The road less traveled...back to good health! They have lice, mites, scale mites, worms, anemia, gl

[armorfirelady]

Ok I have another newbie question. Hens are 29 weeks old, on FF 7 weeks & I got the hens Aug 4th. They still are NOT laying eggs yet.

They all eat well, forage well and are active. Today I noticed a hen with a pale comb. Now while none of mine have large combs they have been at least pink & some days red. I look at the hens everyday if nothing more than when I close them in for the night. But that pale comb was def noticeable. So tonight I did an inspection on them all again. And took some pics as well.

I didnt see any mites like the pics Bee was so kind to post. Little dusty they were but skin is clear & no bugs, nits or eggs that I can tell. Very dirty legs so i washed them so I could inspect them. Legs are yellow, scales are soft to touch. Pad of foot soft. (I couldnt find that little hole you were talking about Bee that was impacted on your hens- which I took as a good sign)

Feathers are soft & super shiny. I saw a few spots where the pins (i think they are called that) that didnt have feathers in them. There was a few flakes in their feathers but I think its what shedding from their feather. Nothing squirmy just looks like flakes of skin.

Eyes were clear. nothing that looks like bugs around them & nothing I could see moving. Their vents are small and skin is clear and yellowish in color. I had one hen (not one with the pale comb) with a tiny bit of poop on a feather or two. But I am not worried about it. Skin is clear.

Besides the pale comb & losing a few more downy feathers the hen looked like the others. She was out foraging with them all today. She was even first to take cover in the run when the nearby crows started squawking. I havent changed their feed. Tho I am still working on samae bucket of FF for over a month now. But it doesnt smell bad at all. They did have some grapes, apples & squash yesterday since it downpoured all day & while they like the rain it was very muddy & lots of standing water from all the rain. (but that didnt stop them from jumping through puddles when the rain stopped

)

So do hens sometimes have a pale comb? Is it an indication of something? And do hens not have feathers under their chins?




A look of the underside of chin. All 4 hens like this to some degree. They have been wearing their food in this same area. I know I need to lower the feeder a little to help prevent this.


Face shot. You can see the FF stuck to face & feathers on bottom of chin. I dont see any eggs or bugs.


One hens legs. U can tell where I wiped the dirt from their leg. But no hard scales on the let. Its smooth & soft.
I think i need to get them an entrance mat so they can wipe their feet before bed

One hens vent. I am guessing they will get larger before they start laying? When I checked them a few weeks ago it seems they are same size. (sorry I couldnt get better pic- just me checking them and trying to take a pne handed pic while holding them)


Pale comb hen. Around the eye and her wattle are still red though. She is one of the smaller hens I have


Another chin look.

Any suggestions, thoughts on my questions & pics?
Thanks n advance

 

[Beekissed]

I really can't tell from the pic what breed that is, but some of the heritage breeds take longer to reach sexual maturity, though 29 wks is a little long(are you sure of that age?). Depending on the breed, some do not get a real red comb. Some breeds don't get as dark a red comb as others, so you may have a breed that doesn't. They usually won't really get nice, red combs until they have reached sexual maturity anyway.

You might mix your FF a litter thicker and have a feeder that doesn't involve them placing their heads that deep into the FF? My hens just get messy beeks that they promptly wipe off in the bedding or the grass. The feathers are naturally thin on the bottom of the chin, so that is no worry. That is the best place to slice the throats due to the lack of feathering there, if ever getting around to process...just pull the skin taut and slice quickly and deeply from left to right in that area and it's a done deal.

 

[delisha]

They look really young to me. Perhaps they are taking longer to mature than you think they should, however some special birds simply need more time. They are very beautiful birds. Healthy looking in all that shine and reflection. I do not think you have anything to worry about. Comb and wattle colors come in with maturity sometimes.

 

[armorfirelady]

I really can't tell from the pic what breed that is, but some of the heritage breeds take longer to reach sexual maturity, though 29 wks is a little long(are you sure of that age?). Depending on the breed, some do not get a real red comb. Some breeds don't get as dark a red comb as others, so you may have a breed that doesn't. They usually won't really get nice, red combs until they have reached sexual maturity anyway.

You might mix your FF a litter thicker and have a feeder that doesn't involve them placing their heads that deep into the FF? My hens just get messy beeks that they promptly wipe off in the bedding or the grass. The feathers are naturally thin on the bottom of the chin, so that is no worry. That is the best place to slice the throats due to the lack of feathering there, if ever getting around to process...just pull the skin taut and slice quickly and deeply from left to right in that area and it's a done deal.

