Discolored Comb, Feather Loss on Head and Scratching, Thoughts?

[DVCooper]

Looking for opinions on a recent issue I noticed within my small backyard flock. I have six hens, mixed breeds. A few have somewhat rough looking combs, which I chalked up to cold temperatures this winter in New England.

However, one of my Black Australorps seems to be not only having an issue with her comb (discoloration), but this evening I noticed she is missing some feathers on her head = above/behind her lobes. The comb seemed to be a little rough looking over the winter, but the feather loss on her head is very recent. I did notice her scratching at this area while I was in the coop. I checked her for signs of lice and mites, but did not seem to find anything.

I did also notice, when giving her a once over, that she has a bit of crusty poo stuck in her feathers on her bum, possibly unrelated?

She seems to be acting normal otherwise. Any advice, suggestions or thoughts here are very much appreciated!

 

[Eggcessive]

Both the comb and her missing feathers, and scabs could be due to feather picking by others. But scratching could injure it as well. Combs can easily be injured on wire fencing when running from others. A dry whitish comb can also be due to a hen not laying in winter and dry skin. I would check her ear canal on the right side with a QTip for any gunk or drainage. If you see any pthing that seems infected, you can clean the ear canal with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide, clean with QTips and apply plain Neosporin ointment to them. Does her eye look normal in the picture? Have you seen any drainage or bubbles in the eye?

 

[DVCooper]

Both the comb and her missing feathers, and scabs could be due to feather picking by others. But scratching could injure it as well. Combs can easily be injured on wire fencing when running from others. A dry whitish comb can also be due to a hen not laying in winter and dry skin. I would check her ear canal on the right side with a QTip for any gunk or drainage. If you see any pthing that seems infected, you can clean the ear canal with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide, clean with QTips and apply plain Neosporin ointment to them. Does her eye look normal in the picture? Have you seen any drainage or bubbles in the eye?

Thank you for the info here. I am going to take a closer look at that ear and if needed, clean it as suggested. I haven’t noticed anything with her eye(s), but will take a closer look. I have noticed her scratching more at that area, which makes me think that possibly there is an issue with that side of her head, although she is missing a few feathers on the other side in that same area.

She definitely does not seem to have as many feathers on her head/neck as my other Black Australorp, her head is clearly defined and looks small, where the other has a smooth feather transition from head to body if that makes sense.

Will have a closer look and report back. Thank you again!

 

[redinator]

Thank you for the info here. I am going to take a closer look at that ear and if needed, clean it as suggested. I haven’t noticed anything with her eye(s), but will take a closer look. I have noticed her scratching more at that area, which makes me think that possibly there is an issue with that ear.

She definitely does not seem to have as many feathers on her head/neck as my other Black Australorp, her head is clearly defined and looks small, where the other has a smooth feather transition from head to body if that makes sense.

Will have a closer look and report back. Thank you again!

Could she be starting to molt . . . I'm a newbie so I don't know what that looks like yet.

 

[DVCooper]

Both the comb and her missing feathers, and scabs could be due to feather picking by others. But scratching could injure it as well. Combs can easily be injured on wire fencing when running from others. A dry whitish comb can also be due to a hen not laying in winter and dry skin. I would check her ear canal on the right side with a QTip for any gunk or drainage. If you see any pthing that seems infected, you can clean the ear canal with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide, clean with QTips and apply plain Neosporin ointment to them. Does her eye look normal in the picture? Have you seen any drainage or bubbles in the eye?

So did the routine evening coop inspection and took a much closer look at the bird in question.

She did appear to be scratching at that side of her head still, or at least I saw her do it once prior to inspection. Although scratching aside, I really couldn’t see anything else. After checking he ear canals, from what I could see in the few second spurts before she moved her head, they looked clear and normal. After taking a closer look at her eyes, they also appear to be normal, as far as I can remember. No discharge or bubbles. What I noticed and what can be seen in the first picture, she does seem to have some lighter pigmentation on the bottom of her eye lid, but nothing seemed swollen or out of sorts. Below is a close up of her eye (dark coop kind, a bit blurry).

I am kind of stumped here as the feather loss seemed kind of sudden. I have seen her peck at others next to her occasionally on the roost, but never noticed others peck at her. All the girls have been laying through the winter since they first had their “pullet eggs” back in late summer/fall.

My main concern was just hoping it wasn’t something contagious that would spread to others and finding a remedy if one was needed to get her back to “tip top” shape.