Anyone know what might be wrong?

[JenEgrrrL]

Hi All, one of my boyfriend’s girls is in a bad way. She’s been losing feathers mostly on her wings for about a month & they haven’t grown back. She stopped laying and as of yesterday won’t come away from the corner of the coop when the others are turned out. Today her comb is dry and ashy on the top. She is drinking a little but not enough; same with food. I gave her watermelon today & she gobbled it up though. I inspected her for mites, love & external parasites & found nothing. Her stools are very watery and she’s lethargic. I’ll post pics to see if anyone has experienced this. None of the other 9 hens seem sick, and they have full feathers and seem to be in good health. One other hen looks to have watery stools because her bum has white specks all over it though. Any advice is much appreciated!

 

[Ribh]

Any chance she's molting?

 

[AmyJane725]

I’d say part of it is molting. She’s probably pretty miserable. I don’t think that causes ashy combs though. Ringworm maybe? I’ve also read that liver disease can cause ashy combs.

What is she fed?

 

[Ribh]

Hens having a hard molt can be prone to other things. One of mine had awful fowl pox with her molt. No idea what is causing the ashy comb.

 

[AmyJane725]

Hens having a hard molt can be prone to other things. One of mine had awful fowl pox with her molt. No idea what is causing the ashy comb.

Could be early Fowl Pox. Let us know if the ashyness turns to black scabs.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Sometimes mites/lice are really hard to see. I have lost chickens to them. Very sad thing for me. There is a feather mite that you cant see. It lives in the shaft and causes what I am seeing . Just the quill left. Is she the lowest in the flock order? or a favorite for a roo? She may be molting but I see more .
@Wyorp Rock

 

[Granny Hatchet]

When was your last freeze ? Wondering if the comb might be left over frost bite ?

 

[micstrachan]

I’m wondering if the comb is favus. I also see pin feathers on her head, so she seems to be molting, at least on her head. I agree some of her feathers look damaged, like from parasites, plucking orvrooster damage. What does she eat? She might benefit from a protein treat like scrambled egg or canned fish.