what does it mean when the comb shrinks and gets dark?

[plantguy90]

also she's lost weight and now rests a lot with her eyes closed. the lids look almost yellow, she is a light brahmin

 

[scbatz33]

in people yellowing skin generally means jaundice - or liver failure. With weight loss, you seem to have a very sick chicken. Sorry

 

[plantguy90]

Its ok, I am more worried about diagnosing the problem so it does not affect my other hens

 

[scbatz33]

I'm not a vet or an expert by any means, and my poultry book doesn't list anything on those symptoms, but my gut says organ failure. The question is why? How old is the hen? has she gotten into anything toxic? That would be my first concern, especially if it's a young bird.

 

[plantguy90]

well, she is walking a bit, and got one more symptom for ya, liquid white poop. No blood. I am giving her water with tetracyclene and sulmet, I figure its that or she's a goner anyways.. She seems slightly better today as its warmed up, or maybe it was the meds... who knows...

 

[scbatz33]

Liquid white poop - ie white diarrhea - could be coccidiosis(have you seen any blood?) symptoms also are listless and head sunk in neck

or salmonella - is she super thirsty?

If she is showing improvement with the Sulmet, I'd say coccidiosis. And if that is the case, you do need to be watching the rest of the flock as it can spread like wild fire.

 

[plantguy90]

Aaakk, Cocci again! Ok, I will dump the tetracyclene water and just go with the sulmet., i also have to finish my biosecurity netting project. No bloody poop that I can see, but my BSL shows some prett bad diahrea signs as well, and her butt is all red. thanks for the tip.

 

[scbatz33]

hope it works out for you. I've only had it once. I spent several months scrubbing and reorganizing everybody.

Ammonia is a good disinfectant. From what I read bleach does nothing. I used the ammonia in the brooder(wood and wire) and I never saw it again.

 

[speckledhen]

I seriously doubt cocci if she's an adult. The dark color and shrunken comb are not symptoms of cocci. The dark shrunken purplish comb usually means there is severe strain on her organs and oxygen is depleted. I have a hen now who is dying from internal laying who is almost black in the face. She has no meat on her keel and her abdomen is full of infection and egg material. She has been through this twice and will pass on this time. You don't say how old this bird is, if its a hatchery bird, etc. I've had six die from internal laying/false laying/egg peritonitis. It started when they passed their second birthday. The current one is over four years old now, though. The lose a ton of weight at the end and sometimes, the abdomen seems very distended.

It's very common, really. Nothing you can do except a shot-in-the-dark heavy penicillin round and see if it knocks out any infection present. That is, IF it's reproductive. It could be a heart issue as well. That would make her circulation bad and her color turn dark. Don't give her penicillin while on any other antibiotic, though. Usually, if they have that bad color and the comb is shrunken, it's probably too late.

 

[RCROE]

DEHYDRATION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but why is the real question ??