Old age - heart disease?

[Mayakovsky]

Greetings....I have a five year old RIR hen who now seems to be showing signs of arthritis and heart disease. Her feet are turned inward slightly, and she walks, although not at all like her sisters. She eats and drinks well, but pants with exertion. What have you - who have had an aged chicken like this - done to keep it as comfortable as possible? Ideas?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Make sure she has easy access to food and water and that healthier birds don't bully her away from that. Depending on what run litter you use, having it piled up in places (helps if they're partially enclosed, so the litter can't just get kicked around) will give her more comfortable spots to hunker down in, especially if she's not as active as she used to be. You may need to trim her toenails if she's no longer walking around and scratching as much.

 

[Mayakovsky]

Make sure she has easy access to food and water and that healthier birds don't bully her away from that. Depending on what run litter you use, having it piled up in places (helps if they're partially enclosed, so the litter can't just get kicked around) will give her more comfortable spots to hunker down in, especially if she's not as active as she used to be. You may need to trim her toenails if she's no longer walking around and scratching as much.

THanks - I agree.....it's sort of palliative care now, I guess.....it's a huge run and she still isn't the lowest in the pecking order (4 birds total).....just sucks to see them age like this, and to feel it is not something i can really treat to substantially change her level of health.

 

[nuthatched]

What's her usual diet

 

[Mayakovsky]

What's her usual diet

Nutrena crumbles.....kale and japanese beetles at this time....clover when she gets out, and berries when in season. I am thinking of limiting her access to food, as her weight might become more of an issue, especially given the fact that she isn't as active.

 

[nuthatched]

Nutrena crumbles.....kale and japanese beetles at this time....clover when she gets out, and berries when in season. I am thinking of limiting her access to food, as her weight might become more of an issue, especially given the fact that she isn't as active.

I'm wondering if she has a reproductive issue, that causing other the symptoms you're seeing

 

[Mayakovsky]

I'm wondering if she has a reproductive issue, that causing other the symptoms you're seeing

ah....she quit laying a couple years ago....i think that she was the one that laid one mess of an egg - almost like a lash egg....but obviously not a lash egg, given that she has lived this long....