, see that her crop is emptying overnight and inspect the bottom of her feet. Having a fecal float to check for worms/coccidiosis is always a good idea too.

Weigh her now and write that down so you can do comparison weigh-ins to see if she is gaining/losing. Some chickens will act like they are eating when they are not.

Thanks for your advice. Don't know how I'd weigh her but I can do the rest.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for your advice. Don't know how I'd weigh her but I can do the rest.

If you have a postal scale that would work.