Golden comet with pale comb

[mitch1114]

I have a golden comet, I think she's about 2 yrs old, with a pale comb. She seems to be fine otherwise. I threw some scraps over the fence and she came up and fought for it, took off running and was playing keep away with the other hens. When I watched her for a bit she kept squinting like she does when she's trying to lay an egg. We just had another comet die a few days ago from being egg bound. Could this be the same thing? The pics are the best I could get. Actually this might be one of the cinnamon queens.

 

[littlechickenmama17]

Hmm, I don't know if this hen is egg bound or may have a parasite infestation. I have had a hen that was egg bound, but she was standing upright, like a penguin. I personally think she may have worms, have you dewormed the flock recently? I've heard of some dewormers developing resistance, and I personally have not had good luck with dewormers, so I usually rely on natural or herbal wormers to help my flock. Back to the question on hand, if you think shes egg bound, clean your hands and rub with Vaseline or something similar, or put gloves on before coating index finger with Vaseline. Then stick that finger up her vent to see if she is egg bound. If you feel an egg, try soaking her in a warm bath of Epson salts to coax that egg to come free. you need to use your finger inside her to gently massage it free, while massaging her abdomen. I have had to do this 2 times before and I managed to get both eggs free . Remember to not break the egg, you could damage her oviduct. I don't know if this helps, but good luck!

 

[mitch1114]

Hmm, I don't know if this hen is egg bound or may have a parasite infestation. I have had a hen that was egg bound, but she was standing upright, like a penguin. I personally think she may have worms, have you dewormed the flock recently? I've heard of some dewormers developing resistance, and I personally have not had good luck with dewormers, so I usually rely on natural or herbal wormers to help my flock. Back to the question on hand, if you think shes egg bound, clean your hands and rub with Vaseline or something similar, or put gloves on before coating index finger with Vaseline. Then stick that finger up her vent to see if she is egg bound. If you feel an egg, try soaking her in a warm bath of Epson salts to coax that egg to come free. you need to use your finger inside her to gently massage it free, while massaging her abdomen. I have had to do this 2 times before and I managed to get both eggs free . Remember to not break the egg, you could damage her oviduct. I don't know if this helps, but good luck!

I have never dewormed them. How do you do it? Do you just give it to the one chicken or all of them?

 

[mitch1114]

I treated the whole flock for worms. Went into the coop this morning and this girl was dead. I'm still not sure why. I didn't see any signs of worms in thier poop. The only symptom was the pale comb.

 

[littlechickenmama17]

I have never dewormed them. How do you do it? Do you just give it to the one chicken or all of them?

When i treat my flock, I mix diatomaceous earth with their feed for 3-4 days to worm them. I do a 2% of feed ration when using DE. This is a new worming procedure I have just heard about, so this is my first time trying it. I have one chicken that seemed heavy with worms, so I will also dust her with DE, since I saw mites going in between her feathers.

I treated the whole flock for worms. Went into the coop this morning and this girl was dead. I'm still not sure why. I didn't see any signs of worms in thier poop. The only symptom was the pale comb.

Sorry about your girl, but I will usually lose one or two chickens when i notice a heavy worm load, because they have an already high worm load by the time I see them, the worming won't always cure them that fast, sometimes killing them. With some of my chickens, I won't always see worms in their poop when they are heavy with worms/parasites, so she may have been heavy with worms, but didn't show it in her poop. Watch the other members of the flock and take action if one shows signs of worms/parasites.