What is wrong with their comb?

[cmom]

I am fairly new to raising chickens(7 months). All was going well, until I started seeing a few hens with little white spots on their combs.There combs seemed a bit dry, as well. My beautiful Whiting True Green had some white patches too, not just tiny spots.I researched and geesh, there are at least half a dozen 'potential' different things they say it could be . My chickens are spoiled and much loved, they get lots of herbs,and fresh fruits and veggies along with their crumble and scratch. We just had an extremely bitter cold Feb(record lows). I read a possibility could be mites or lice, so I rubbed a little DE on them, in coop corners, roost and nesting boxes. My poor girl died in my arms this past weekend. Non of the vets seem to treat chickens much.I had a sample run from the flock and it came back negative for parasites. I still have a few chickens with white spots on their combs and a bit pale. I'd hate to lose another chicken. I never knew how much I'd enjoy/love these gals (and our Bielefelder rooster), but I do. They run over to me when I visit them(with or without treats). Many vie for a place on my lap when I sit with them. My sweet hen, Charity, went down very quickly, so I am wondering what my next step should be in order to not lose another chicken from this mystery cause of death? Thanks in advance.

In my opinion DE is useless and I know some swear by it. Go into your coop at night and check your birds over well. I use a headlamp so I have both of my hands free to inspect my birds. If there are any mites you will see them. Some mites only come out at night and feed on the birds and hide in cracks and crevices in the coop during the day. If you do happen to have mites I would treat your coop and the birds with permethrin which is available at most farm stores such as TSC. Treat weekly for 3 or 4 weeks thoroughly spraying everywhere inside your coop. You can spray the birds or use poultry dust on them. I also put the poultry dust in my nest boxes. I attached charts for the different permethrin concentrates. Good luck...

 

[NatJ]

Crumble/pellets are nutritionally complete - so any treats dilute the nutrition, including protein content. An adult chicken needs around 1/4- 1/3 cup of feed a day, and a minimum of 15-16% protein. So 10% treats i less than a tablespoon.

If you're using that number to figure how much treat to give, it will not cause trouble.

But an adult chicken probably needs MORE feed than that in a day. A common estimate is 1/4 to 1/3 POUND of feed in a day. And one cup of chicken feed weighs a lot less than a pound, for most chicken feeds.

(I don't want anyone to decide their chickens are eating "too much" chicken feed, based on a mistaken estimate. Chickens usually eat the right amount if provided free-choice feed all day long, using a complete crumble or pellet feed, but owners worry if they are given an estimate that is widely different than what the chickens actually eat.)

 

[cmom]

I have hanging feeders in my coops and the birds eat what they want. I do give them treats sometimes before I collect their eggs but around 30 birds will get one cup of treats. I don't know the amount per bird but it's only as treats of grains and seeds. I do give them greens too. I put a small pile of greens in each pen and they eat them up.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for the replies.I am a bit concerned too,because she seems lighter than before when I pick her up. Very similar situation to my chicken that died Saturday.

Thoughts on coconut oil for comb health?

If that's frostbite, then you don't want to handle to comb. Leave it alone for several weeks then revisit whether or not it needs anything. Personally for me, for dry combs/wattles/facial tissue I've found vaseline works better than coconut oil.