HELP! Blue comb, Won't eat.

[earlybird10842]

My hen Susan has been inactive for the past few weeks. I thought the cold blue comb tips I discovered this morning meant frostbite, but now she won't eat! What should I do? Could this be multiple problems? her rear end is a big mess, but it is not fly strike or (I think) internal laying.

 

[little farmer]

I'm so sorry!!! I don't know exactly what to do, but I'll bump this thread.

 

[lizard of oz]

I put it on yahoo answers to see if anyone knows.

 

[Malibu99]

Pictures would make it easier to find the problem. The messy bum sounds like vent gleet but I'm not sure about the blue comb.

 

[speckledhen]

Symptoms are too vague to be definitive on this one. Blue color in the comb can sometimes mean her circulatory system is sluggish, but the cause is hard to determine. It could be internal laying, of course, or any number of things.

Messy rear ends are something I often see when a hen is not eating and her poop is mostly urates and runny due to greatly reduced food intake. The poop just dribbles down and saturates the butt fluff. I see it with hens who are laying internally or who have cancers, but anything that compromises the health can cause runny poop and a messy rear.

 

[lizard of oz]

I copied this of yahoo answers
There's not much hope if she's been abnormal for so long. She may be eggbound due to the cold. You'll have to warm her up right away and keep her that way. If she's eggbound, you can try holding her rear end under very warm water for about 25 minutes and see if the heat helps loosen her muscles up so she can pass the egg. I saved a hen that way once. But once their comb starts turning blue and they stop eating, it's probably too late.

 

[earlybird10842]

Susan is now eating, her comb is pale but not blue, and she is molting pretty hard. The molt started about a week ago, which is about a week after she began to act sluggish. I also noticed she is losing wheight. I am giving her medicated feed. Could this be a really, really, REALLY bad case of worms? Her poop is solid, looks perfectly normal, except it is green. Is the molt the result of the sickness? Or is the sluggishness a result of the molt? It is really late to molt, since we have six inches of snow.

 

[little farmer]

Hmmm, I'm not sure. But, I know that my hen Snap just finished molting and is now growing back her feathers, and my bantam hen Junior is right in the middle of a huge molt, but is not having any symptoms of what Susan has.

 

[speckledhen]

Susan is now eating, her comb is pale but not blue, and she is molting pretty hard. The molt started about a week ago, which is about a week after she began to act sluggish. I also noticed she is losing wheight. I am giving her medicated feed. Could this be a really, really, REALLY bad case of worms? Her poop is solid, looks perfectly normal, except it is green. Is the molt the result of the sickness? Or is the sluggishness a result of the molt? It is really late to molt, since we have six inches of snow.

What kind of medicated feed? Chick starter? That med is only to counteract coccidiosis, nothing else.

Green poop usually means there is a lot of bile in it, which means she isn't processing food or not eating much at all. Or, if it is good solid poop, it can also mean she is eating lots of grass or leafy greens.

Molts have nothing to do with time of year-they have to do with the age of the bird. Mine molt at all times of year. I have a couple of hens in hard molt right now myself. A hard molt will deplete their systems as they have an increased need for protein, or at least, higher quality protein (animal protein as opposed to vegetarian feed) in order to grow feathers. Any problem becomes much worse when a molt is involved.

 

[little farmer]

I do know that cat food is a good way to help grow their feathers back. If you mix just mix in plain dry cat food in with their food then they'll eat it. At least mine at it. Maybe cause it was star shaped.