[jordini]

Hi, I am new to this site so apologies if this is in the wrong place. I have 5 hens, 3 ex free range who are about 3 yrs old and 2 ex batts who are about 18mths. A couple of weeks ago I started noticing fleshly masses in the coop of the free range hens, then a few days ago 1 of them was so poorly I had to bring her in. Some days she eats but others not.....I know its not good. She is having critical care formula but is so weak. This morning one of the other free range girls was dead in the coop She went in really early yesterday but I thought it was just because its cold. I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced these fleshy lumpsin the coop. From reading online i thought it was just because they were reaching the end of laying but now I am not so sure and feeling so bad for not realising something was up with the hen that died this morning...

Any help/advice would be much appreciated Our local vet is not much help!

[ANHBUC]

Welcome to the site jordini.  Sorry to hear about your poorly hens.

Have done a search about lash as this is what it could be, have a look
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?action=search2

[themagicaltoad1]

I agree they do sound like lashes. At 3 yrs old it could just be they have come to the end of their lives, some live longer but they can start dying off as young as 3.

[Lindeggs]

Sorry to hear about your poorly girls, Jordini.  Please don't feel guilty about it though - commercial laying hens do have a fairly short life expectancy and this kind of health issue becomes very common as they get older.

Just make sure you are doing all the basics right, and give your girls the best life they can have.  There really is not much more you can do.

The basics are:
- Plenty of fresh, clean water at all times
- A balanced diet suitable for their age and time of life
- A secure, clean, comfortable coop
- Space to move around and do chickeny things (scratching, dust-bathing, socialising)

With the age of your ex-free-rangers, it is likely they will all be reaching the end of their life expectancies in the next couple of years.