Chicken comb and wattle turning white

[amberlkuntz]

This is my first flock. I have 14 hens and after a dog attacked them in November, we were having issues with them pulling feathers off each other and eating them. I have 6 hens with bare backs from this (I don't have a rooster). So I read about putting pinless peepers on them to break them of the habit. So last week I did that and put saddles on the 6 hens that are bare. Today I noticed 3 of the hens' combs and wattles are turning white. I found out on day 3 of the peepers that they could get water from the waterer, but not when it got too low because of the peepers so changed to giving them water in sour cream containers so they could get their beaks in. I initially thought the white was from them not being able to get enough water. So we took the peepers off them tonight and I was able to get a closer look. I attached a picture. Does this look like a fungus or could it be anemia/stress or could it just be dry? We live in Kansas in an area that has not gotten much snow at all this winter and it has been going from 60 degrees to 15 degrees within the week. Literally 2 days ago was 61 for the high and today was 23. I didn't think a fungus would be a concern in the middle of winter, but maybe I am wrong. I read about putting apple cider vinegar on it so I am going to try that tonight. Any other suggestions?

 

[Eggcessive]

I don’t think that the white looks like favus or fungus, but to me it looks like dry skin that can be common in winter. I would try applying some coconut oil to the dry areas for a couple of days. If you are convinced it is a fungus, then miconazole cream rubbed on it daily should help. Betadine could also be used. Do not apply AVC to the skin, since that would make it drier and possibly itchy.

 

[amberlkuntz]

I don’t think that the white looks like favus or fungus, but to me it looks like dry skin that can be common in winter. I would try applying some coconut oil to the dry areas for a couple of days. If you are convinced it is a fungus, then miconazole cream rubbed on it daily should help. Betadine could also be used. Do not apply AVC to the skin, since that would make it drier and possibly itchy.

Ok thank you! I haven't done anything to them yet tonight so I will try the coconut oil for a couple days and see what happens. If it gets worse then I'll give the cream a try. They are hard to catch so can only get them when they go in to roost at night.

 

[amberlkuntz]

FYI - I tried the coconut oil on their combs and wattles and now that winter has passed (still dry out here in central Kansas), but their combs and wattles look great now!

 

[Eggcessive]

Thanks for the update.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

I don’t think that the white looks like favus or fungus, but to me it looks like dry skin that can be common in winter. I would try applying some coconut oil to the dry areas for a couple of days. If you are convinced it is a fungus, then miconazole cream rubbed on it daily should help. Betadine could also be used. Do not apply AVC to the skin, since that would make it drier and possibly itchy.

Thanks for the tip! I was thinking some of my birds' combs looked a bit dry, and since their first winter has passed, most of them got at least a tiny bit of frostbite... Happy to report the once I was able to hit with a little coconut oil are back to looking fabulous as ever! I will have to grab the more wiley ones and make sure everyone gets their little moisturizer lol Love it!

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

This is my first flock. I have 14 hens and after a dog attacked them in November, we were having issues with them pulling feathers off each other and eating them. I have 6 hens with bare backs from this (I don't have a rooster). So I read about putting pinless peepers on them to break them of the habit. So last week I did that and put saddles on the 6 hens that are bare. Today I noticed 3 of the hens' combs and wattles are turning white. I found out on day 3 of the peepers that they could get water from the waterer, but not when it got too low because of the peepers so changed to giving them water in sour cream containers so they could get their beaks in. I initially thought the white was from them not being able to get enough water. So we took the peepers off them tonight and I was able to get a closer look. I attached a picture. Does this look like a fungus or could it be anemia/stress or could it just be dry? We live in Kansas in an area that has not gotten much snow at all this winter and it has been going from 60 degrees to 15 degrees within the week. Literally 2 days ago was 61 for the high and today was 23. I didn't think a fungus would be a concern in the middle of winter, but maybe I am wrong. I read about putting apple cider vinegar on it so I am going to try that tonight. Any other suggestions?View attachment 3415025

How much protein do they get? Feather eating can be a sign of protein deficiency