What causes a pale or purple comb and weakness?

[BesideStillWaters]

Finnie is right. Wyandotte’s and RIR crosses are not what they name laying hybrids. If you mix older breeds or ornamental breeds you often get stronger birds. You certainly can expect a longer lifespan from mixed back yard breeds than with the high production layers for the egg-factories.

That's awesome! Thank you!

 

[BesideStillWaters]

This is Aurora. I think she's 5 years old, I'll have to ask my friend who gave her to me to know exactly. I knew she was old when I got her two years ago and I've already lost two hens over the past couple of years from what I assume is related to old age. I can feel her breast bone, but she is very heavy. I'm wondering if it's water weight like my dog had (she was 15 and had heart problems, the vet put her on a diuretic to take the excess water out of her body).

She moves much slower than she used to. When she uses a lot of energy, her comb turns from pale to purple, almost like I would expect a person's lips to turn blue when not getting enough oxygen. She isn't having a hard time breathing, isn't coughing, isn't panting.

One of my young roosters wanted to mate while I had them free-ranging together, and by the time I got there, she had fought him but lost. (Another hen came over to her rescue quickly and beat the rooster up before I got there, so no damage was done.) Aurora sort of fell over, her comb turned purple, and she sat there, just breathing. I didn't want her to be picked on by the rooster anymore, so I moved her into the run by herself where she recovered in about fifteen minutes and ate some treats.

She's also going through a molt if that makes any difference. She doesn't live with a rooster, so I know the feather loss isn't from that. She's at the top of the pecking order, so the others aren't pecking her (they know better). These young roosters just started being interested in mating a few days ago, and I only had them free-ranging with these girls for about an hour a day, in which Aurora is usually away from the flock, doing her own thing.

I wondered at first if it was coccidiosis, but her weight is good, she's eating, she's alert, and the whole flock was treated for it back in June.

Also, her poo is a little green. Is this because she eats a lot of grass sometimes? I just noticed this today.

**Edited to add: Right before this started, she laid four fairy eggs in a row, over a two or three week period. I assumed it was because one of the older hens who was at the top of the pecking order and was her closest friend, died around that time. She stayed in the nest box and mopped for days after that. Then she sort of got over it once she moved in with the younger hens.

Do you think this is related to old age or is this is a correctable problem?

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She's getting steadily worse. She's not eating much at all, and she is starting to get "sleepy." She's so weak she keeps falling over. After a few minutes of rest, she gets back up.

She was excited to get watermelon but she won't eat anything else. Her poo is like water because she won't eat. She's lost a lot of weight suddenly. The breastbone is prominent, and some of the water weight she had is gone.

Discovered lice on her yesterday even though I've been dusting her weekly for the past three weeks with poultry dust (permethrin is the active ingredient). I offered electrolyte water today. Molting has never been this hard on her. Is there anything else I can do?

 

[BDutch]

Sorry I can’t help you with curing methods. @Eggcessive is more knowledgeable on such matters.

What kind of lice does she have? Feather lice? If so try a search within the articles to start with.

 

[Alaskaliz]

Good to know, thank you! She loves sunflower seeds and mealworms. I mixed some sunflower seeds into the feed and she's either picking the seeds out or eating the feed and seeds now.

I didn't know beans were okay for chickens - what kind and how do you prepare them?

I just cook raw beans of many varieties in the instapot, but you can soak for 2 hours or overnight, then cook according as long as needed on package.

 

[Alaskaliz]

She's getting steadily worse. She's not eating much at all, and she is starting to get "sleepy." She's so weak she keeps falling over. After a few minutes of rest, she gets back up.

She was excited to get watermelon but she won't eat anything else. Her poo is like water because she won't eat. She's lost a lot of weight suddenly. The breastbone is prominent, and some of the water weight she had is gone.

Discovered lice on her yesterday even though I've been dusting her weekly for the past three weeks with poultry dust (permethrin is the active ingredient). I offered electrolyte water today. Molting has never been this hard on her. Is there anything else I can do?

feed soft eggs daily to help with weight loss, can cat food. Elector PSP is best option for the bugs, but spendy. I think its a good investment.

 

[chrissiemids]

Do you think she might be some kind of laying hybrid or a mix with one.
Laying hybrids don’t get old. The heritage breeds often live up-to 8 or 10 years old.

She nay have a hart condition getting a purple comb. If a hen gets a pale comb it can be because they molt or just stopped laying eggs. But then the comb shrinks too.

I’m no crack in this, please wait for the specialist for their/better answers.

Ive always believed that lack of oxygen causes comb to go blue or black. So heart or lungs. If its lung infection , I treat with tylan antibiotic in water. Also for heart 75mg asprin in 1 lte water for heart.

 

[chrissiemids]

feed soft eggs daily to help with weight loss, can cat food. Elector PSP is best option for the bugs, but spendy. I think its a good investment.

Ivermectin spot on base of neck gets rid of feather mites.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

She's getting steadily worse. She's not eating much at all, and she is starting to get "sleepy." She's so weak she keeps falling over. After a few minutes of rest, she gets back up.

She was excited to get watermelon but she won't eat anything else. Her poo is like water because she won't eat. She's lost a lot of weight suddenly. The breastbone is prominent, and some of the water weight she had is gone.

Discovered lice on her yesterday even though I've been dusting her weekly for the past three weeks with poultry dust (permethrin is the active ingredient). I offered electrolyte water today. Molting has never been this hard on her. Is there anything else I can do?

The feed store told me corid was a dewormer. I saw roundworms after using it to treat coccidiosis a couple months ago. I think this is where I went wrong. The only thing I could find was safeguard. How do I dose her with this? Shes not eating so I cant put the dose in a piece of bread. I have a syringe but how much? She's probably down to 3 pounds at this point.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Sorry I can’t help you with curing methods. @Eggcessive is more knowledgeable on such matters.

What kind of lice does she have? Feather lice? If so try a search within the articles to start with.

I dont know what kind but that is my guess. I've been using permethrin spray on everyone else and that works, I was afraid to make her sicker by getting her wet. I've heard people give sick chickens a bath and it kills them...

(I ended up using sevin dust on just her. Off label, no longer recommended I know. My parents used it all the time when I was a teen.)

 

[BesideStillWaters]

feed soft eggs daily to help with weight loss, can cat food. Elector PSP is best option for the bugs, but spendy. I think its a good investment.

I'm not able to get all the birds treated AND the chicken house cleaned out on the same day, then repeat for the permethrin. I ordered the elector and it came in yesterday. From my understanding, this kills eggs so no second treatment is needed? I've been treating birds and cleaning / spraying down the house next day for three weeks and these things keep coming back. Glad to know you've had success with elector!

I'll offer the eggs and see if she'll go for that.