Please help !

[Hayamz]

Hello , I'm new in here and I have an urgent question .
I have a hen I raise her in my apartement , she has her coop with ventilation and sun exposure , food and water are there for her all the time , she eats everything , literally
she's 5 months old , for our surprise she laid her first egg on Saturday , it was the greatest surprise ever and today was the 4th egg , but I've noticed that the comb and the wattles are becoming very pale , from really red to a pale pink with white spots , there's nothing else with , she eats well until full , drinks well , clean water are there for her ,she's very active day and night that paleness started after she started to lay eggs , is that dangerous ?? is there anything I can do to make them red again ??? I'm really scared because they get pale day after day thanks in advance .

 

[Hayamz]

where are you guys

 

[AustralorpsAU]

Hi. Im sorry i cannot be of any assistance here! I dont know much about diseases etc. It takes time for memebers to see threads so just stick in there and wait for somebody to come around. Somebody will come along soon and answer your problem

 

[azygous]

Don't worry about the paleness of her comb. A chicken's comb can change color rapidly, responding to all sorts of conditions. A laying hen can still be healthy and fertile and have a slightly pale comb.

A hen who is un-fertile will have a shriveled, pale comb.

A hen who is sick may have a bright, cherry-red comb due to running a fever. A hen who is sick from lung or heart disease may have a purplish comb.

A better indicator of health or sickness is change in behavior. A sick hen will go mute. She will have no energy and will want to sit in one spot all day, usually facing a wall. If she stands, she will hold her tail down low and flat.

Watch her tail, not her comb. The tail is like a flag. If it's standing straight up, she's feeling fine. If she lowers it to half mast, there's trouble. If it's pointing straight down toward the ground, it's 911.

 

[aart]

Don't worry about the paleness of her comb. A chicken's comb can change color rapidly, responding to all sorts of conditions. A laying hen can still be healthy and fertile and have a slightly pale comb.

A hen who is un-fertile will have a shriveled, pale comb.

A hen who is sick may have a bright, cherry-red comb due to running a fever. A hen who is sick from lung or heart disease may have a purplish comb.

A better indicator of health or sickness is change in behavior. A sick hen will go mute. She will have no energy and will want to sit in one spot all day, usually facing a wall. If she stands, she will hold her tail down low and flat.

Watch her tail, not her comb. The tail is like a flag. If it's standing straight up, she's feeling fine. If she lowers it to half mast, there's trouble. If it's pointing straight down toward the ground, it's 911.

Excellent post!

 

[Hayamz]

thank you so much for your response .
about the tail , it points down when she's sleeping and wakes up to drink or eat at night , wings and tail are down , but once it's morning it's up all day , it happens only when she's asleep , should I worry ?? she's like that since I got her .
Also today she didn't lay her 5th egg , I suppose it's because yesterday she laid a big egg maybe she needed a rest ??? or there's something I should worry about ??

 

[aart]

thank you so much for your response .
about the tail , it points down when she's sleeping and wakes up to drink or eat at night , wings and tail are down , but once it's morning it's up all day , it happens only when she's asleep , should I worry ?? she's like that since I got her .
Also today she didn't lay her 5th egg , I suppose it's because yesterday she laid a big egg maybe she needed a rest ??? or there's something I should worry about ??

Not to worry, many birds don't lay every day.

 

[azygous]

We're talking about awake time during the day as far as the tail position signifying well being or not. Chickens hold their tails down when perching in order to maintain balance. It's when they're on the ground that the tail position will tell you how they're feeling.

But do not forget the vocalization or lack of. Most chickens have an opinion about something, and when they are not being opinionated, they are demanding attention or food or squabbling with each other. When they feel sick, they have absolutely nothing to say.

 

[Hayamz]

I have another question , and sorry for asking
i checked on her at 8.00 am this morning , all was fine ,I went back again at 8.30 I found egg yolk and white in the place where she usually lay her eggs , no shell was around , no way she ate the shell in that short time , besides she wasn't near the yolk and didn't try to eat it , it was in its place and didn't move around and things weren't messy , I know she likes to mess the coop but she wasn't near the egg , is it possible that the egg came out of her like that ???

 

[DanEP]

It's not uncommon for an egg to be laid without a shell ,not the norm but it does happen. New layers can take a while for all the bugs to get worked out in the production line as long as she's acting normal it's nothing to worry about. You didn't say what you were feeding her, but now that she's laying she will need calcium either in the form of layer feed or oyster shell on the side.