# Question on sick/dying chicken



## shafferfamilyfarmllc (Dec 29, 2021)

So I know there's likely a range of answers here, and my focus is less as "caring for a pet" as opposed to managing a flock of 50 chickens. 

But in this case my sick chicken is my matriarch. She's actually my first chicken I purchased and the last living hen in a group of 3 I got about 5 years ago or so when we were just raising a small group of hens for our own eggs. So she long predates our having 50 girls and owning a chicken egg farm. 

She's a Rhode Island Red and for the last week or so she's been just sitting around all day with her head in a bush, or huddled under the ramp into the coop. Now she's in the coop, but just siting in the corner with labored breathing. She doesn't have any signs of obvious illness, nor are any of the other girls sick. So I think she's getting getting up there near end of life. Do larger scale chicken farmers who let some of their birds live into their old age let a natural process go though until they pass away naturally, or is there a protocol to put an aging hen out of her misery. Really not sure. She doesn't seem in pain, but doesn't seem to be enjoying life much just sitting in the corner with labored breathing all day. 

Thanks


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## lovely_chooks (Mar 19, 2021)

shafferfamilyfarmllc said:


> So I know there's likely a range of answers here, and my focus is less as "caring for a pet" as opposed to managing a flock of 50 chickens.
> 
> But in this case my sick chicken is my matriarch. She's actually my first chicken I purchased and the last living hen in a group of 3 I got about 5 years ago or so when we were just raising a small group of hens for our own eggs. So she long predates our having 50 girls and owning a chicken egg farm.
> 
> ...


Can’t you try to make her feel better instead of watching?


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

A few questions for you; have you inspected her closely for lice/mites, especially around the vent area? When was the the last time you wormed her? When was the last time she laid an egg?
External and internal parasites can overwhelm a bird in no time. An eggbound hen can show the symptoms you're seeing as well.
While inspecting her for external parasites, look for possible injuries as well. All of these possibilities for the most part can be treated and your hen should easily recover.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I like you SFF. Most of us non commercial flock raisers would move heaven and earth to help our birds. It's refreshing that you're of the same mind. 

Everything dawg said. I've found that older birds can be targets for mites. More so than younger birds. And looking for an injury? It's always good to check because they can exist without you knowing because of their feathers or their wings and you'd never know.

Yes, at five she might be struggling. But my oldest lived to 14 with others living to 8 or older. They weren't hatchery birds but it is possible for a hatchery bird to live past five years giving them what their bodies need.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Robin is correct. Most of my birds have been hatchery birds and about three quarters of them have lived 5 plus years, a few over 10 years old.


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## shafferfamilyfarmllc (Dec 29, 2021)

Thanks appreciate the feedback. And I appreciate your comments Robin. Yes, since I am a commercial farm and required to operate for profit on my farm zoned land, and the chickens eggs are just one element of the farm. So I'm definitely not in a place where I can take more than 30 minutes/day to do more than clean, feed, water and make sure nothing is amiss and everyone looks happy on the chicken portion of the farm. But I did take an extra half hour with my matriarch and spent some time with her and wrapped her up in a little heated towel for a half hour or so this weekend as I focused on building another run for them to have another pasture to graze in. So I was out there observing more than usual this weekend. But I do try and straddle the fine line between crop and pets. If you think 4 1/2 years is too young for even the local box store hens to start dying naturally, then I'll go give her more of an inspection. She hasn't laid eggs in a couple years best I can tell (which is a challenge when you get 36 eggs/day in 12 nesting boxes with multiple ages of Rhode Island Reds). But I've never seen her sitting in a nesting box since she went from being one of the kid's pets in a little coops, to being transferred in with the flock of layers. So I suspected it was an age thing. Thanks again.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

And we understand that sometimes time is too short for other efforts. You like this girl. I hope you discover why she's under the weather with ease. I would concentrate on mites being an issue.


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