Is my one year old hen black sexlink comb

[Morgk]

My black sexlink hen has kinda a pal comb what does that mean, what can I do?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Pale combs mean the hen is out of production generally. Is she currently laying?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Is she broody? Their combs will get pale when they go broody.

I agree if they are molting or out of production, they will have pale combs.

And finally, pale comb could be a sign of anemia from mites or internal parasites. Check her for worms.

My thoughts.
LofMc

 

[Morgk]

She laid an egg this morning.

Pale combs mean the hen is out of production generally. Is she currently laying?

She laid an egg this morning. Idk if this hasn’t to do with it but I just recently put 9 week old chicks with her and my other hen.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

She laid an egg this morning.

She laid an egg this morning. Idk if this hasn’t to do with it but I just recently put 9 week old chicks with her and my other hen.

It may be stressful enough to make her stop production. Otherwise @Lady of McCamley has some great suggestions.

 

[Morgk]

How do I check for worms? I changed there feed from adult to the chick bc some chicks are in there. She isn’t broody she goes on and off the nest couple times a day. Is mired in there nesting boxes?

 

[Morgk]

How to check for mites and live? Where are they on?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Worms you need to have a vet run a fecal on a poop sample.

The chick feed is fine. I feed it all the time to my birds, both young and old.

You need to look them over well, looking to the skin to see if you fine any crawling specks, or lice egg clusters on the feathers.

 

[Morgk]

Ok. Can I give them diatomaceous earth in there feed to help deworm them. Can chicks have it?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I agree that the only way to be really certain is to take in a fecal sample for worms. In years gone by, I simply would worm those who began to look pale, so if you are of the mind to use slightly off label wormer (Safeguard for horses paste, which is the cheaper form of the FDA approved fenbendazol for chickens), you can simply choose to worm her. I believe it is a pea size drop delivered in the beak, repeat in 10 days.

As to lice/mites, take a flash light and look under the tail around the vent, under the wings. If you see during the day quickly moving black pepper specks, you have Northern Fowl Mite. If you see slow moving straw colored critters, with white globs at the base of feathers, you have lice. Simply dust with Poultry Dust (permethrin) at vent and under wings. Repeat in 7 to 10 days.

The change in feed shouldn't have bothered her. The stress of the other chicks *might* have disturbed her as it has upset the pecking order, especially if she is not the top hen.

But it is best to check what might be going on whenever they look pale. In my experience, if they aren't broody, it means lice/mites or worms. I personally use Ivermectin cattle pour on off label (5 drops at base of neck) to take care of both mites and worms as I tend to get both in the flock with my small field conditions.

My thoughts.
LofMc