Comb and wattle receded

[UKchooks]

Hi, looking for some advice on one of my 3-year-old Leghorn girls. She's off lay and her comb and wattle have receded noticeably and are paler than usual. Other than that, she seems healthy - crop normal, feet normal, droppings normal, eating well and still bossing the others about (she's flock leader). She's not about to go into moult as she moulted about 5 months ago. The rest of the flock are fine - not a lot of eggs but they're quite elderly so don't expect loads (my two leghorns are the youngest). Any idea what could be causing these symptoms?

 

[Perris]

I would guess from your description that she's dealing with a health challenge, so her body is diverting resources to her immune system.

Since she appears and behaves normally, I would just leave her to deal with it; interfering with her diet and/ or immune system could do more harm than good at this stage. Watch and wait is my advice.

 

[Yardmom]

The smaller paler comb are normal for a hen that is not laying. Did she take a break from laying during her molt? Any current known stresses that could keep her from laying?