Below: This rooster has a deep purple colour to his comb indicating cyanosis. RE-INTEGRATE PROPERLYWhen a sick chicken is well, they should be reintroduced to the flock as if they were a complete stranger to ensure a smooth transition, the least amount of stress possible and no violence. Texture While this may seem a bit odd to be paying attention to, the texture of a chicken’s comb can also be a great indicator of health. I’m going to give her chicken feed in water so I can give it to her in a eye dropper. Separation from the flock keeps it protected from being bullied or pecked by other flock members and protects the rest of the flock from what may be a contagious condition. That if you don't want your whole flock to die. Adding a vitamin/electrolyte supplement into the drinking water for a day or two can help an already dehydrated chicken re-hydrate. A chicken's comb can be indicative of her circulation and condition. 4. The vast majority of chickens have combs, but why is that? I highly recommend having The Chicken Health Handbook, 2nd ED, Damerow, Gail on hand for amateur diagnostics and trouble-shooting. For precise instructions from poultry veterinarian Mike Petrik for executing this method properly click HERE. WHITE COMB by: Sharon I'm not sure what you mean by a white comb with no photo. 3. The misuse of antibiotics can make the bird sicker and lead to antibiotic resistance in the flock. Is her abdomen hard, soft, full, squishy? Many labs will offer euthanasia services prior to a necropsy. When a pullet is growing up into an adult hen, her comb will grow larger and become either red or purple, depending on the breed. The first ‘combs’ were found on the dinosaur remains of the Edmontosaurus (one of the last dinosaurs on Earth).Today we are going to explore exactly why chickens have combs, what sort of comb types there are, and how to keep those combs healthy. I have a rooster whose comb is paler than it was a few months ago. This hen has been sick off and on for the last 5 weeks. Water is involved in every aspect of a chicken’s metabolism from regulating body temperature to digesting food, and eliminating body wastes and if the bird is not hydrated, it does not stand a chance of fighting illness. Find out who those vets are in advance of needing one. Also, cockerels will develop larger combs at an earlier age than pullets. Any ideas? If a normally rosy comb turns pale pink, that can be a sign of anemia in the chicken, often caused by mites or lice. Pale comb or wattles, or a floppy comb – a chicken’s comb is often a good indication of their general health. Only a treating veterinarian can prescribe antibiotics for laying hens. The poor feathering could be a result of protein and calcium/mineral deficiency. If you are a chicken keeper, you should know about these 13 common chicken diseases and how to treat them. In desperation, most of us without vets have or will turn to books or chicken-keeping friends for help trouble-shooting a sick chicken’s symptoms. The exact origins of the Leghorn are unknown. Chickens can get a whitish coating on their combs that could mean dryness. ProZyme helps sick chickens produce the enzymes needed to digest feed properly and makes feed ingredients more bio-available when they most need them. Bullying is not uncommon among chickens, sometimes the larger, more dominant birds will … Fowl pox will also be accompanied by other signs of sickness such as weight loss, disinterest, slow movements, etc. A chicken that is stressed out can also have a pale comb, there are a number of reasons for stress but we find that the two most common are lack of space and bullying. Pale Pink Comb and Wattles. In the absence of electrolytes, Gatorade may be substituted. She is too weak to go up the ramp so sleeps outside. I show a variety of sick bay setups in this article. I got her as a 3-day-old chick, and she was the first chicken to ever lay an egg for me, so she holds a special little place in my heart. To understand chicken diseases, you’ll want to understand a great deal about the chicken and how it should live. Chicken Clinic ; floppy pale combs Recent Posts. The Girls Swoon Over Wattles Wattles perform that same function as a comb, in helping to cool down the body temperature of the chicken. <3. Combs also indicate how old the chicken is and whether they are going start laying for the first time. Livorno is the port city in Italy from which the Leghorns were first exported to the USA in 1828 or thereabouts. DO NOT ALTER THE DIET If the bird is eating and drinking normally, do not drastically change their diet by offering foods or supplements they do not ordinarily take- doing so can complicate the assessment and identification of the problem and make an unwell chicken feel even worse. If they turn from normal red to pale pink, you should just know that your bird is having anemia. I recommend the Playpen Method for this purpose. Many illnesses share similar symptoms and determining whether the cause of an illness is bacterial or non-bacterial is only possible through laboratory testing.Since antibiotics only treat bacterial infections they are useless and potentially harmful to chickens when: -administered for a non-bacterial infection, -administered for the wrong period of time, -adminstered via the wrong route (eg: in the water, in the feed, injected into the muscle), -the wrong type of antibiotic is being administered.