clucklucky
Hatching
- Apr 3, 2016
- 2
- 0
- 7
I'm a first-time chicken owner with three ISA Brown hens, all about nine months old. I got them when they were 4mo.
They've been excellent layers, are very friendly and curious, and love human attention. Their feathers have always been bright and full, and their combs and wattles became bright red shortly after they developed. I feed them a layer feed mix with house scraps, and they also eat grass and any small sprouts/plants that might grow from the seeds in their feed.
But lately I've noticed the earlobes on all three starting to pale/whiten to varying degrees. Larry (yes, I named a hen Larry) is also a bit lighter than the others, but she lays well and eats like a pig. I can touch their earlobes with no sign of pain or discomfort, and they all act normally. (Scootch has a bit of a croaky voice today, but most mornings she walks around yelling until she's laid her egg. Could she just have a sore throat?)
What could this be? Are they in any kind of pain or danger that I don't know about?
Thank you for any responses.
They've been excellent layers, are very friendly and curious, and love human attention. Their feathers have always been bright and full, and their combs and wattles became bright red shortly after they developed. I feed them a layer feed mix with house scraps, and they also eat grass and any small sprouts/plants that might grow from the seeds in their feed.
But lately I've noticed the earlobes on all three starting to pale/whiten to varying degrees. Larry (yes, I named a hen Larry) is also a bit lighter than the others, but she lays well and eats like a pig. I can touch their earlobes with no sign of pain or discomfort, and they all act normally. (Scootch has a bit of a croaky voice today, but most mornings she walks around yelling until she's laid her egg. Could she just have a sore throat?)
What could this be? Are they in any kind of pain or danger that I don't know about?
Thank you for any responses.