[Chookster]

I have a chicken who I am sure is an old bird.  Otherwise she must be poorly? She has one blue eye and one orange eye for starters and i don't think she can see through one of them.

Her crop is a weird shape, the cartilage or bone whatever it is, is a shape that makes her crop stick out rather, she spends a lot of time standing around with little energy often with her eye or eyes closed.  Poor love.  She looks like an old chicken and feels like an old chicken.  Oh and she's stopped laying a quite a while now but that makes me think she's poorly.

someone on here said about the colour of a birds legs can tell if they're pol or not??

So basically, I want to be able to tell a good healthy bird when i buy one from somewhere and not be palmed off

[IMOmimey]

Hmmm, here goes, this is what I look out for:

Bird should be active and busy, nosey looking (even a sleepy young un should charge off after some scattered corn
bright eyed
clean/clear nostrils, no snotty discharge
clean bum (no sign of pooey bum)
tight smooth feathers (depending on breed)
whatch for crooked toes (some breeds should have a fifth sometimes odd shaped toe)
check base of feathers around the vent and under wings for lice

feather damage on saddle and neck area can legitimately be caused by treading, but NOT on a POL pullet

You mention legs, older birds get sort of "old looking" legs, sometimes scaley looking (caused by leg mite), nails can look old and tatty.

A sure method for hens is to feel the pelvic bones, (EXTERNALLY!). In a young bird there is only a 1 finger wide gap between. this widen as they get old enough to lay, up to 2 finger widths, or even 3 for a big hybrid. Narrow pelvis should mean young bird, not laid yet.

Does that help?

                        'Mimey

[Aunt Sally]

Where did you get her from ?  What did the previous owner tell you about her ?

[Chookster]

Where did you get her from ?  What did the previous owner tell you about her ?

well i got her from a local farm where they have rather a lot of birds housed in sheds with runs.  the owner sold her and another to me as POL birds.  thing is she's always laid large eggs, usually double yolkers, for a while she stopped laying then she's just started laying in the last week again.  the only worrying thing was that she sometimes seems a bit crackly on her breathing.  she often stands alone hunched with her eyes closed. all the other birds are sprightly and healthy every day.

[IMOmimey]

newly laying choox often have the egg laying pattern you describe, but I don'tlike the sound of her breathig, But I have to say that the stress of moving can weaken their defenses, so unless her breathing was rattly when you bought her, I'm thinking that the farmer did not lie, or sell you a known sick bird. Have you contacted him to ask advice for the breathing. His reply should help you decide if he's a good man, or a con.