Sick hen?

waffleinator

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My oldest chicken Omelette (3) seems to have something going on with her. Her comb is turning purplish and her face seems slightly swollen (I could be paranoid). she's also molting right now. I have 7 other chickens and they roam the back yard. Any advice would help.
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A purplish comb can mean she has a circulation problem, possible heart condition, also a build up of ammonia in the coop from all the poop can cause respiratory issues enough to purple up the comb.

Does she have any signs of a respiratory ailment going on? Runny nose, rattles in the lungs? Sometimes the eyelids will swell when there is too much ammonia in the coop.

Listen to her breathing over her back where the neck meets the back. The lungs and air sacs are beneath this area, the heart is beneath them. Do you hear any clacking, clicking or fluttering? The air sacs can rupture occasionally. Valves in the heart can go bad and birds do develop heart failure. If the left valve is involved, the abdomen fills with fluid.

On this note, feel her belly. Is it soft and squishy like a water balloon or fairly small and firm? If she does have water on the belly, with her comb the color it is, I might guess heart valve problems. With heart failure, you can keep draining them for a while and keep them comfortable until the heart gives out. It can beat on for months or quit tomorrow.

What does her poop look like? Consistency, color, what caps? How much white? Any blood specks?

Is she still laying? Is she eating and drinking normally?
 
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She's eating drinking and her poops look like normal chicken poops. Breathing seems fine and so does her belly. I gave the coop a really good cleaning just in case. Her comb is looking a lot better! So I'm hoping that it's just poor ventilation in the coop and I just need to add in some Windows.
 
She's eating drinking and her poops look like normal chicken poops. Breathing seems fine and so does her belly. I gave the coop a really good cleaning just in case. Her comb is looking a lot better! So I'm hoping that it's just poor ventilation in the coop and I just need to add in some Windows.
Great! Bad air is very hard on the respiratory system of a bird and can burn the eyes and lungs. If her lungs become compromised, the circulation suffers, hence the purple comb.

Keep an eye on her and hopefully this does the trick!! Keep us posted! :-)
 

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