The chickens are just not looking good.....

[BarredBuff]

Most of my chickens have a pale pink comb. One of them is trying to moult. Some of them are really small. I have no clue what the deal is. Any ideas?

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Most of my chickens have a pale pink comb. One of them is trying to moult. Some of them are really small. I have no clue what the deal is. Any ideas?

They get pale when they are in rest mode. Bright red is sign of laying.

 

[BarredBuff]

They go in rest mode in the winter right?

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

They go in rest mode in the winter right?

Yes and when they are molting, which varies bird to bird according to age as well as time of year.

 

[lwheelr]

Make sure they have sufficient protein, because growing feathers back takes a lot.

 

[FarmerChick]

I had some of the ugliest chickens thru the years
just down right creature feature some days.....but they always improve. when I first got chickens I thought I was killing them somehow then I realized all chickens go thru that ugly stage

 

[patandchickens]

Yup, their combs shrink and pale when they are "off duty" from laying, b/c of molting or short days. I would not worry about it unless the hens are laying normally yet pale; or unless they have symptoms of illness.

The combs re-enlarge and redden up again when the birds come back into lay. Often that's a good way to know WHICH ones are laying and which ones aren't, during those sort of "shoulder seasons", which can be useful info if you are trying to select/cull.

(e.t.a. - you want ugly, you should see my 1.5-yr-old turkey hen Coco right now. She decided to molt more or less all at once about 10 days ago, currently has NO wing or tail feathers and her vent/butt/belly are basically naked, and only maybe 30% of her old feathers are left... everything else is just pinfeathers. THE ugliest bird I have ever seen. She seems cold, too (not surprisingly ) so I am keeping her and her daughter indoors til her feathers grow back. OTOH the good thing about molting all at once (and you should see what her pen's bedding looks like! LOL) is that it minimizes the time it takes, so hopefully in a month she will be reaosnably well back in business, except for the big long wing/tail feathers)

Pat

 

[lorihadams]

Pat, now that is just not fair....you simply MUST post a picture of your poor pitiful bird after that description....

 

[maf8009]

In winter our hens too, have the pink combs and stopped laying... I added extra protein (bought a bag of 48% soybean meal) and mix it with laying pellets 20% protein and Rice hulls....and best of all they LOVE rice hulls...

Go to grainery mills (look up on yellow pages) and best of all the rice and rice grains are FREE.. I got 1000 pounds... just bring a shovel and start filling bags.... The rice hulls have broken rice, huls and LOTS of bugs which is a lot of protein....

I think your hens need rest from molting and extra protein... also add ACV (apple cider vinager) to water as well as a bucket of wood ashes or DM (diatemecious (sp?) earth) for them to "bathe" in... will cut down on paracites..

Good luck (by the way... my hens started laying again!!! yahoo)

 

[BarredBuff]

Thanks guys!!