What's wrong with her comb?

[dana0710]

Any ideas? I have 4 BA's and none of their combs are smooth/bright red.

 

[justplainbatty]

Any ideas? I have 4 BA's and none of their combs are smooth/bright red.

Well, it kinda depends on how old they are and if they are in good health. If they are only 5 or so months old, their combs will darken when they are ready to lay. Smooth is a relative term. Discolored bumps could indicate illness, just being rough like skin on hands is ok.

 

[dana0710]

They are about a year old. Have been laying for quite some time. They combs are rough like skin on your hands, so that's good, but is the dusting of white ok? They just aren't very pretty and red like many of the chickens I see on here. I did worm them with waxing a few days ago as preventative. I don't see any mites or lice, but this is my first bird experience. They seem healthy otherwise.

 

[rebrascora]

Red mites could be making them a bit anaemic. They live in cracks and crevices in the hen house and crawl onto the hens at night when they are roosting to suck their blood and then go back to the crevices to hid during the day, so you won't see them on your chickens unless you check at night. I check for them by using a soft brush to dislodge any debris from under and around the ends of the roost bars onto a dust pan and then examine it for mites. If you see any red spots squish them and you will see a smear of blood. That is a sure sign that it's red mites. I use the same soft dustpan brush to dip into Diatomaceous Earth(DE) and dust into all the crevices including nest boxes with it. Make sure you wear a mask and do it when the hens are outside as it's not good for you or them to breath the dust. I find this works great and I start seeing little piles of dead mites on the drop boards under the roost for the next few days that look almost like cigarette ash, but slightly red.
There are many people on this forum who don't find DE works for them and they use Sevin dust for mites and lice or Permethrin.

I'm not sure what the "waxing" is that you used for internal parasites(worms). I've never heard of that treatment, so I can't comment on it's effectiveness.

Regards

Barbara

 

[dana0710]

I re typed it twice and it still autocorrected.

that was supposed to say wazine. I did sprinkle some poultry and garden dust on the roosts. I will go check them now.

 

[dana0710]

Ok, just checked for mites and didn't see anything. The girl in the forefront does have a few dirty vent feathers.

 

[justplainbatty]

I re typed it twice and it still autocorrected.

that was supposed to say wazine. I did sprinkle some poultry and garden dust on the roosts. I will go check them now.

A good thing to do on this site is tell your computer to "add to dictionary" We have so many medicine names and so much chicken lingo on here, it'll drive you nuts!

 

[dana0710]

Quote: Yes!!! I was on my phone last night, which complicated things even more. You know how those things like to guess what you are saying and then insist that they know what you are trying to say.

 

[rebrascora]

So ..... not mites and not worms.... or at least if it was, you have covered that base. Are they perhaps going through a light moult? That makes their combs look dry and pale, as does being broody, but it doesn't sound like that is the problem.

 

[enola]

Wazine only kills roundworms, only one of many worms chickens get,