Is it my imagination or is something not right?

My four year old hen Susan has been seemingly less active within the past few weeks, and for the past few months, she has had a messy rear end, which seems to be getting worse--I honestly can't tell. I checked for fly strike, etc today, but could find nothing wrong. She sits on a roost a lot, but her eating habits are normal. I'm starting to suspect it is Susan who is laying the eggs that I find broken in the nestbox. Would this play a part? Is something actully wrong or is she just less active? Is this maybe because it is cold outside?

 

Well for a while we were feeding non-layer feed and supplementing with oyster shells. Then we switched to layer feed. I don't think she has been laying on a regular basis, but that is to be expected of an older hen. I think she laid yesterday, but not today. I am hoping this is just the combined effects of old age and cold weather. Some of our hens have tiny scabs on their combs, and at first I paniced, thinking fowl pox, but the scabs did not grow, and are probably just a result of a recent run-in with dogs. Could this be stress from the dogs? it happened nearly two weeks ago, though. This did seem to coincide with the cold weather, though.

 

She is not running a fever or swollen in any way, poop is runny but normal, etc. no sign of egg in poop. Nothing appears physically wrong, but she is just not active like she was.

 

OH! Good Point!!! I haven't seen any worms in her poop, but she has never been wormed.

 

Susan's crop seems fine, and her rear end is white and brown and sometimes so wet it is drippy. I am thinking more and more that this is worms. What sort of started ringing an alarm in my head was the fact that she would be found relaxing on the roost in the coop while the others were out free ranging.