Is this normal?

[Blue_Myst]

I'm becoming increasingly worried about one of my four-month-old RIR hens. Long story short, her sisters' crowns are two to three times the size of hers, and bright red while hers is just a pale pink. I'm not quite sure of the technique to checking for mites or lice, but I lifted up the feathers along her back, under one of her wings, and near her vent, but I didn't see anything

She is the one who I think had a slight bought of Cocci, but I didn't treat her because bloody poo was her only symptom, and that was months ago.

She is definitely not lethargic, and seems very healthy and happy, but I just wanted to make sure this isn't a sign of trouble sometime in the near future. Or am I just worrying too much?

Here is one of her buddies:

Here is the hen in question:

 

[WingingIt]

I'm a little lost - are you wanting to know if it's OK that she's not as red as the others? If that's your question, yes, it's fine. Just means they are maturing faster than she is. When they get bright red they are close to laying. Her being more pale colored doesn't mean she has mites. If you didn't see any of the crusty stuff when you checked, she should be fine as far as that goes.

HTH

 

[Blue_Myst]

Thanks!

I'm sorry, I should have made my question more clear. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a sign of any health problems or insect infestation. I guess I was a little silly to think that, but she's been this way for a week while her sisters' combs have been growing every day.

Actually, it is really interesting, because she just squatted today! Out of all the big, red-comb birds, the one with the little pink one is the first to do this

 

[crtrlovr]

when mine were maturing, the girls got bright red, THEN GOT PALER. When they got a bit more pale instead of bright red was when they actually started squatting & laying.

 

[Judy]

Sometimes I think we read TOO much and get TOO observant! They do things at different rates, just as people do. I say, relax and enjoy!

When I was in nursing school, we all learned real quick that as soon as you start learning about some interesting but dreaded disease, you start seeing the symptoms in yourself. Got real interesting when we did our psych training, lol.