When is a hen's death "old age"?

[GonzoTheGreat]

I just lost a Wyandotte fairly suddenly. I did not notice anything wrong until yesterday evening when she didn't join the flock for treats and just laid there looking around. She fought a little when I took her out of the coop. Wasn't interested in escaping as I checked her out. Gave her some water and a little nutri-drench with a dropper, that she did drink. Offered some food by hand and she wasn't interested. I decided to give her the night and re-attack this morning.

She moved around a bit overnight, drank a bit more this morning, and I was planning to give her an epsom salt bath this morning. I noticed her tail feathers moving up and down, kind of like she was egg bound, although no one in my coop has been laying for a couple weeks as they are apparently on winter break already.

I just went to check on her and prepare her bath and she was flailing around when her head down. I took her out of the enclosure and she just seemed to go at that point.

Only "clue" I have is some smelly green/yellowish poop that came out recently. I could smell it as I hovered over her examining her.

It also dawned on me that I have no idea how old she is. These hens came with my house, which I've owned for over 5 years now. She has not laid much for the past two years and was one of the better producers when we first moved in. I think maybe we got 3-4 eggs this year from her. More the year before, but still down. We did have an egg smasher, but her eggs were the only "plain brown" eggs we had so I knew when she laid.

The other hens seem fine, so we'll see what happens. But at what point is it just "she is old" versus she got some ailment that could have been caught/cured? I ask that as the other hens have to be in the same ballpark age wise.

I always figured they would stop laying for good one day, and you knew they were officially "old" and would put them on retirement watch. This is my first flock, so wondering what to expect. Thanks.

 

[Debbie292d]

Sorry for the loss of your hen.

I'd guess that was an age-related death as she was minimally 6 years old. Wyandottes and most chickens live 6-12 years, and in rare cases longer.

You might want to make them all a batch of Nutra Drench water. Also, probiotic water would be good for them too. We use Hydro Hen if we're not fermenting grains. Doing these gives them a little boost.

Have you considered getting some chicks to grow up to take over laying eggs? They take minimally about 6 months, sometimes longer before they'll start laying. If you don't want roosters, you'd have to buy them sexed. Most online hatcheries sell them sexed for more $$.

 

[ChicNmom]

A lot of older hens die from reproductive infections. Sometimes that comes with yellowish diarrhea.
They generally stop eating due to internal inflammation or possibly the infection steals their appetite.

But other problems can also cause that, like a heavy worm load.

I generally lose hens between 5-8 years. Mostly to reproductive problems but also several to heart failure.

 

[GonzoTheGreat]

Sorry for the loss of your hen.

I'd guess that was an age-related death as she was minimally 6 years old. Wyandottes and most chickens live 6-12 years, and in rare cases longer.

You might want to make them all a batch of Nutra Drench water. Also, probiotic water would be good for them too. We use Hydro Hen if we're not fermenting grains. Doing these gives them a little boost.

Have you considered getting some chicks to grow up to take over laying eggs? They take minimally about 6 months, sometimes longer before they'll start laying. If you don't want roosters, you'd have to buy them sexed. Most online hatcheries sell them sexed for more $$.

Thanks - Upside is that her period of discomfort seemed to be fairly brief before she passed. She was a fun hen to watch, and she was the best looking of the bunch with her golden coloring. I'd like to get another Wyandotte someday.

I still have 5 hens (only on a 1/2 acre suburban lot) and we still got more than enough eggs this year (primarily from two of them). But given their age, I'd expect that to drop off soon enough.

The leghorn and my "unknown" hen (she is grey and sized similar to a leghorn..lays a small white egg) are the biggest producers at the point. The three Welsummers are not producing a lot anymore.

Maybe next year I'll start looking for a place to get chicks. I might look into replacing/refurbishing my coop before adding more. No roosters allowed in the town limits, so it'll need to be hens.

 

[GonzoTheGreat]

A lot of older hens die from reproductive infections. Sometimes that comes with yellowish diarrhea.
They generally stop eating due to internal inflammation or possibly the infection steals their appetite.

But other problems can also cause that, like a heavy worm load.

I generally lose hens between 5-8 years. Mostly to reproductive problems but also several to heart failure.

Thanks, like I said, I am asking in part because I figure the rest of the flock is at least six years old and egg production for some of them is going down. So I guess I should brace myself for this to be more common. Seems like I've had a pretty good run so far with the ladies, but age catches everyone someday.