Ode to Old Hens... Pictures of the Seniors in Our Flock

[speckledhen]

@Stiggy , he was very well loved, your rooster.

Panda has ceased laying, isn't very active, doesn't eat much, doesn't compete for food. I'm not sure there is technically anything wrong with her other than old age. She's still my lovable Panda-bear, my only one out of Zane from before he became completely crippled. Folks don't always remember that she and Gypsy had the same mother, my sweet blue Ameraucana hen who died a few years ago. Gypsy is about a half year older than Panda.

 

[Stiggy]

Thanks, he certainly was and still is, I am keeping 3 of his daughters as a rememberance of him.
That's a shame that Panda sounds like she is slowing down, It sounds like she is having a good retirement tho, and it is clear that she and your other birds are very well loved.

Its a shame that many don't make old age, in dec I lost my 16month old Millie, she had very weak lungs however and I suspect they gave up on her, combined with the stress of a new feeder person ( I was away 28 days) since she was a creature of habit.
My eldest is currently 6 years old, Buffy is a buff silkie and still lays 3-5 eggs per week. Followed by Bindi at 5. For silkies they are getting on in age, but are doing well. So in comparison to your flock, most of mine are quite young. ( I currently have 89 birds, I have to cut down to 25 by winter/for winter)

 

[speckledhen]

Thanks, he certainly was and still is, I am keeping 3 of his daughters as a rememberance of him.
That's a shame that Panda sounds like she is slowing down, It sounds like she is having a good retirement tho, and it is clear that she and your other birds are very well loved.

Its a shame that many don't make old age, in dec I lost my 16month old Millie, she had very weak lungs however and I suspect they gave up on her, combined with the stress of a new feeder person ( I was away 28 days) since she was a creature of habit.
My eldest is currently 6 years old, Buffy is a buff silkie and still lays 3-5 eggs per week. Followed by Bindi at 5. For silkies they are getting on in age, but are doing well. So in comparison to your flock, most of mine are quite young. ( I currently have 89 birds, I have to cut down to 25 by winter/for winter)

My only porcelain D'Anver hen has something wrong with her. I can't figure out what it is but her tail is always dragging the ground. There is no swelling in her belly, nothing I can find wrong anywhere that I can feel. She is almost blind in one eye due to an injury last year, but other than that, she eats and drinks and flies fine, just doesnt have the perky D'anver tail anymore. I hate mysteries. She's 2-3 years old, can't really recall, would have to check. My original hens are 4 and she is the granddaughter of one of those.

 

[speckledhen]

Lost the porcelain D'anver hen to an oil gland tumor of some sort. She wasn't old, but just another gone-too-soon hen from the past year. Another 2 year old hen is dying and I have no idea why, been through everything, think maybe reproductive related. But, this is the Old Hens' thread and I have another sweet old lady who may be making her exit soon.

Nugget, my 7 year old Buff Orpington from breeder stock, seems to be on her downhill slide to the end. Just like Meg before her as Meg was going down to the end, Nugget was sleeping in the floor most of the day, a nice sunny, very pleasant day that she would normally not miss for the world. Dusty is laying beside her at roost time. Poor Xander will lose his 3rd of 4 hens I originally gave him, poor sweet thing. He's only about 3 years old himself. Am considering what to do with only Dusty left in there,who is also 7 years old.

Here are pics I took of Nugget today with Xander and Dusty concerned about her. She is not bloated though she hasn't laid in two years. Her poop had some dull, thick, mustard yellow urates on it today, I think a sign of liver failure, though could have been yolk, not sure. It's just her time, I guess. Sure will miss her. She was a fabulous mother.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Poor Nugget. I feel sad for the chickens who are left behind, as well. Sorry about the losses.

 

[speckledhen]

Poor Nugget. I feel sad for the chickens who are left behind, as well. Sorry about the losses.

Thank you, Jill.

 

[speckledhen]

Nugget is still here. She had a very good day yesterday, a so-so day today. Another hen, my splash Ameraucana, has a suddenly sluggish crop and has lost weight. Have had to separate her so she wouldn't pile food on her crop tonight. She's 7 years old so she may be on her way out. Her sister died last year.


Here are my three oldest hens, all eight years old with the Buff Brahma, Caroline, two months older than the BR hens, Becca and Amanda.



Gypsy and Panda, half sisters (same Blue Ameraucana mother). Gypsy is a few months older than Panda and will be 8 in November.


Emily below them is a Black Rock. She's only 5 yrs old but lives there because she has a bad leg/foot that gives her lots of trouble.

 

[speckledhen]

It's 2016 and all these hens are still with me that were here last year. Today, 9 year old crippled Amanda laid another egg. Gypsy is laying currently and she will turn 9 in November.

 

[robhuncor]

Yay for the old girls, Cyn! They look great.

 

[speckledhen]

Yay for the old girls, Cyn! They look great.

Yes, most of them do. However, sadly, my 8 yr old EE hen, June, is dying, I'm afraid. She was lethargic yesterday and when I picked her up to check her out (she isn't one who loves to be held much, but she came to me when I called her), she was having trouble breathing and her abdomen is rigid. Today, when the rest were outside, she was sitting alone on the roost and didn't even flinch when I bent down to stroke both sides of her face and talk to her. She just looked into my eyes. She knows. I know. She is the ONLY bird other than my very first rooster, who came her as a started bird, a gift from my friend, Kate, at about 8 weeks of age. She's head hen in that group and when she's gone, Georgie will definitely take over.