Ms. Gentle

We have a hen who is nearing 10 years old who has survived attacking bears, foxes, raccoons, and most recently a Christmas vacation bobcat in the yard who took her lookalike sister hen Shadow - we originally thought Gentle had died but it was Shadow the much younger Australorp hen her lookalike twin. Only my two daughters can tell them apart.
Today my youngest came rushing in and told me that her tail feathers needed cleaning and she was coughing again. Oh not again. Poor bird. I told her to get some paper towels and start to get her cleaned off on her own. It is imperative to keep a hen’s vent clear and clean. They can get so sick. That is not what she wanted to hear... At first she would not do it I had to give her a pep talk and told her take care of it! I am so proud of my daughters ... this time I took my time getting out to the yard I want them to start getting the hang of hen/bird care on their own since I usually do it all. By the time I arrived the bird had been cleaned and they were coaxing her to eat - she had also been ‘diagnosed’ by my eldest with the smallest cough again and my daughter urged me to mix up her ‘medicine water.’
Poor Gentle. Age may be getting the best of her. She was walking around so slowly and seems thinner than her usual glorious black and greenish feathered full bodied self. She is one of our largest hens. She is one of our original six baby chicks from so long ago, I had ordered a pair of Jersey Giants but she’s an Australorp. Gorgeous. I mixed up the grapefruit seed oil with water and we fed her three heaping beak fulls of it. Tomorrow we will repeat. Only time will tell.