How to help an old hen

[Cassondra53]

Hello friends!
I have an old chicken that I adopted. I’m not sure how old she is, but she hasn’t laid an egg in the 4 months I’ve had her, she moved extremely slow, can’t get up on the roost without my help, and has had to be drained twice in one month from water belly.
I love her sooooooo much and I want to give her the best possible life for the rest of her days. Which leads to my question! What are some tips for making old chickens happy?

This seems silly, but it seems like she prefers to be in the house where there’s peace and quiet. She has a low edge bin with straw that she can easily climb into and snooze, and her food and water close by. However, is it bad to keep her away from the flock? Chickens are social creatures, but she is the lowest in the pecking order and tends to get nipped at, which can make her lose her balance and/or have to run away, and running doesn’t look easy for this sweet darling.
I’d love to hear your thoughts! She’s a happy girl with a perky attitude... just moves real slow and doesn’t engage in a lot of activity. She sings though:

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hello, Cass. Others may disagree with me, I am no authority on chickens by any means. But my initial reaction to your question is that it sounds as if your dear old hen is as happy and comfortable as she can be right now, just the way you are keeping her. Tomorrow I will listen to her singing and see if I change my mind, however. She might be calling for her mates. It's late now and I can't listen till then.

 

[Cassondra53]

Hello, Cass. Others may disagree with me, I am no authority on chickens by any means. But my initial reaction to your question is that it sounds as if your dear old hen is as happy and comfortable as she can be right now, just the way you are keeping her. Tomorrow I will listen to her singing and see if I change my mind, however. She might be calling for her mates. It's late now and I can't listen till then.

Thank you for your reply! It’s so hard to know what makes these gals happy, but I will sure do my best to try to find out!
The singing is kind of a silly joke she and I talk back and forth and she either does one bop, two bops, or the occasional three bops

 

[TwoCrows]

I moved your thread to our Emergency forums for more help.

 

[mviera101]

I think you are doing the best for her needs now as an older gal. If the others are bothering her why not leave her as you have her ? I had a 9 yo hen, who was the lone survivor of 3. She got lots of socialization from our family. I did end up putting her down when her water belly impaired her movement too much.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thank you for your reply! It’s so hard to know what makes these gals happy, but I will sure do my best to try to find out!
The singing is kind of a silly joke she and I talk back and forth and she either does one bop, two bops, or the occasional three bops

You're welcome! I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to listen to her again today... I really will try again tomorrow. Looking forward to it. (Sundays are kinda busy around here, lol!)

 

[Eggcessive]

She seems happy, but if you have a wire dog crate with food and water where she can spend some time out in the yard with the other chickens, I ould let her out some every day to get a little vitamin D from the sun. She seems like she enjoys being spoiled.