Hen from before is displaying worrying symptoms. I don’t know what’s wrong with her.

[AChickenBoi]

Yes, please. A photo would help.

More often than not, a crop issue can have an underlying issue, and the crop disorder is but a symptom of it. Often cancer will cause organ slow down which causes the crop to slow down, as well.

Here’s what her comb looks like. Everything else on the outside is normal like always. If you want, I could send more that are more out in the sun or other parts of her body? If her feathers look scruffy, she always had a rough coat compared to Olive. Levi is a bit rugged too, but her feathers are still soft. I think Rocky just never cared for her feathers, especially when she cares more about scratching around and doing her own thing.

 

[azygous]

The comb on a chicken is an indication of fertility/hormone levels. It also is a major means of body heat regulation, and an indicator of oxygen levels and general health. It can change color if the chicken is too cold or too hot or if the chicken is sick and running a fever. It's sort of like a big warning light on their noggins.

Your hen appears she may have low hormone levels, and the bluish tinge on the tips could indicate poor blood circulation and/or low oxygen levels at times. These are not a means of diagnosing her, just a means to tell us things may be not quite right.

Her eyes are wide and bright, though, and that would point to her feeling well enough to carry on with her chicken duties.

However, I might suspect she has an underlying chronic health issue. If that is the case, all we can do for a chicken such as your hen is to treat the symptoms as they arise. If you have a vet that sees chickens, you might be able to get a better idea of what's happening in her secret regions.

 

[AChickenBoi]

The comb on a chicken is an indication of fertility/hormone levels. It also is a major means of body heat regulation, and an indicator of oxygen levels and general health. It can change color if the chicken is too cold or too hot or if the chicken is sick and running a fever. It's sort of like a big warning light on their noggins.

Your hen appears she may have low hormone levels, and the bluish tinge on the tips could indicate poor blood circulation and/or low oxygen levels at times. These are not a means of diagnosing her, just a means to tell us things may be not quite right.

Her eyes are wide and bright, though, and that would point to her feeling well enough to carry on with her chicken duties.

However, I might suspect she has an underlying chronic health issue. If that is the case, all we can do for a chicken such as your hen is to treat the symptoms as they arise. If you have a vet that sees chickens, you might be able to get a better idea of what's happening in her secret regions.

I see. Thank you for helping! It’s very appreciated! Is there something I could do about her hormone levels to get them where they should be? Is it possible that whatever she has could be contagious to my other girls? Some people say that a cyanotic comb could indicate bird flu, but I don’t think she could have that due to the lack of exposure.

Would vitamins help her (possible) chronic condition if I got my hands on them? We have some liquid vitamins that we gave to Olive when the poor thing broke her leg, and I’ve been thinking about investing in growing herbs to boost their health. It’s just scary for me. I haven’t lost a bird in a little over a year, and Rocky never really showed signs of a chronic illness or anything of the sorts. I’m also worried if this could impact Levi as well since she’s the chick of this hen.

 

[azygous]

Hormone levels can be influenced by diet. If anything less than a nutritionally balanced feed is being fed, such as only scratch grain or table scraps or sole reliance on free ranging, it can affect fertility.

Even if a balanced diet is being made available, the hen may not be eating enough for any number of reasons - bullying, an underlying health issue, or food that is inadequate in amounts provided. Adding some vitamins for a while and feeding extra animal protein a couple times a week might help.

 

[AChickenBoi]

Hormone levels can be influenced by diet. If anything less than a nutritionally balanced feed is being fed, such as only scratch grain or table scraps or sole reliance on free ranging, it can affect fertility.

Even if a balanced diet is being made available, the hen may not be eating enough for any number of reasons - bullying, an underlying health issue, or food that is inadequate in amounts provided. Adding some vitamins for a while and feeding extra animal protein a couple times a week might help.

Ah. That would make sense, as the layer pellets I feed them are generally overlooked in favor of other parts of their daily feed unless they’re softened. I’ll need to be more strict and vigilant on feeding them those pellets.

Would there be any ways on how I could improve her blood circulation? I heard that certain foods can provide vitamins that help circulation in people, but I don’t know if the same thing can be said for chickens. Rocky is acting much more normally today, and is actively eating alongside the other girls. Her comb is still a bit blue on the edges though.

 

[azygous]

B-3 Niacin.

 

[AChickenBoi]

B-3 Niacin.

Great!! Thank you so much!