Sick older hen

[SamD]

Hi! I have 9 chickens and a rooster. One of my hens (7 yrs old) is constantly getting picked on by the entire flock including the rooster . It is brutal. I have separated her for the past 2 weeks in a smaller cage. I am wondering if she might be sick and that’s why they are picking on her. She just buckles and takes the beating or runs back to the coop and hides. She can’t eat or drink water because they won’t let her. So I put her separate so she has food and water. I have checked for mites and nothing.
Her eyes are half closed and she sits puffed up at times. She is still eating and drinking so I am so confused. Anyone have any ideas of illnesses or could it just possibly be that she is the oldest hen and they know she is weak.
She hasn’t laid eggs the past couple of years so I don’t think she is egg bound. Help!!

 

[Eggcessive]

This is typical behavior toward a failing hen. I like to leave them in the flock as long as possible, but when they are being pecked or picked on, and kept from food, I separate in a dog crate with food and water as you have. If they can be kept in that crate inside the coop with the others, that is the best.

Examine her crop, and feel it early in morning before she has eaten, to make sure that it is empty. If her crop is not empty, but full and hard, doughy or puffy, she might have a crop problem. Check her lower belly under her vent to see if it is enlarged or tight. Older hens can suffer from reproductive infections, internally laid lash material (salpingitis,) ascites, cancer, and many suffer crop disorders due to the increased pressure on their abdominal organs. Has she been wormed recently? If not, you could use Valbazen or SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer to worm her in case of a problem. I can give dosages.