Agnes’s comb has a blue tinge. Please help new chicken mom

[$pent_Hens]

I have only had my birds a few weeks, and am brand new to being a chicken mom. I have two older golden comets. Agnes no longer lays eggs.
June 21st she started shaking her head and stretching out her neck and opening her mouth. (

). I gave her coconut oil and it would stop for a few days, then return. Then we had a 10 day heat way with oppressive humidity (90-100 degrees). We are in southern New England. I saw several posts of people who lost chickens due to the heat this past week. During the heatwave Agnes’s comb got pale during the day, we would give them cold/frozen treats (watermelon, berries, ice cubes, etc) plenty of shade, pedialyte, and keep them calm (no free ranging) and by late afternoon they were fine. On the real bad day 98-100 degrees and very poor air quality I put a drop of VetRX on her beak because her comb got so pale, she was gasping slightly and holding her wings out. Then Combs would do back to pink. Yesterday the back part of Agnes’s comb had a blue tinge to it. Heat wave over, temps 78-83 with a breeze. She is acting normal. She ran to me during her daily hour of free ranging. Ate treats like mealworms and Japanese beetles, sunflower seeds. She cares for herself taking dirt baths. But this morning her comb still has the blue tinge on the very back. Pictures don’t show the color very well, but posted anyway. My daughter thought she looked a little puffy above her eyes also. ANY suggestions are welcome.

 

[Trux]

The panting and wings out is their way of trying to regulate body temperature. We have had temps this week as high as 116 F, so far my girls have survived with some misting during the hottest part of the day. I have also been reading up on discolored/ purple combs as my Orpington Roo has developed a slight bit of purple on the backside of his comb. What I have found out is that it may be a heart condition/circulatory issue which can be brought on by stress. Since heat does cause stress, this seems to be a viable answer to my question, since the other answer I found was cold weather related

 

[$pent_Hens]

The panting and wings out is their way of trying to regulate body temperature. We have had temps this week as high as 116 F, so far my girls have survived with some misting during the hottest part of the day. I have also been reading up on discolored/ purple combs as my Orpington Roo has developed a slight bit of purple on the backside of his comb. What I have found out is that it may be a heart condition/circulatory issue which can be brought on by stress. Since heat does cause stress, this seems to be a viable answer to my question, since the other answer I found was cold weather related

I was thinking the same thing, but our temps have been good for two days now. So it made me concerned. I did the drop of VetRx on her beak because of an other post I found here. So grateful for this website and all your expertise!!

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

What concerns me somewhat is that you have a golden comet that is not laying. Those birds are prolific layers and rarely take a day off but are particularly prone to reproductive malfunctions and ailments once they hit 2 years old. The combination of her not laying together with showing other symptoms of being unwell suggests she may be suffering from such a problem. The stretching the neck and yawning can be to adjust the crop contents. This can be due to a number of factors but a lower intestinal constriction can cause the digestive tract to get stopped back and the crop to be slow to empty, thereby triggering that behaviour which would also tie in with respiratory distress if there is an egg mass building up in her abdomen.

The first thing would be to check her for any abdominal swelling or bloat. This is best done by waiting until they roost at night and then cupping your hand between their legs from behind. Feeling one hen directly after the other should make it fairly apparent if there is a difference. You are feeling for her belly being hard or perhaps like a water balloon and hanging lower between her legs or perhaps some swelling further back below her vent. Often you will find that birds with poopy or bald butts will have abdominal swelling, so that is something else to look out for.

Unfortunately many reproductive disorders become fatal sooner or later and there is not much that can be done for them, but if they are full of fluid and feel like a water balloon, draining can give them significant short term (a few weeks) relief and buy them a little time. Sometimes regular draining can keep them going for longer but there is a risk of introducing infection or them going into shock each time so whilst it can buy them time, it can also bring about death sooner. You don't really have a lot to lose since they will die anyway, so it is probably worth trying at least once. Since we are getting to the end of summer and she will be approaching moult and hopefully her egg production system will shut down, she may improve through the winter months when she is not ovulating and you could possibly help to trigger a moult early by keeping her in the dark until lunchtime each day and then letting her out with the others.

If you can get back to us with results of what you feel then we can perhaps take it from there.

 

[$pent_Hens]

Hi

What concerns me somewhat is that you have a golden comet that is not laying. Those birds are prolific layers and rarely take a day off but are particularly prone to reproductive malfunctions and ailments once they hit 2 years old. The combination of her not laying together with showing other symptoms of being unwell suggests she may be suffering from such a problem. The stretching the neck and yawning can be to adjust the crop contents. This can be due to a number of factors but a lower intestinal constriction can cause the digestive tract to get stopped back and the crop to be slow to empty, thereby triggering that behaviour which would also tie in with respiratory distress if there is an egg mass building up in her abdomen.

The first thing would be to check her for any abdominal swelling or bloat. This is best done by waiting until they roost at night and then cupping your hand between their legs from behind. Feeling one hen directly after the other should make it fairly apparent if there is a difference. You are feeling for her belly being hard or perhaps like a water balloon and hanging lower between her legs or perhaps some swelling further back below her vent. Often you will find that birds with poopy or bald butts will have abdominal swelling, so that is something else to look out for.

