Hens combs going pale

[Robyn67]

Our 4 hens combs are turning pale. A month ago we got a rooster for our 4 hens. Our girls are still laying everyday and no signs of odd behaviour or illness except that there combs are turning pale pink. The rooster still has a bright red comb.

As a precaution, we have dusted them a few days ago for mites and also scaly leg mites.

Could the introduction of the rooster and his amorous advances caused their comb to go pale?

 

[lazy gardener]

This time of year, your birds should be gearing up for their most productive laying season. Their combs should be nice and red, and nice and full. You might want to do a fecal float on them, and take a close look at their feed. What is your protein percent, and what is the mill date on your most current feed bag? What else are they eating besides their feed?

Did they have mites, or did you treat them just as a precaution. Generally, I might lay some dust in the coop and nests when I'm changing out bedding, but I don't treat my birds unless I see that there is an issue to be treated.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

No, the rooster is not the cause of pale combs. It could be the decreasing length of daylight causing your hens to start molting or cutting back on laying, all of which will cause their combs to fade. I see that you are in the Southern Hemisphere so the daylight hours will soon fall below 12 hours.

 

[21hens-incharge]

No, the rooster is not the cause of pale combs. It could be the decreasing length of daylight causing your hens to start molting or cutting back on laying, all of which will cause their combs to fade. I see that you are in the Southern Hemisphere so the daylight hours will soon fall below 12 hours.

They are down under in Australia. Their days are getting longer.

 

[Robyn67]

I didn't see any mites, just thought I should treat just in case they had any with their combs going pale. Our feed is well in date, but generally they get most of their food from free ranging. Their poo doesn't seem to have changed, but then again its sort of hard to tell as it all just likes poo to me. Should I treat for worms too?

Oh and by "this time of year" do you mean in Australia - just starting to go into summer?

 

[21hens-incharge]

I would not treat without testing. It is very hard to know what medicine will help without knowing what if any issue exists.

 

[lazy gardener]

They are down under in Australia. Their days are getting longer.

Exactly. Their days are getting longer, their production would be going up. Our days are getting shorter, our production is going down. She said they were laying every day. Birds in good condition who are laying well have nice full red combs.

When you say, "Their feed is well in date." What do you mean by that? Feed starts to loose food value 6 weeks after mill date. Is the feed within that 6 week window? And what is the protein content of it?

 

[21hens-incharge]

Any signs of illness like nasal discharge?
Did the rooster have quarantine time?

Weird that they are a bit off and it is one month since rooster was added. I wonder if he brought a hidden illness with him.....

Never mind..... I re read your first post. No signs of illness........

 

[Robyn67]

No signs of nasal discharge. I didn't quarantine him (yeah I know that's wrong). But he still has a bright red comb and only the girls combs are going pale.

I'll check mill date of feed, it was only bought last week from our agricultural store.

 

[Robyn67]

Actually its the first time we went with this feed as I bought it because it was made locally in our town. I couldn't see a mill date. I noticed (now) that it is called scratch layer blend - is this different to other normal mixes? It has the following:
course grain mix made of wheat, sorghum, barley, maize, black sunflowers, shelgrit, and vegetable oil
Crude protein 12%, Crude fiber 5%, crude fat 4%, salt 50%, urea nil fluorine .02%

Would this mix have an affect on their combs, as I said first time we have used this one?