persistent pale comb ?

[kumokumo]

hello, my lavender orpington hen has been really pale for the past couple weeks and i don’t exactly know what’s wrong with her. maybe it’s because of the weather? they’ve been more cooped up lately, but even when it’s warm enough for the chickens to be let out, she’s still pale. a while back, she became very slow and disoriented so i was giving her some amoxicillin, and she’s been more active now but still very pale. she wasn’t acting like herself up until recently. she’s very social and cuddly, she loves her friends and her humans but she’s been very distant lately. i’ve been trying to comfort her with pets and cuddles, and she’s a lot happier than before, but i’m still worried about her. last year around this time, my little flock had a lice/mite infestation but we eventually got rid of it. i was worried she had mites again, but i check her regularly and i don’t see anything on her (i check her gland before her tail and her vent frequently, still nothing). she had a crazy molt a while ago, but she’s finishing up still, almost completely done. maybe i should feed her some egg yolk or meat? when i have fed her that, she hasn’t gotten more redder. i put vitamins and flock booster in their water this morning, and i’ll put some acv in there after they finish their gallon. maybe she’s pale because the others have been picking on her more. she’s moved to the second bottom in the pecking order now,, i have a salmon faverolle hen who is relentless and extremely bossy. here’s a photo of her from 2 days ago.

 

[SilverBirds]

My girls combs get pale and shriveled in the fall/winter when they stop laying for the year. Once the weather gets warmer and they're close to laying again, their combs plump and redden back up.

 

[kumokumo]

My girls combs get pale and shriveled in the fall/winter when they stop laying for the year. Once the weather gets warmer and they're close to laying again, their combs plump and redden back up.

oh, i wasn’t sure if that was happening. do your girls get as pale as kumo? i was worried because ive heard that some hens turn pale in the winter, and ive seen some photos but i haven’t seen any as pale as her. i put vaseline on their combs every week or so because it’s so cold here now, but hers only gets a little brighter when i put some on her. she didn’t look like this last year either, but she did start laying just last winter, so maybe she’s now pale because she’s mature?

 

[PrettyBirdRocky]

I was trying to find photos, will look later. But providing nothing else is concerning behavior wise, other than not laying, I'd say normal coloring. ---I say this as we recently had a girl go super pale but it was an off yellow pale, so not a normal fading of color. But she also showed other signs as well. I don't want to cause alarm, that's why I asked on the behavior. But I think just front the one photo she's just normal for winter.

We have one light Brahma that goes super pale you'd almost miss her wattles/comb in her white feathers whereas the others just fade to a pale pink, if that makes sense?

Our buff Orpington goes a dusty pink while molting.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

a while back, she became very slow and disoriented so i was giving her some amoxicillin, and she’s been more active now but still very pale. she wasn’t acting like herself up until recently.

maybe i should feed her some egg yolk or meat? when i have fed her that, she hasn’t gotten more redder. i put vitamins and flock booster in their water this morning, and i’ll put some acv in there after they finish their gallon. maybe she’s pale because the others have been picking on her more. she’s moved to the second bottom in the pecking order now

Is she laying eggs?

Usually a hen is paler when not in lay. Sounds like she may be finishing up molting and will hopefully resume laying once the weather warms a bit.

It's a bit concerning that the others are picking at her when I assume they weren't before.

Check her over again for lice/mites, look around the vent, under the wings, top of tail, etc. all over the body for any bugs.
See that her crop is emptying overnight.

What do you feed?
Can you take a sample of her poop to a vet for a fecal float to see if she needs deworming?

 

[kumokumo]

Is she laying eggs?

Usually a hen is paler when not in lay. Sounds like she may be finishing up molting and will hopefully resume laying once the weather warms a bit.

It's a bit concerning that the others are picking at her when I assume they weren't before.

Check her over again for lice/mites, look around the vent, under the wings, top of tail, etc. all over the body for any bugs.
See that her crop is emptying overnight.

What do you feed?
Can you take a sample of her poop to a vet for a fecal float to see if she needs deworming?

i don’t think she’s laying at the moment. i’ve seen others sitting in the nesting box, but not her. i think the others have been picking on her because they’ve been in their coop for a while now. i’ve done the best i’ve could, i gave them a digging box and lots of roosts, a seed block, and some lettuce heads to try and entertain them, but they get bored sometimes. she’s always been really docile as well, despite being bigger than the others. our oldest hen passed away in the fall, so the pecking order has been shifting a lot recently, so that’s why i think she was getting picked on. i noticed a little bit of blood on her comb, but other than that, she’s not getting picked on heavily. i was told that salmon faverolles were sweet and docile, but my hen is nothing close to that lol. she’s always had an attitude since chickhood. i’ll check her feathers tomorrow, ill use a flashlight as well, maybe that’ll help? ill also check her crop. i feed the sprout poultry layer crumble, but i feed lots of leftovers to them as well. i’m not sure if im able to get ahold of a vet, but ill see what i can do. thanks for your knowledge !!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

i don’t think she’s laying at the moment. i’ve seen others sitting in the nesting box, but not her. i think the others have been picking on her because they’ve been in their coop for a while now. i’ve done the best i’ve could, i gave them a digging box and lots of roosts, a seed block, and some lettuce heads to try and entertain them, but they get bored sometimes. she’s always been really docile as well, despite being bigger than the others. our oldest hen passed away in the fall, so the pecking order has been shifting a lot recently, so that’s why i think she was getting picked on. i noticed a little bit of blood on her comb, but other than that, she’s not getting picked on heavily. i was told that salmon faverolles were sweet and docile, but my hen is nothing close to that lol. she’s always had an attitude since chickhood. i’ll check her feathers tomorrow, ill use a flashlight as well, maybe that’ll help? ill also check her crop. i feed the sprout poultry layer crumble, but i feed lots of leftovers to them as well. i’m not sure if im able to get ahold of a vet, but ill see what i can do. thanks for your knowledge !!

Are they cooped up due to weather or?
Do they have a run that they can venture into during the day?

Being cooped up can cause quite a bit of stress if room is fairly close.

Yes, looking through the feathers with a flashlight is a very good idea!

 

[kumokumo]

Are they cooped up due to weather or?
Do they have a run that they can venture into during the day?

Being cooped up can cause quite a bit of stress if room is fairly close.

Yes, looking through the feathers with a flashlight is a very good idea!

they’re cooped up due to the weather. it’s been persistently at almost or below 0 degrees , and they don’t have a run because their coop is about 3 feet by 12 feet i think ? , and i have 5 chickens. 3 are standard sized (2 lav orp, 1 salmon) and 2 are bantams (i don’t know the exact breeds, but one is a hen and the other is a rooster, but they’re approximately pigeon sized). they free range in the back yard when the weather is above 30 degrees without too much wind. here’s a photo of their coop from a couple months ago in the summer, it looks exactly the same but with a digging box, heater, and seed block.