Chicken acting lethargic- black stuff on comb

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ILoveMyHens

ILoveMyHens

In the Brooder
11 Years
Aug 11, 2008
17
0
22
Northern Arizona
Hi again,
I think I have a sick bird. She is a black star, under one year and about 6 lbs. She has been perching inside the coop most of the day for the last 2 days. She isn't injured nor has anything unusual occcured. I have seen her eating and when food is put in front of her she goes for it. Her poop is normal. She has a red comb, but today I noticed some scaly black stuff on her comb. She lives in a wooden coop with wood shavings for bedding.
Here is a picture of the black stuff.
blackstuffoncomb.jpg

Is this somthing I should be concerned about? If it is, what can I do about it? Medicine? Dietary changes? How can I protect my other birds?
All of y'all here are so nice to newcomers like me. Thank you so much for your help.
Katie
 
Are you sure the black stuff wasnt always there? Can it be washed off? What kind of feed are you feeding her, mainly what % is the protein? I'm at a loss right now but will try to help.

Was just looking at the pic again, does it look blackish or more blueish? Could be something with the heart or for some reason not getting enough oxygen. I am not trying to alarm you, just trying to weed things out.
 
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I can't be 100% sure that the black stuff wasn't always there, but I don't recall seeing it before. It is also very diffrent from the completely red combs of my other girls. It isn't blueish, but black and won't wash off. I at first thought it could be chicken pox, but all descriptions identify pox as being whitish. It doesn't look like the pictures of pox here at BYC.
How do you tell if she is broody? The behavior is almost like that, except she is on a perch, not in the nest box.
I am feeding the girls Layena, supplimented by treats and what they catch in the yard. They eat lots of bugs. Layena has 16% protein. I am also offering oyster shells as supplental calcium.
Thank you so much for your help.
Katie
 
I'm not sure yet why she would be perching inside for a couple days but I have some black hens that have black in their comb the same exact way as yours does. I think that may be normal for her unless it was bright red one day and then black the next. Her food is perfect. Fowl pox would not be a consistant black like that, it would be black bumps all over. All I can say is keep an eye on her for any other symptoms to show up. I wouldnt want you to treat her for no reason.

Hopefully someone else can come along and offer some info for you. I really think this black is normal for her.
 
Thanks for the reassurance. I don't think she is at death's door; she seems better today. I'll keep an eye on the black patches and see if they grow. Again, I thank you.
Katie
 
Hello,

I see this thread is old but I'd like to see if Chickenlady will see it and respond or someone else who is knowledgable regarding hens. I have a white leghorn who is acting similar to the previous posts. Her red comb is now turning black on the ends and maybe getting deeper into the comb. We have had freezing weather yet no other hens are experiencing this except my black Australorp hen has always had black in her comb much as the one in the previous posts.

The white Leghorn is also sitting on the perch inside the coop and doesn't seem to come out. I don't know if she eats because food is inside the coop and I've not seen her drink water which is outside the coop. I just haven't caught her outside the coop now for several days.

She responds to me and seems to poop okay. When I stroke her she seems okay with it...which usually she's rather shy but she isn't acting strange other than not coming out of the coop.

Does anyone have any ideas as to whether she is going through a normal stage or if she's sick? Some of them have been molting and she did too but not extreme. The others are all going outside and acting normal. I have 6 hens. It's winter here and cold at night on some nights below 32 but not every night.

Any suggestions and help would be greatly appreciated!
 
I am seeing the same thing starting to appear on some of my flock. I have been searching around the Internet, trying to find something to help explain this, but the only thing that sounds anywhere close to this is here at this link: http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/disproto.htm - It mentions "darkening of the facial region" and also that they can have this (blackhead) and not appear sick. Hope this helps. I'm still not sure what to do about it, though.
 
Chickflick2 said:
I am seeing the same thing starting to appear on some of my flock. I have been searching around the Internet, trying to find something to help explain this, but the only thing that sounds anywhere close to this is here at this link: http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/disproto.htm - It mentions "darkening of the facial region" and also that they can have this (blackhead) and not appear sick. Hope this helps. I'm still not sure what to do about it, though.
Click to expand...
Blackhead does not turn their heads black. http://www.nwtf.org/conservation/bulletins/bulletin_25.pdf

-Kathy
 
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