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?

 

[MysteryChicken]

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?

I sometimes have chickens molt twice. Once before winter, & once before spring, or during spring, or summer.

Stress may cause a hen to go off lay, or possibly a stress molt. So keep an eye for dropped feathers.

 

[UKchooks]

Thank you all! We do have foxes around and they've been quite vocal recently (mating calls), so maybe this is stressing her? (Their run is fully enclosed with a small-grade stainless steel hardware cloth - I learnt my lesson the hard way!) Yes, both the leghorns moulted at the same time and both stopped laying then, but they were laying again until this girl stopped recently.

Could worms be the issue? Should I do a worm test?

 

[UKchooks]

She's now sitting in a huddled posture with her tail down. Still eating plenty, but clearly not right. Please help!

 

[Bawkbok]

Tail down is not a good indicator. Is her poop still normal as it was a few days ago?
You can take a poop sample to a vet for a fecal float. Most will do this even if they don't see chickens as patients.

Maybe offer some probiotics to see if that gives her a boost.

Has she isolated herself from the others? Is she being picked on by anyone? I know you said she's the leader but other flock mates sense illness in others and can sometimes pick on them.

Have you inspected her for any possible injuries?

 

[RubelliteRose]

Also check around carefully for lash egg material. I know most of the pictures are of egg sized lash eggs, but my experience with them has been that they can be tiny - end of my pinky finger size.
Hopefully you will find another cause of her symptoms!! However, if caught early, a reproductive infection can be treated with antibiotics. My girl, Onix, lived for 4 years after being treated for a reproductive infection.

 

[UKchooks]

I've not seen the others picking on her at all. No sign of unusual droppings either. She is walking more slowly than normal and kinda awkwardly, like big deliberate steps. I caught her quite easily today (which is unusual - she's quite feisty normally) and inspected her vent, which looks normal as far as I can tell, but looks like her abdomen might be a bit distended? But if she was egg bound, I'd have expected her to not be eating normally?

I will keep a lookout for lash egg material. I lost one last year to egg yolk peritonitis, and it was horrible. My hens are all ex-commercial layers, and I know this means they're more prone to reproductive issues, but it does make me sad

 

[UKchooks]

Should I isolate her from the others?