Purple comb - Help! WITH PHOTO

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TajMahalChickens

TajMahalChickens

Songster
9 Years
Mar 22, 2010
211
2
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I noticed two days ago that my 6 moth old welsummer hen is a little drowsy & less perky. Yesterday I noticed that her comb, wattles and earlobes were uniformly turning dark. Not sure if she stopped laying, not sure if she even has started. No other hen seems to be infected.




She is in the lower right hand corner. I included my Delaware hen for color comparison. (FYI I know her eye looks funny in the first pic but she is just blinking)





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51913_p9220109.jpg
 
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I have an Australorp with very similar, if not the same, symptoms. She is lethargic, sleeps a lot, but she eats, drinks, and poops - what appear to be normal. The only other symptom I can see is that her comb, wattle, lobes all look dark compared to my other two Australorps. She has not laid any eggs in weeks, but all of my birds are molting.

Still trying to figure out what is wrong with her.

I have treated her for worms, given her yogurt, super dosage of vitamin B complex, extra oyster shell, and am now treating her for cocci.
 
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I am thinking your girl has some heart/circulation problems - purple in the comb, wattles, and face can be indicators. From the picture of her comb does not look like she is laying (no swelling to comb like your laying or soon to lay Del)


Other than supportive care, I am not sure what you can do.


Check her over for lice - they seem to "gang up" on birds who do not feel well - and can overwhelm them and suck them dry. Lice eggs look like little clumps of chicken poo stuck to the feather shaft - usually near the vent. Lice themselves are small, yellowish/orange, and move very quickly awat from light.
 
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Here is a link to common poultry diseases, with diagnosis charts at the bottom:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

This may be helpful if you are interested.

ETA: I scanned thru them quickly after I posted this and didn't see anything that jumped out at me....so don't think I'm trying to give you a hint or something. Might be helpful for the future.
 
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It's most likely cardiac, and maybe it's her time to go. I doubt there's anything you can do. I'm sorry.
If she has bright green poo, she's not eating. Is it hot by you? Is heatstroke a possibility?
 
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Is it hot by you? Is heatstroke a possibility?

No, I'm in the Midwest; hasn't been over 80 for a month.

She's stayed about the same, maybe getting a little worse. I put her in a separate crate with her own food and water. Scrambled an eggs for her and she gobbled it up (literally. She definitely still has a good amount of life in her when she is motivated to use it.)



Is there any other disease? What about blue comb or blackhead?

Thanks for your help. I am so privileged to be able to get info from other chicken owners.​
 
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heart trouble... Try some Cranberry sauce... Whole berry.... I don't know if it would help...
 
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Would cranberry sauce really help heart trouble? However, if you think that it might have a positive effect, it is worth trying!

She is doing pretty well granted the circumstances. She mostly sits in her dog crate. She keeps her eyes open though.
 
She died this morning. Came to check on her and she was on her side, head curled up, dead. Can't believe she died so soon. I only noticed symptoms 4 days ago! I figured she was going to die but I was really hoping I was wrong. Got to go bury her.
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