Should I lower my roosts for older hens?

[Country4ever]

I've lost 11 of my original 17 over the last few years, from various problems (sudden death, absesses, heart problems, pendulous crop, etc.). I thought I was getting used to the idea of losing one of them. But when Brownie died, I went to pieces.

She and I always had a neat connection.. After she died, I realized that she was the one pooping yellow urates in her stool. I thought it was another hen who seems chronically ill, so I ignored it. After she died, I noticed the yellow around her vent. I'm still kicking myself that I didn't pay more attention. The yellow looked like cooked egg yolk, but she had no other symptoms. The rest of her stool was normal, except the white was yellow. She seemed beautifully healthy. I did find an enlarged area under one of her feet.........so I don't know if she had bumblefoot or not. I'm having trouble figuring out what the yellow urates meant. I guess it could be just about anything from liver failure to chronic infection, to some sort of egg laying problem.
Speckledhen......what were your hen's symptoms with internal laying? Seems like they'd seem sick and have a swollen abdomen......which Brownie didn't.

I guess sometimes we just have to accept that we won't ever know what happened.......but that's hard to do!

 

[Judy]

She's written a lot about this. Some threads:


https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=79443&p=8 (go to the last post for a start)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=468469&p=1

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=362422

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=413688

There are lots more but these might cover it for you.

 

[Carols Clucks]

Our rooster is at least 10 and has a hen probably the same age.

I just added a lower roost and a ramp so they can get up to their favorite spots.


The rooster is really slowing down, often staying closer to the coop rather than walking all the way down to the end of the property with the rest of the ladies. He is getting a bit lighter too. Sad, but he has had a long and good life.

 

[Pharm Girl]

So... out of curiosity, as I'm not sure I will put down my ladies after they stop laying proficiently, do you get ANY eggs out of these older ladies? 8-10 years old seem really old for a chicken! They are lucky to have such great owners. I would think it's not the high roost that is killing them, but old age itself! They have to drop sometime. I'm sure it's hard t find them though. I'm not going to be ready for that!

 

[Country4ever]

Thanks Dawn, for those links.

Their roost has about 6 cross bars (wood - either 2x4's or sx2's). They do take 1-2 at a time getting up to the top, but they seem to prefer to jump from the top down to the floor in the morning. Sometimes, they just jump too far out and run into the feeder or the waterer, or the dog crate in the corner I keep for sick ones.
Do you think at their age ("can't teach an old dog new tricks"), they would use a new ramp? I wonder if it would work the same to put a couple narrow pieces of plywood under the roost, so they at least, wouldn't fall through on their way up?
maybe I over-think everthing.....but that's who I am.

I think it comes with the territory though......if we love our chickens, we want them to be safe and happy.

 

[BayouPoules]

Quote:
Not wanting to hi jack the thread,. but I am wondering how four foot roosts CAN cause bumblefoot depending on the breed and the footing below,..
I was under the impression that it was a staph infection that entered through an opening in the foot,.. ??? Please help me understand.

 

[Country4ever]

Hi Pharm girl,
I just couldn't ever put them down, just because they quit laying. About 2 years ago, they had a coon attack in their run in August. It killed 2 of them and injured a couple. (One of whom was Brownie, who I nursed back to health). She had a huge area of skin torn from her back, and it healed in just a few weeks, looking like new! But.....they didn't lay any more that year, probably because of the trauma. Last year, I only got a few at the beginning of the spring.
This spring, I've gotten maybe a total of 8. But they are my pets, and even though I wanted them for eggs, it doesn't bother me at all that they aren't laying much now. Like I tell them "Its okay if you don't have any more eggs to give. I don't either."

I've been wondering..........if a hen lays eggs at an older age, does that mean "old age" won't take them as soon? Before Brownie died, I think only 2-3 of them were laying every once in awhile. Several of them sit in the nest box, but don't lay.

I guess what confused me so much with Brownie, is that she was so beautiful and healthy-appearing. But I supposed chickens can have heart attacks, strokes, etc., and still look good.
See......no one will have that problem with me. I look and act every bit as old as I am! (61).

 

[Country4ever]

Is staph just hanging around everywhere, looking for a vulnerable place to take up residence? When I was young (maybe around 12), I wore a new pair of shes without socks and it rubbed a wound in the back of my ankle, and I got a horrible staph infection. I was in isolation for a week. I realize now how lucky I was that it didn't get worse. Those can be really nasty bugs!
I also had it growing in my sinuses later in life, but it wasn't as serious, thankfully. (although I did need Sx).

Edited to add that "Sx" is short for surgery, not sex. haha

 

[BayouPoules]

Quote:
Yep,. it's everywhere,. even on your skin,.. just looking for a way in,.. there are different strains,..good hand washing and cleanliness are the best first defenses ,. a healthy immune system next.

It is estimated that approximately one-third to one-half of the population of the U.S. has staph bacteria in their nasal passages.This usually does not cause an infection. The infection comes when the bacteria enter the body through a cut or break in the skin. Approximately 1% of the general population has the MRSA strain. Many don’t know it because they don’t become sick.

I am glad you didn't need surgery!

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
Not wanting to hi jack the thread,. but I am wondering how four foot roosts CAN cause bumblefoot depending on the breed and the footing below,..
I was under the impression that it was a staph infection that entered through an opening in the foot,.. ??? Please help me understand.

Any abrasion on the foot can allow staph to enter. If a bird is heavy, there is a lot of force hitting the feet as they hit the floor, more the higher they jump from.