Bring the roost down to her level
A hen who once launched herself to the top perch and now sleeps on the floor is not being awkward — her legs, balance and wing strength are not what they were, and every failed landing risks a bruised keel or a wrenched leg. Fit her a perch she cannot fall far from: a wide, flat board mounted just a short step above the bedding, broad side up so she can settle her whole foot flat and tuck her toes under her feathers for warmth. Width matters more than height for an old bird; a narrow round pole forces arthritic feet to grip all night. Place the low perch in the part of the coop she already favours, away from the door draught and not directly under the high perches, so droppings from younger hens do not rain down on her. If the flock's main perches are very high, consider lowering the whole set a notch — old hens are rarely the only ones who prefer an easier climb.
Ramps she can walk, not jumps she must make
Where any rise remains — into the coop through the pop-hole, up to her perch, into a raised nest area — replace the jump with a walk. A ramp for a hen needs a gentle slope and grip: fix narrow wooden cleats across it at close intervals so her claws catch at every step, and make it wide enough that she does not feel she is balancing on a beam. Check the ramp's surface after wet weather, because algae turns cleats treacherous, and scrub it back to grippy wood when it slicks. Remove or block the old high route once the ramp is in, since hens are creatures of habit who will keep attempting the jump they have always made and keep failing it. Watch her use the ramp at dusk for the first few evenings; a hen who hesitates at the top is telling you the slope is too steep or the landing too cramped, and both are fixable in minutes.
Nesting, feeding and watering at ground level
An elderly hen who cannot roost high usually cannot manage a raised nest box either, and being shut out of laying and resting spots by fitter birds compounds quickly. Give her a nest box at floor level with a low front lip she can step over without a hop, bedded deeply so it doubles as a comfortable place to sit out cold afternoons. Put a feeder and drinker within a few steps of where she sleeps, at a height she can use standing normally, so she is not travelling the length of the coop and arguing with the flock for every meal. In a mixed-age flock, watch that younger hens do not claim the ground-level box and bully her out of it; a second low box, or a screened corner she can call her own, solves most of that. Deep bedding throughout the floor area is not a luxury for her — it is cushioning for stiff legs, insulation underfoot, and a softer landing for the small hop down from her perch each morning.
Watching how she settles into the new layout
Adaptations only count if the hen uses them, so the first week is an observation exercise. At dusk, confirm she is up on the low perch rather than huddled in a corner — a hen sleeping on the floor night after night may be in pain, bullied, or simply unable to manage even the small step, and each cause has a different answer. Check her feet for soreness or swelling, and notice whether she is eating with the flock or waiting until others finish. Keep the checks going after the novelty fades, because an old hen's abilities slide gradually and the perch that suited her this season may need lowering again the next. Those nightly settle-checks and ramp scrubs are easy to divide between family members when they live as named tasks in KinsLe Care Teams, each one marked done with a timestamp, so her comfort never depends on one person remembering.