Unfortunately many reproductive disorders become fatal sooner or later and there is not much that can be done for them, but if they are full of fluid and feel like a water balloon, draining can give them significant short term (a few weeks) relief and buy them a little time. Sometimes regular draining can keep them going for longer but there is a risk of introducing infection or them going into shock each time so whilst it can buy them time, it can also bring about death sooner. You don't really have a lot to lose since they will die anyway, so it is probably worth trying at least once. Since we are getting to the end of summer and she will be approaching moult and hopefully her egg production system will shut down, she may improve through the winter months when she is not ovulating and you could possibly help to trigger a moult early by keeping her in the dark until lunchtime each day and then letting her out with the others.

If you can get back to us with results of what you feel then we can perhaps take it from there.

Thank you so much, I will check her this evening. I assumed she stopped laying because of her age. But Bertha is the same age according to her original owner. But Bertha is still laying and her comb is bright red.

 

[$pent_Hens]

Hi

What concerns me somewhat is that you have a golden comet that is not laying. Those birds are prolific layers and rarely take a day off but are particularly prone to reproductive malfunctions and ailments once they hit 2 years old. The combination of her not laying together with showing other symptoms of being unwell suggests she may be suffering from such a problem. The stretching the neck and yawning can be to adjust the crop contents. This can be due to a number of factors but a lower intestinal constriction can cause the digestive tract to get stopped back and the crop to be slow to empty, thereby triggering that behaviour which would also tie in with respiratory distress if there is an egg mass building up in her abdomen.

The first thing would be to check her for any abdominal swelling or bloat. This is best done by waiting until they roost at night and then cupping your hand between their legs from behind. Feeling one hen directly after the other should make it fairly apparent if there is a difference. You are feeling for her belly being hard or perhaps like a water balloon and hanging lower between her legs or perhaps some swelling further back below her vent. Often you will find that birds with poopy or bald butts will have abdominal swelling, so that is something else to look out for.

Unfortunately many reproductive disorders become fatal sooner or later and there is not much that can be done for them, but if they are full of fluid and feel like a water balloon, draining can give them significant short term (a few weeks) relief and buy them a little time. Sometimes regular draining can keep them going for longer but there is a risk of introducing infection or them going into shock each time so whilst it can buy them time, it can also bring about death sooner. You don't really have a lot to lose since they will die anyway, so it is probably worth trying at least once. Since we are getting to the end of summer and she will be approaching moult and hopefully her egg production system will shut down, she may improve through the winter months when she is not ovulating and you could possibly help to trigger a moult early by keeping her in the dark until lunchtime each day and then letting her out with the others.

If you can get back to us with results of what you feel then we can perhaps take it from there.

So I checked the chickens bellies and they felt the same to me. But I did learn something this morning here on a different forum post. I sprayed cedar oil spray around the outside perimeter of the run (after checking with the local chicken “expert” at Agway). I will spare you my angry rant about that advise. I did that 2-3 weeks ago. Then the heat wave hit. After 2-3 days with her comb having a bluish tinge on the back, she appears fine. Comb all pink/red. I think I poisoned my poor bird. Or very nearly poisoned her. Perhaps these are in fact two separate issues like you thought. Now I will focus on the lack of eggs from her. I can’t thank you enough for you expertise.

 

[Nambroth]

How old is Agnes, if you know?

Good catch on the cedar oil spray; obviously it sounds like you intend to discontinue use around your coop/chickens which is a good move. It may be unrelated but it surely only helps to discontinue it.

The very subtle discoloration you are still seeing on her comb is not very severe; I have had birds with just a little tiny bit like this and no health issues at the time. That said, reproductive system problems, as rebrascora mentioned, are indeed of concern with hens older than 1.5-2 years, especially given her breed and lack of laying currently.

 

[$pent_Hens]

How old is Agnes, if you know?

Good catch on the cedar oil spray; obviously it sounds like you intend to discontinue use around your coop/chickens which is a good move. It may be unrelated but it surely only helps to discontinue it.

The very subtle discoloration you are still seeing on her comb is not very severe; I have had birds with just a little tiny bit like this and no health issues at the time. That said, reproductive system problems, as rebrascora mentioned, are indeed of concern with hens older than 1.5-2 years, especially given her breed and lack of laying currently.

Yes, most definitely will never spray around the coop again. Only the perimeter of the yard. Phew! I feel like a skated on that lesson. Again, thank goodness for all you knowledgeable members here, willing to share.

So, about Agnes. I don’t know her age, as she was left behind by the previous owners of our daughters new home. Not abandoned, but when they found out our daughter had 20-30 chickens, they asked if they could leave these two. All she could get out of the previous owners is “a few years old”, our daughter thought 2-3 years. They are supposed to be the same age though, and I watch Bertha go up about 09:00 each morning and sing her egg song. Then we find one warm egg each day.

We thought they no longer layed, so I was happy to take them in and keep them as a tiny tick erratication team. A quiet place they could retire to. But Bertha started laying eggs. What a nice surprise.

 

[$pent_Hens]

Not sure what to think now. But still will not spray around the coop, just around the yard.

 

[Nambroth]

You may wish to keep an eye on them both, due to their genetics, as this breed is particularly prone to reproductive issues. Here's a pretty good read about it: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/causes-of-lash-eggs-salpingitis-by/
Production hens are also more prone to reproductive cancers. That's what took my Golden Comet, sadly.