Need help identifying what might be wrong with a hen

[Half Moon Ranch]

The hen in question is an older Buff Orpington.
She eats, drinks water and hangs out with the other hen, but I have noticed that she doesn't look good and gives a little head shake from time to time.
The color in her face isn't normal. The other hen and the two roosters don't show any signs of problems.
This is an aging flock that I attempted to rehome shortly after my Wife passed and I haven't had the heart to do anything but maintain caring for them.
This old gal is Estaline and she's probably coming up on 8 years.
Is she just approaching the end of her road, or do I have something else going on.
I feed them all a good layer pellet, since flock raiser became really hard to find.
I have been putting Hydro-Hen in their water for the last couple weeks, since I was concerned about the cold climate lately.
On nights like tonight, where it get to 25° F, everyone is in the coop and there is a desk heater to help.
That has been working for years.

 

[azygous]

Her face is strange. I wonder if she has face mites, a version of scaly leg mites. It's simple enough to treat. Keep castor oil or Vaseline on her face for a few days and see if it makes any difference in her behavior and appearance.

But she lived long enough that a reproductive disorder could be responsible for her sour outlook. There's really no way to know. What does her poop look like?

 

[Half Moon Ranch]

Her face is strange. I wonder if she has face mites, a version of scaly leg mites. It's simple enough to treat. Keep castor oil or Vaseline on her face for a few days and see if it makes any difference in her behavior and appearance.

But she lived long enough that a reproductive disorder could be responsible for her sour outlook. There's really no way to know. What does her poop look like?

I'll have to get a better look at that. I haven't seen anything odd.
Both hens stopped laying about a year ago and I figured they were at the end of their reproductive activity. The other hen, Daisy, looks totally normal in the face.
I will try some Vaseline and see if that has any effect.
As far as mites go, I keep a dusting of DE on the bottom of both the coop and the runs.
I recently opened up a new bale of hay and noticed it was really dry, so I wonder if there might have been mites in there?
Over the last couple years the supply of feed and such has been suffering, so none of it has been up to parr.

 

[stargirl]

Shaking her head would fit with something causing an itching condition to her face, too.

Is she usually this puffy?
Does her walk look normal?

 

[Half Moon Ranch]

Her face appears a little swollen. The shaking is pretty mild and not constant.
She does appear somewhat lethargic and her walk appears fairly normal.
She did go up in the coop early this evening, a good 30 - 40 minutes prior to the normal time. I checked on her and she's asleep with her head somewhat tucked under her right wing. If I didn't know any better, I would say she has something going on beyond mites, but that is totally a gut feeling.

 

[azygous]

No doubt she does have something more going on than parasites. Gut feelings when it comes to your own chickens are valid and should be listened to.

 

[Half Moon Ranch]

I know they get stressed somewhat in extremes of temperature.
We had an odd beginning to winter where it went from being in the 70's to suddenly in the 20's within a couple days time and I wondered if that may have made things worse.
I'm sort of at a loss on this one. I don't see signs of respiratory distress, lack of appetite, or refusal to drink water. I guess I'm going to have to sit out there for a while and observe her to see what she poops and try to figure out if she might have some sort of internal parasite.
What is the latest and greatest dewormer available these days and could using that without knowing that's the problem, cause more stress?

 

[azygous]

The best, most popular wormer is fenbendazole sold in the US under the label Safeguard. It kills most species of worms. You may safely worm at any time, and it can be done in conjunction with other meds, antibiotics, coccidia treatment, and herbal remedies.

The only caution I would offer is that if a heavy worm load is suspected to provide treatment for shock with electrolytes during and after worming as heavy loads of dying worms can send a chicken into shock.

 

[Half Moon Ranch]

Well, I'm afraid things escalated quickly since yesterday.
When I came home from work this evening, she was in the coop, asleep and I'm not sure if she even came out this morning.
She's not on the perch, but resting in the hay and I suspect she won't make it through the night.
We have a couple inches snow due in this evening, so I cleared a spot in a little plot where we laid two of our dogs to rest.
This breaks my heart, but I just pray that she passes as peacefully as she looks right now.
She was a sweet old lady.

I would like to sincerely thank everyone who tried to help.
Your efforts and care are what lead my Wife and I to this site 7 years ago.
God bless you all, Mark

 

[ChickNanny13]