New laying hen has pale comb, problem?

Leavingegypt

Songster
7 Years
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
Messages
256
Reaction score
9
Points
101
I have 4 hens and 1 roo. 2 hens (production reds) have just started laying yesterday. I noticed that one of them seems to have a pale comb. Before summer really hit both these hens had bright red combs as does my roo. Since the heat has come their combs have been paler, but still a pretty good red.
All my chickens are free-range, coop at night. 20 weeks old tomorrow. Their behavior seems unchanged, except for the laying.
Could laying for the first time take that much out of a hen? This afternoon I gave them all yogurt with some electrolytes/vitamins mixed in. they of course scarffed it down Should I be doing anything else?
 
I'd probably just make sure they have what heat relief you can give: at a minimum, shade and plenty of water. Hopefully, a breeze as well. You might check to be sure the coop is no hotter than the outdoors, depending on your arrangement.
 
This has been a bad year for worms in some places. I have wormed my youngsters twice already. The heat stress lowers the immune system and the worms flourish. I used Ivomectin and their comb color came up red. Check their stools for runny, too soft or off colors. Sometimes you can see worms but usually not.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom