Does she have poor circulation?

[Nats Chickens]

Here is Pip. She is 2 yrs old. Her comb was a little purple for ages, then it has suddenly gotten more purple. What do you think is wrong/weird? Has she got bad circulation? Any ideas on what it is?

 

[yickenscarf23]

I don't know but isn't that a rooster?

 

[Nats Chickens]

No. She crows, but she lays eggs and doesn't mount the others or anything.

 

[Kessel23]

Well it's winter. I don't know about the temps by you but anything below freezing can make the tips of a large comb turn purple if the bird does not know how to tuck its head into it's feathers while it sleeps.

Here are some of my birds. It's this cockerel's first winter and he will lose a decent amount of his comb due to the frost bite. Experienced birds keep their combs as covered as possible while sleeping, like the leghorn hens surrounding him, he will catch on eventually. This picture was taken today, the temps have been in the teens recently. I think it's supposed to drop to 2F tonight. Also, birds with smaller combs will rarely get frostbite weather they tuck their heads in or not. That RIR hen is 5 years old and still has her tips.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Well it's winter. I don't know about the temps by you but anything below freezing can make the tips of a large comb turn purple if the bird does not know how to tuck its head into it's feathers while it sleeps.

Here are some of my birds. It's this cockerel's first winter and he will lose a decent amount of his comb due to the frost bite. Experienced birds keep their combs as covered as possible while sleeping, like the leghorn hens surrounding him, he will catch on eventually. This picture was taken today, the temps have been in the teens recently. I think it's supposed to drop to 2F tonight. Also, birds with smaller combs will rarely get frostbite weather they tuck their heads in or not. That RIR hen is 5 years old and still has her tips.

OP lives in Australia where it is summer

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Sometimes when chickens have too large of combs, they can have poor circulation. Heart problems could maybe be a cause but that is on the far end of the spectrum. These are two ideas that may or may not work. I have seen that some people will massage the comb in order to get blood back there. It kind of works with my huge Naked Neck-Turken mix with a father who was 2ft and had a big comb-like his son, my rooster Lotte. He has a huge comb! The back gets purple so I massage it a bit which helps. It may be worms but I don't think so as her comb has been purple for a while. I would just go ahead and deworm the entire flock just to be on the safe side. I recommend deworming them right now.

 

[rosemarysugar]

No. She crows, but she lays eggs and doesn't mount the others or anything.
View attachment 1646981

My hen does the same thing!

 

[FarmerGirl101]

No. She crows, but she lays eggs and doesn't mount the others or anything.

My hen does the same thing!

Mine does too! She is a 4 year old Serama hen that lays eggs, is an okay mother, and crows! She has woken me up before, it was in the summer and she lives right outside my bedroom window

 

[Eggcessive]

It is not uncommon for a large combed hen or rooster to have some darkening especially on the tips or back of the comb. Is she a white leghorn? I have heard of some hens crowing.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Leghorn’s
Mine will get a tinge of discoloring at the base (like one of your photo’s) but never her tips. And usually in winter. It comes and goes.
I did some reading on it. Beets are good for their pulmonary functions. I chop canned beets (when I don’t have fresh) gotta chop them tiny or she’ll look like a bloody mess! My LH is the only one who’ll eat the beets. I wonder if she knows their good for her. Dunno