Frizzle hen with purple-ish black-ish comb

Hi everyone, I'm new here and decided to join to see if someone can give me some input on what they think this might be. My Frizzle is almost a year old and has never had this problem. Her comb recently turned this dark color, I don't think it is normal. I thought at first it might be frostbite, but it was present even when the weather was not cold a couple weeks ago before the winter weather started rolling in. She acts fine, is very active as usual and her eggs seem fine. I'm worried that this might be a serious problem though. Can anyone tell me what it might be, or if its just normal? I doubt it can be.

Welcome! We're glad you're here!
I have never seen anything like that before except in a Silkie. Might she have any Silkie heritage? Maybe someone who knows more could chime in.

She does look like some of my Silkie mixes, Silkies have black skin, so some of that carries through when you mix them with other breeds.
But...you say her comb just recently turned that color? What did it look like before? If she's active and appears healthy, I wouldn't worry too much about it at this point. I would keep an eye on it though.

If this is a recent change, it's probably some sort of heart problem or breathing problem.
Can you post a before picture?

Her face around the eye area is much the same colour as her comb...it may be due to her being a mixed breed..

Have you ever de wormed your flock? If so what product did you use?

Hold her close to you and listen to her breathing...any rattling sounds ?

She looks fine...beautiful girl...!

You mention that the comb turning dark is a recent development. While I am not a vet, I have had a few chickens die from lymphotic leucosis, or LL. Chickens can be born with this disease, which is a form of avian leukemia, and live a normal life for months, all of a sudden taking seriously ill. It's also extremely contagious and can be introduced into a flock via poor bio-security.

The purple comb is a symptom of breathing difficulties. Notice her open mouth. She can't get enough air. I would guess she's emitting a crackling noise when she breathes. The cause of the difficulty could be tumors on her organs, enlarging to the degree they put pressure on her heart and lungs. One of my chickens developed these breathing problems and a dark comb. Upon death, it was discovered its liver had enlarged to two pounds. It was not evident while this chicken was alive.

This is not a diagnosis. Only tests can confirm what is making your hen sick. But I can tell you she is seriously ill.

It's imperative you isolate her, and if/when she dies, get a necropsy done so you know what you are dealing with as it could affect your entire flock. If you want to do this, you need to refrigerate the body as soon after death as possible, and get it to a lab ASAP as chickens deteriorate fast.

It could possibly be because of that. She hasn't had a comb for too long, but when it came in it was red like my other hens. I've never had this particular breed, so it could just be natural that it turns this color. Hopefully it is just due to her genes. I will keep an eye on her to monitor if her behavior changes, but so far she seems to be behaving like normal.

She has not made a crackling noise when breathing that I can hear, but it could be possible. She seems to be behaving normally other than her comb being this color, very active and eating well haven't noticed any strange poop, and like I have mentioned in a previous reply to a poster, she hasn't had a comb for too long so it could be that she was meant to grow this color. While it was smaller, it was a more reddish color, but upon growing to full size, it turned this color. I am wondering if I should isolate her and find a veterinarian to take a look at her? I have gotten completely different answers so I just want to be safe and make sure all my girls are okay. I will also monitor her breathing more closely. I'm so sorry to hear about your chicken that died from this illness. I'm just hoping this hasn't happened to her and that it is just genetics.

If you can find an avian Vet..it would set your mind at rest..you are very observant and you need to know if this phenomenon is natural or a sign of illness...hopefully a Vet can diagnose what this may be...

You are her owner and guardian...and only you can determine through an expert as to what this may be...it may well be genetics and I hope that it is....

I wish both you and her good luck!