Thanks Bee. The FF is thick now like peanut butter. I think some just like to pretend they are dunking for apples

but my plan is for this weekend to lower the feeder for them. I couldnt find any chicken lobster bibs for them

And I didnt know about the chin area if it was supposed to be feathered or not. But I figured since all 4 had it that it must be ok since I dodnt see any bugs.

As for the age of them I am only going by what the person I aquried them from told me. Which was a hatch date of 5/7/12. I always suspected the 2 smaller ones probably had a different hatch date since they are noticeably smaller than the other two. But they all are growing well on the FF.

None of them have large red combs & they just started getting their wattles a few weeks ago so I figure the combs & wattles need to get a little larger to show sexual maturity.

Will the vents enlarge as well the closer they are closer to laying? My hens vents are no where near as large as what others have posted. I figured they will enlargen as eggs are laid? and then probably lose their elasticity as they get older and lay more.

They look really young to me. Perhaps they are taking longer to mature than you think they should, however some special birds simply need more time. They are very beautiful birds. Healthy looking in all that shine and reflection. I do not think you have anything to worry about. Comb and wattle colors come in with maturity sometimes.

Thank you. I love their shiny feathers. I dont mind so much that they are not laying yet but I had hoped i would get an egg soon. I just hope I didnt get 4 dud hens................that would be just my luck

 

[bobbieschicks]

Thanks Bee. The FF is thick now like peanut butter. I think some just like to pretend they are dunking for apples

but my plan is for this weekend to lower the feeder for them. I couldnt find any chicken lobster bibs for them

And I didnt know about the chin area if it was supposed to be feathered or not. But I figured since all 4 had it that it must be ok since I dodnt see any bugs.

As for the age of them I am only going by what the person I aquried them from told me. Which was a hatch date of 5/7/12. I always suspected the 2 smaller ones probably had a different hatch date since they are noticeably smaller than the other two. But they all are growing well on the FF.

None of them have large red combs & they just started getting their wattles a few weeks ago so I figure the combs & wattles need to get a little larger to show sexual maturity.

Will the vents enlarge as well the closer they are closer to laying? My hens vents are no where near as large as what others have posted. I figured they will enlargen as eggs are laid? and then probably lose their elasticity as they get older and lay more.
Thank you. I love their shiny feathers. I dont mind so much that they are not laying yet but I had hoped i would get an egg soon. I just hope I didnt get 4 dud hens................that would be just my luck

Your birds are beautiful. I know how frustrating it can be to wait for them to start laying. Most of my flock of various breeds have started between 19 and 24 weeks of age, but my Ancona took over a year before she laid her first. And she has been producing one white egg every 5 out of 7 days. Several times I thought she just would NEVER lay - and even contemplated culling her. Here's the thread about the wait https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/623292/come-on-ac-we-want-some-eggs/140#post_9655532

 

[35chick4kid1dog]

Quote:
Mine were hatched on the exact same date, and aren't laying either. They look much like yours do int he comb and wattles, except for one Buff Orpington who is turning red.

I hope the others aren't far behind. One of my little RIR looked a little pinker, but the others don't even look pink. Still fleshy colored.

 

[galefrances]

Quote: I think your Partridge Rocks are younger than what they told you. Mine are 17 weeks and here are some pics of mine for you to compare.

 

[Wax Myrtle]

Wow, have finally managed to read faster than y'all are posting.

Bee, another line I'm still chuckling over was in response to someone asking if roosters were edible... "Yep, tastes like chicken."

Which was a hatch date of 5/7/12.

Just counted the weeks (and I very well may be off) but going by that date, your pullets are just now approaching 24 weeks. They look great, btw! Oh, and yes, their vents will enlarge as they begin laying.

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: I think your Partridge Rocks are younger than what they told you. Mine are 17 weeks and here are some pics of mine for you to compare.


Thank you for posting the pics......Your hens look to be about the same size as mine.....& they def have bigger combs and wattles. Hmmmmm guess my math is off on calculating their age. They were feathered out when I got them so I know they were not newborn chicks when I got them....


Here they are when I brought them home August 4th....which if my math is correct should make them about 13 weeks with a hatch date of May 7th. ?? Math is not one of my strong points lol

 

[armorfirelady]

Wow, have finally managed to read faster than y'all are posting.

Bee, another line I'm still chuckling over was in response to someone asking if roosters were edible... "Yep, tastes like chicken."
Quote: Hmmm thanks so much....I decided to print out a chicken calendar and mark each week with their ages lol Then I can add the start off FF, etc.......like a chicken diary