Dying hen
One of my hens, Wig, has slowly stopped eating over the last month. She used to be my largest chicken, but now she’s basically bones. She fully refuses to eat the feed pellets, but she will eat treats and scrapes but not more than a hand full. The last 2 days I’ve been force feeding her with a catheter in the afternoons to give her a chance to eat before I force it down. But her crop is always empty.
I do not have the money right now to take her to the vet, and I can’t find anything wrong myself. She is between 7-9 years old now. She is a rescue so we had to guess her age, but I’ve had her for at least 7. I separated her from the flock, and when she stands she shakes, so she mostly lays down.
Is there a way to nurse her back to health? Or should I just cull her now and not prolong her suffering? I would have culled her by now, but when I put her back out with the flock today while I was cleaning her cage, she seemed to really enjoy walking around with them and even did some pecking.