Comb and wattles pale intermittently.

[lilJay68]

While watching my chickens today, I noticed my bantam Cochin was pale. When I picked her up to check her out, the color came back to her. I checked her for mites, and she was clear. She's acting normal, eating and drinking.
I set her back down and she turned pale again.
Is it just a reaction to heat/cold?
Could something be wrong?

 

[Mountain Peeps]

My hen did something similar to this earlier this month. I got worried too. But nothing is wrong with her.

 

[Quailsong]

While watching my chickens today, I noticed my bantam Cochin was pale. When I picked her up to check her out, the color came back to her. I checked her for mites, and she was clear. She's acting normal, eating and drinking.
I set her back down and she turned pale again.
Is it just a reaction to heat/cold?
Could something be wrong?

How is the weather there? Does she have access to water 24/7? Is she getting enough protein? (birds need a touch more during hot days)

 

[lilJay68]

It's a comfortable 75. She's been in the shade with access to cold water. Perhaps it could be protein she's in need of. Any suggestions on what to give?

 

[Quailsong]

It's a comfortable 75. She's been in the shade with access to cold water. Perhaps it could be protein she's in need of. Any suggestions on what to give?

Is she drinking the water frequently? Does she drink like crazy or just sip? (in comparison to the others)

Also, how old is she? How often is she laying? How is her feces? Any yellow in it?

Pale combs can be anything from dire (if there are other symptoms) to just nothing at all. It could be the start of something, or maybe she's just old & isn't laying much anymore. So the more info we can get, the better. Please keep up with the updates. And for sure update if there's any blue tint in the comb.

I think protein would be fine to give her. You can give her cooked egg yolks back to her. Either hardboil or scramble them in coconut oil (good for birds). Bugs are a good source of protein. So is beef heart/liver if you've a butcher nearby. Yogurt is always good for a source of probiotics which can help digestion. Probiotics (yogurt, acidophilius, kefir) can help replenish a gut with good bacteria.

Also, you said you checked for mites, but have you looked for lice around the vent area? (a telltale sign of lice is a type of 'buildup' of grey at the base of the feathers where they meet the skin.) Worms in the stool?

Have you checked the roost area for mites? Put a butter knife inbetween the cracks of wood & see if any 'blood' comes out. If so, you have mites feeding on the birds while they sleep & hiding during the day.

Another thing, is she acting broody at all? Sitting in the nest more than usual?

(Sorry for all the questions, but again it helps!)

 

[lilJay68]

Is she drinking the water frequently? Does she drink like crazy or just sip? (in comparison to the others)

Also, how old is she? How often is she laying? How is her feces? Any yellow in it?

Pale combs can be anything from dire (if there are other symptoms) to just nothing at all. It could be the start of something, or maybe she's just old & isn't laying much anymore. So the more info we can get, the better. Please keep up with the updates. And for sure update if there's any blue tint in the comb.

I think protein would be fine to give her. You can give her cooked egg yolks back to her. Either hardboil or scramble them in coconut oil (good for birds). Bugs are a good source of protein. So is beef heart/liver if you've a butcher nearby. Yogurt is always good for a source of probiotics which can help digestion. Probiotics (yogurt, acidophilius, kefir) can help replenish a gut with good bacteria.

Also, you said you checked for mites, but have you looked for lice around the vent area? (a telltale sign of lice is a type of 'buildup' of grey at the base of the feathers where they meet the skin.) Worms in the stool?

Have you checked the roost area for mites? Put a butter knife inbetween the cracks of wood & see if any 'blood' comes out. If so, you have mites feeding on the birds while they sleep & hiding during the day.

Another thing, is she acting broody at all? Sitting in the nest more than usual?

(Sorry for all the questions, but again it helps!)

Wow... where to start?!
She is drinking normally, right along with the other chickens.
She's 18 weeks, buff bantam cochin.
Not laying yet.
Her feces seemed fine today, the normal chicken poop consistency, not unusual looking. But I will keep an eye on it.
She's been eating the bugs from the garden with the other ladies. (I go through and pick all the bugs off the plants for them to eat)
I did a thorough check of all feathers and vent area. She looked good. I will check the cracks of the coop tomorrow to be sure.
She's not acting broody, but she has never been as active as the other chickens, I think it's her breed. She's just a very calm and quiet girl.
Thank you for your help!

 

[Quailsong]

Ack, I'm so sorry on the delay to respond. Things went crazy here at home & I completely forgot about BYC.

I'm hoping with no update that everything's okay with your girl & it's just a cosmetic thing. It could just be she's balancing out her calcium or water intake. Hopefully she's reddened up by now (if she's laying?)

Everything else about her sounds normal. So good there!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

How old is this hen? If she's old, she could be experiencing the bleaching sequence. The bleaching sequence is where the pigment in the comb, earlobe, beak, vent, front of shank, bottom of feet, and hocks fades when a hen stops laying for a period of time. The order by which they fade is: vent, comb, earlobe, beak, bottom of feet, front of shank, and hocks which tells how long ago they layed.

 

[lilJay68]

She's young, not yet laying. Hopefully soon. She's 19/20 weeks old now.
She's still acting fine, has been drinking and eating normally.
I'm hoping at this point, if there was something wrong with her, she would have developed more symptoms. Right? :/
Everyone else in her flock seems to be doing well too.
Thanks again for your help.

 

[jawbs18]

my favorite chicken - a naked neck turken, started sneezing about a week ago. At first I thought she ate something wrong, as she's a little piranha when it comes to eating, but then it wasn't going away. (I gave a little olive oil, which didn't help) I thought I noticed her head intermittently going pale, but she'd return to her normal red color, so I didn't think too much of it as she was otherwise acting ok. (I figured I just hadn't noticed that before) She was acting her usual self until yesterday when I noticed her dozing more, but still eating/drinking. Today she's worse. She won't eat, but is drinking a lot. I have her inside with me and she just keeps dozing off and will very occasionally sneeze. When she dozes off she does open mouth breathing, but it doesn't appear labored, and when she's awake her mouth is shut. No noise, no smell, no discharge anywhere. Her crop feels squishy - like it's full of water - which makes sense as she's done nothing but drink water. I segregated her and added duracin to her water today...but I'm feeling like I'm too late. Any thoughts?