Sometimes it's hard to find that line between preventing death and prolonging life. Sometimes that line is clear. I am at the point where if I have a chicken with certain issues, it will be culled immediately because I know I can't fix it. I believe it's kinder to end the suffering. A few years ago, I had 2 chickens with Ascites (fluid-filled abdomen). From what I understood after reading about it, you can drain it, but it likely will happen again and again. I decided not to go that route. Draining it would mean sticking a needle into it and sucking out the fluid with a syringe. If it were a one-time cure, I'd consider it. The thought of having to repeatedly do that didn't appeal to me. So I culled them both and will cull any other chicken that gets that. I don't know what causes it, but these were both 3+ year old hens, so I think something went wrong with their egg factories.
That conclusion also led me to another decision in my flock management. It seems to me that chickens go downhill a little faster after they reach their 3rd year. So, my laying hens will be processed (except for my known broody who will stay with the flock for as long as she's healthy) after their 3rd laying season. I'd rather let them have happy, healthy lives and a few bad seconds one day than watch them decline. My personal choice an management. I'm guessing yours will be a different management style, and that's OK. Chicken keeping isn't a one-size-fits-all hobby. We all have to do what we feel is best for our birds and our flock.
