Author Topic: Chook with pale comb (Read 4130 times)

aaronsundin · « **on:** September 01, 2012, 02:42:18 pm »

Hi everyone , I have a light sussex hen who has been living in one of the outbuildings for quite a few weeks now , she has one chick with her which hatched 07.07.12 . Because she had been sitting for such a long time ( went broody before I placed eggs under her ) , her condition was pretty poor . She then went into moult and looked , well a mess . However she has now re - grown her feathers , is eating and drinking fine , very alert and seems completely normal . Her comb is now standing up again but is very pale in colour compared to what it used to be . What could the reason for this be ? Is it because she's been inside for such a long time ? She used to free range , I think I will have to keep her inside in the barn for a while yet as chick is a lavender sablepoot - very tiny, and we get attacks on chicks from crows etc . Can I do anyting to get her comb colour back to normal ? Many thanks for reading.

deepinthewoods · « **Reply #1 on:** September 01, 2012, 02:48:20 pm »

i believe comb colour is influenced by hormones, the redder they are the more fertile the hen is. but i might be wrong!

Sbom · « **Reply #2 on:** September 01, 2012, 03:32:14 pm »

I'd check her for lice, this can make them very pale combed.

Sylvia · « **Reply #3 on:** September 01, 2012, 06:02:21 pm »

A hen's comb will go pale when not in lay and, thus not in breeding condition. She won't start to come back into condition until her chick is independant, about 12 weeks. Make sure she has plenty of grain and greenstuff and I'm sure she'll be fine.

aaronsundin · « **Reply #4 on:** September 01, 2012, 06:53:49 pm »

Many thanks , I'll check for lice just in case , and have pleny of greens and kale in the veg garden which I can hang up for her

rickardo3 · « **Reply #5 on:** September 01, 2012, 09:36:57 pm »

hi im new to this forum' i think the reason your chooks comb is pale is more than likely redmite,ive had them in my coope,i didnt realise they were there until it was to late,lost my best layer snowdrop very upsetting,its taken me 10 days to get rid of the little bloodsuckers ,

jaykay · « **Reply #6 on:** September 01, 2012, 09:41:12 pm »

Redmite could certainly be an issue and is worth checking for - you can get quite big infestations quite quickly if it's been warm.

If you've checked for redmite and the coop is clear, it might simply be as Sylvia says - she's not ready to start laying again yet after rearing chicks. In-lay chooks have red combs, out-of-lay chooks don't.

heidih · « **Reply #7 on:** September 02, 2012, 10:29:24 am »

My chook nugget has pale comb and she the only one not laying ..tje other five chooks very bright red and laying very well so maybe that is the case..?

aaronsundin · « **Reply #8 on:** September 02, 2012, 05:47:58 pm »

No red mite - thank goodness . I didn't think this was the problem as the hen always goes into her nest box at night without hesitation . Hopefully the comb will become red again once she starts laying .