Pale Face?

pekincochin12

Songster
Apr 8, 2020
204
107
113
Hi everyone,

So, I've been soaking my 2-year old bantam cochin's feet for almost a week now after noticing a small cut while routinely checking her feet. My main concern is unrelated to her feet, however. Today, while soaking Harper's feet, I noticed that her face (just around her eye), not really her comb or wattles, was VERY pale. I've never heard of just this area being pale. The red came back a bit once she was more awake (she's been closing her eyes during the daily soakings), and has always been relatively relaxed when I'm holding her. I included pictures in chronological order (numbered) so you guys can see. They were taken within a time span of about 5 minutes. The picture of her in the nesting box is from 5/18, when she was broody. It shows her normal red color on her face. Because of the recent broody spell, she is underweight, but I think she's already heavier than she was when she came out of it. Do their faces become pale when they're really relaxed? As soon as I put her back in the coop, her color came back fully. I syringed her 2 cc of poultry cell. She's been eating and drinking normally, as far as I can tell. She's not a big drinker, and the last few days have been hot (80F and VERY humid). Could this be a symptom of dehydration? Laying daily, as well. I checked for mites/lice/etc, and did not find anything. I looked by her vent, under her wings, on her back, and on her breastbone, as well as in the coop. There is some dried feces in her feathers under her vent. I was assuming this was from a "broody poop." I haven't noticed any abnormal feces. I did pull a tick out of her comb on Friday, that couldn't have been there for anymore than 24 hours, if that's at all relevant. She did lose her closest flock mate a few months ago, and due to the virus, we haven't been able to look for a new friend for her. She's currently living with our ducks, but I know it's not the same - maybe stress/grief?. Additionally, I saw that on the other foot, she has a white circle? Like a blister? One last thing that may be related: we have a light in our coop (NOT a heat light cause it's too warm), because we've heard that it deters predators, and they're more willing to go in at night. Is that true, and is it possible that it is causing her to overlay and that's causing this? Sorry for so much information, and thanks for reading if you've made it this far lol, and I really appreciate any advice you have!

- A very worried chicken mom
 

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Hi everyone,

So, I've been soaking my 2-year old bantam cochin's feet for almost a week now after noticing a small cut while routinely checking her feet. My main concern is unrelated to her feet, however. Today, while soaking Harper's feet, I noticed that her face (just around her eye), not really her comb or wattles, was VERY pale. I've never heard of just this area being pale. The red came back a bit once she was more awake (she's been closing her eyes during the daily soakings), and has always been relatively relaxed when I'm holding her. I included pictures in chronological order (numbered) so you guys can see. They were taken within a time span of about 5 minutes. The picture of her in the nesting box is from 5/18, when she was broody. It shows her normal red color on her face. Because of the recent broody spell, she is underweight, but I think she's already heavier than she was when she came out of it. Do their faces become pale when they're really relaxed? As soon as I put her back in the coop, her color came back fully. I syringed her 2 cc of poultry cell. She's been eating and drinking normally, as far as I can tell. She's not a big drinker, and the last few days have been hot (80F and VERY humid). Could this be a symptom of dehydration? Laying daily, as well. I checked for mites/lice/etc, and did not find anything. I looked by her vent, under her wings, on her back, and on her breastbone, as well as in the coop. There is some dried feces in her feathers under her vent. I was assuming this was from a "broody poop." I haven't noticed any abnormal feces. I did pull a tick out of her comb on Friday, that couldn't have been there for anymore than 24 hours, if that's at all relevant. She did lose her closest flock mate a few months ago, and due to the virus, we haven't been able to look for a new friend for her. She's currently living with our ducks, but I know it's not the same - maybe stress/grief?. Additionally, I saw that on the other foot, she has a white circle? Like a blister? One last thing that may be related: we have a light in our coop (NOT a heat light cause it's too warm), because we've heard that it deters predators, and they're more willing to go in at night. Is that true, and is it possible that it is causing her to overlay and that's causing this? Sorry for so much information, and thanks for reading if you've made it this far lol, and I really appreciate any advice you have!

- A very worried chicken mom
my girls face gets pale then it looks normal after awhile and repeats the process
 
That is quite a change in her color from the first picture. Are you sure that she couldn’t have mites? Can you look at her skin at night in the dark for any mites or brown specks of mite droppings on her skin?
 
That is quite a change in her color from the first picture. Are you sure that she couldn’t have mites? Can you look at her skin at night in the dark for any mites or brown specks of mite droppings on her skin?
Yes, are they more active at night or something? And I'm assuming that they would be pretty obvious to see, right? I've seen lots of pictures of them, but never had a bird have them. It is quite a dramatic change, which is why I'm so worried. It did go away, so I'm a bit perplexed. Would it hurt to treat the whole coop, even if they don't have them?
 
That is quite a change in her color from the first picture. Are you sure that she couldn’t have mites? Can you look at her skin at night in the dark for any mites or brown specks of mite droppings on her skin?
I looked again today, and I'll check when I get off work tonight, but I saw absolutely no evidence of any mites or lice. Her color was almost normal this AM. She did get pale at first when I put her back, but it only lasted about 30 seconds. Her crop also felt hot to the touch today. I smelled her mouth, and it smelled like chicken food, which she had access to for about an hour before I went out to soak her feet. There was some food and liquid in it. If it was sour crop, everything from yesterday would have been in there still, right? She also seemed a bit quieter today, and was laying down in the coop when I went to get her. She stood up when she saw me, but when I soaked her feet, she really fluffed herself up, tucked her head in, and then closed her eyes. I offered her food while I soaked, and she picked at it a bit, but didn't seem so interested. She's always been picky with food, so I'll keep an eye on that, and if she doesn't have a full crop when I get home, I'll make sure I get some into her. I sprinkled some food in the mulch for her, so she can forage, which she did after preening herself when back in the coop. I gave her 3 cc of poultry cell this AM, too. I can hear her laying right now, as well.
 
Pictures from this AM
Took a picture of the poop stuck in her feathers, as well.
 

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Her color is much better this morning. Hopefully, she will start drinking more today. Sometimes they will eat chicken feed made wet with water for extra fluids. I would check her crop in the early morning again to see if it emptied over night. Does her lower belly between her legs feel puffy or fuller than normal? Does she lay eggs? She is acting like something is wrong, possibly a reproductive disorder or crop problem. Sometimes one leads to the other. The Poultry Cell is good to give for several days, but the electrolytes can cause runny poops if given too long.
 
Her color is much better this morning. Hopefully, she will start drinking more today. Sometimes they will eat chicken feed made wet with water for extra fluids. I would check her crop in the early morning again to see if it emptied over night. Does her lower belly between her legs feel puffy or fuller than normal? Does she lay eggs? She is acting like something is wrong, possibly a reproductive disorder or crop problem. Sometimes one leads to the other. The Poultry Cell is good to give for several days, but the electrolytes can cause runny poops if given too long.
I just checked again...no bugs found. Her color was pretty good, about the same as this morning! Her crop was quite full, so I’m glad she ate, and I’ll be sure to check in the AM. There’s no swelling in her abdomen. I took an egg of hers out of the coop yesterday (it was 100% hers because of the size). Yes, thank you for the advice on the poultry cell. I wanted to load her up at first with some. Tomorrow I’ll try wet food. She had plenty of crumbles in her crop tonight, so I don’t think she’d be very inclined to eat more right now. I’ll be sure to update in the morning!
 

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