Pale, Shriveled Comb, not laying... Help!

[Dazzalino]

Hello, I've never posted before but this site has gotten my 3 chickens to 8 months old!

Susie Q, my Silver Dorking Hen stopped laying about 3 weeks ago (again, she's 8 months old) she was the first to lay and was the queen bee until recently. We noticed her comb go pale a few days ago, but it could have been longer. It looks small and shriveled and pale. It's been raining and cold (40-50ish) and we probably just get 11 hours of sun here. Could that be why? Other than losing status she seems to be acting normal, eating and coming when she here's us, moving around normally etc. any ideas? How worried should we be? Anything we should do to treat her? The other two chickens (Sophie, a black Australorp, and Blanche, a partridge Chantecler) seem fine and are still laying. I haven't spent much time with them because I have a broken foot so, sadly I haven't been able to see everything going on.

Any help is appreciated I'm still a rookie!

Thanks,
Danielle

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. There can be various reasons why an 8 month old pullet would stop laying. The less than 12 hours of light this time of year, some sort of illness in the reproductive organs, other illnesses could be a problem. I would check her for mites and lice, and think about worming her with Valbazen if she hasn't been wormed recently. Most new layers will continue to lay well the first winter even with a lack of light, but you can add light to keep 12 hours of daylight in the coop if that is a problem. Here is a good thread that answers many of these questions: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/423023/why-arent-my-chickens-laying-here-are-your-answers