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

[speckledhen]

This is our Gypsy, a black Ameraucana from show stock. She is currently our second oldest hen. The oldest is now Amanda after the death of Caroline and her sister Becca. Amanda is 10 1/2, unable to really walk due to crippling arthritis, but Gypsy, well, she may limp occasionally after sitting for awhile, but she is fairly spry. She was the best friend of our late, crippled rooster Zane, loved to get in his cage with him, lay her lovely blue egg beside him, share his food and just be great company for him until he passed away a few years ago. Gypsy is my heart.
And her age? You'd never guess it by looking at that stellar feather quality and her bright eyes. This beautiful old lady will turn 10 years old next month! @seminolewind check out Valerie's sister! Still kicking!

 

[speckledhen]

For those folks who doubt that old hens can still lay, check out the two eggs I just brought inside. They are labeled. The one on the right came from my oldest hen, Amanda, who is still kicking at 10 yrs 8 mos old and cannot walk. This is her 2nd egg in three days! Amanda the Wonder Hen! She will be 11 years old in March.

 

[speckledhen]

Another old girl has left us, though not as ancient as a few others we have. Maretta was 8 years old in April, a Blue Wheaten Ameraucana x EE hen. We discovered an issue (not reproductive) back in March and under the guidance of a veterinarian friend of mine, tried everything we knew, but sadly, there is no cure for what we believe was a cancer of some sort. She raised several batches of chicks throughout her life, the latest just last year. RIP, beautiful sweet girl.

 

[Trish1974]

Another old girl has left us, though not as ancient as a few others we have. Maretta was 8 years old in April, a Blue Wheaten Ameraucana x EE hen. We discovered an issue (not reproductive) back in March and under the guidance of a veterinarian friend of mine, tried everything we knew, but sadly, there is no cure for what we believe was a cancer of some sort. She raised several batches of chicks throughout her life, the latest just last year. RIP, beautiful sweet girl. View attachment 1781367
View attachment 1781371

So sorry for your loss.

 

[Trish1974]

Lost another old hen just a few minutes ago. She was bossing everyone around this morning, but it was one of my "Blue Bookend Hens", my Neela. She was very arthritic and both nares were basically closed off from increasingly larger cysts in them. I didn't think she'd make it through this hot summer, with her decreased oxygen levels and her age...she and Alice were both 9 years old. I'll miss that blue girl so much!

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[speckledhen]

Thank you. I brought Alice out where we were holding her sister as she died. Then, we placed Neela on the ground and showed Alice, who I know saw her flip off the roost spot she occupied. Alice looked up in my husband's face and just talked to him in this tiny, quiet voice. He was so touched. It was like she was talking about what just happened or asking for an explanation or something. She never talks like that. She is going to grieve for Neela. They were always together, their entire nine years of life.

 

[Shadrach]

Don't forget to bury her with something for the ferry man.
I send them off with a walnut and a bit of cheese.
If you've got chickens living to 12 years old (11 is the best here so far) then they and you have had a better result than the vast majority of chickens. I hate to lose a friend but at these age ranges I can at least believe they had a full life.

 

[speckledhen]

I think Panda will be next. She is 12+ years old. She has been losing weight recently. For the last couple of days, her color has been purplish and today, she is breathing so hard, as if she can't catch her breath. Panda is the only progeny of my beloved late Barred Rock rooster, Zane, and my Blue Ameraucana hen, Charlotte. Charlotte also was Gypsy's mother and Riley's as well; Riley was another Barred Easter Egger who died of egg issues around 3 years of age.

 

[speckledhen]

Makes one wonder when one reads of so many chickens dying in their 20's and 30's from sickness rather than predation.

For one thing, it's just plain sucky genetics of hatchery hens. They develop ovarian cancers at alarming rates and have other reproductive malfunctions. When you eliminate that last issue, you have hens living much longer lives.

 

[Waves]

Thank you, that's a nice picture. I sure miss her today. When you have a hen for over 12 years, it's like losing the family dog. I'm happy that she was still ambulatory and didn't have a really bad day. Loved that girl. She was one of three chicks that grew up together-my lavender bantam Cochin hen, Shadow, and my Gold Laced Wyandotte, Vada. Vada died just over a year old of egg issues. Shadow lived to be about 4 1/2 and that left Panda to live on for 8 more years after that.

I had a chicken named with a name similar to your Panda..
She was called Panta. Because it was the abbreviaton of Pantaloncina, and Pantaloni in Italian means "trousers". I called her so cause she always used to peck at my trosuers..
She was very friendly and smart,but the smallest of the Flock.
She died at about 5yy old from a reproductive issue after three weeks of fighting so strong and nothing i could Do. She was an ISA Brown.
It was so sad, she was a true friend.
Another victim of the super-layers breeding

Really close to you, i cant imagine how it is difficult to lose a so old hen