is this anything to be concerned with?

[padlokg01]

this chicken is only a few months old, we got her and a few others this past spring, and she and the others began laying eggs a few months ago.



she hasn’t layed in a while, probably about a few days to a week, she is an easter egger so she lays blue eggs instead of brown like our others.



she most likely isn’t broody, as she doesn’t lay on any eggs when she sits and if we disturb her she doesn’t go running back to the coop immediately after.



upon closer inspection though, I noticed the fur (??) around her beak and eyes is wet (probably just from drinking, as she does have adorable muttonchops), but there also looks to be a white-grayish powder around and underneath her eyes and beak.



also to note, we’ve had chickens since 2014 so this isn’t our first rodeo.



was wondering if this is a sickness of any kind or am I paranoid and she’s fine?

 

[CherishedFowlGuardian]

I’m not sure but maybe something like a sinus infection ?

 

[CherishedFowlGuardian]

@Debbie292d any ideas?

 

[alinas2010]

Oh she is a cutie. I don’t have bearded breeds, so this may be ignorant, but can you check on these crevices here, is anything amiss? It seems really gapped. Again, no bearded breeds here, so maybe that’s just an odd angle and my lack of experience, but be sure there isn’t an injury or plaque or anything hiding right there.

At under a year, she should lay through the winter. Has she shown any signs of illness? Isolating, droopy wings, not eating, etc?

My mind goes to reproductive issues first. Can you feel her abdomen, between her legs, right under her vent, is it bulgy at all? Does she have any lice or mites that may be causing the white flaky areas? It could just be the dry weather making her comb and skin a bit dry and flakier. You can put a bit of coconut oil or Vaseline on the comb/wattle/beak areas if you want.

One more suggestion; check inside her mouth for any lesions that could indicate issues such as pox or canker and lead to crusties.

Also, welcome to the site!

 

[Debbie292d]

My silkies are all bearded, but we have nipple waterers, so they don't usually get those wet. That said, the mushy mash I give nearly daily will sometimes make me think they should make chicken bibs. She's very pretty!

The first thing I'd address is the lack of laying. The older ones are winding down for their winter break, but like @alinas2010 said, first-year layers should lie through the winter.

Do your laying hens get oyster shells on the side? Even if they do, sometimes some just need more for whatever reason. You could try giving her a calcium pill, preferably 300mg or so of Calcium Citrate +D3. If you have that or Tums, you could break up the Tums and feed it to her, but continue doing either once a day for a few days and see if that helps her.

As for the powder on her face, if she hasn't had any breathing problems or cold-like symptoms, it could be that she was irritated by something. Do they free-range at all? I'd inspect closely in her beak, as suggested.