Molting hen with dark comb

[Gigi1983]

Hi All,
My 2.5 year old hen recently had a Suprelorin implant which has put her into a heavy molt. My concern is her comb. Her comb has gone very dark since the molt began. Usually I find with implant and molt the comb will shrink and go pale, although I have had one hen whose comb remained red and went slightly purple at the tips after implant and during molt and she was fine afterwards. But this particular hen's comb is worse, it is quite dark at the moment. I have her on ginger powder daily with a pinch of cayenne pepper the last week or more in case she had circulation issues. She also has favus on comb, wattles, face, earlobes and scalp which I am treating topically with Canesten cream. She is otherwise in excellent form considering she molting so heavily. Has anyone else had this experience with darkening of comb post implant/during molt? I've attached a pic for reference but comb doesn't look near as dark in pic as it does in reality. For some reason it is not showing properly on the pic. @azygous
@Eggcessive
@Wyorp Rock
I'm going to call on you ladies for any advice you may have which will be much appreciated.

 

[Lillith37]

I have put a lot of my hens on the implant to treat and prevent repro related issues and have always found, like you say, that the comb shrinks and pales. Sometimes there is a bit of dry and flakey skin as well. From the picture your girl looks perfectly fine to me.

 

[Gigi1983]

I have put a lot of my hens on the implant to treat and prevent repro related issues and have always found, like you say, that the comb shrinks and pales. Sometimes there is a bit of dry and flakey skin as well. From the picture your girl looks perfectly fine to me.

No her comb is really dark. As mentioned in original post I took a series of pics but it wasn't showing up properly in the pics. May have been the lighting. I've just added another now. The flaky skin/favus she had prior to implant and molt. It appears improved in the picture because I have been treating it with Canesten cream. She is in great form, but the dark comb is stressing me out.

 

[Lillith37]

No her comb is really dark. As mentioned in original post I took a series of pics but it wasn't showing up properly in the pics. May have been the lighting. I've just added another now. The flaky skin/favus she had prior to implant and molt. It appears improved in the picture because I have been treating it with Canesten cream. She is in great form, but the dark comb is stressing me out.

It still doesn’t look too bad to me. Have you noticed her breathing is laboured at all? What has the weather been like?

 

[Gigi1983]

I'm in Ireland, so raining non-stop. Her breathing perfect, no respiratory issues. She getting ginger powder with a pinch of cayenne daily in case it is circulation. I'm hoping it's just a combination of the implant, molt, favus and the topical cream I'm using to treat it. That's why I'd love to know if anyone on here has experienced a darkening of the comb with implant/molt and/or favus treatment. Only for the fact she is in such good form she would be off to the vet to check for heart issues, reproductive tumours, etc. I'll wait and see how it looks once I have finished treating it with the Canesten cream. Never a dull moment with these gals!

 

[Gigi1983]

It still doesn’t look too bad to me. Have you noticed her breathing is laboured at all? What has the weather been like?

Hi @Lillith37 and everyone. My hen is fine now. I upped the cayenne pepper to 1/4 gram x twice daily and her comb went back to its normal colour the next day and she is fine since. Continuing to add a couple of pinches daily to her feed in case it was circulation. Cayenne is great for this, dilates the veins and arteries. Thanks all. Pic of her now below. Comb looking good.

 

[Lillith37]

Very pleased to hear she’s doing well and thank you for the tip about cayenne