We cannot ask a chicken, and get a reply, how it’s feeling with regards to its physical health and its state of mind, but what we can do is observe the bird’s behavior and appearance to figure out what’s going on with it.
If your chicken’s comb turns purple, and if the bird becomes lethargic, this article will help to explain why
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Chicken Has A Purple Comb And Is Lethargic:
A chicken’s comb can show you whether your bird is in good or bad health.
Many of us expect our chicken’s comb to be forever bright red or at least rosy. If your bird’s comb is not bright red, or rosy, then there is likely something going on with your bird. Here are reasons why this may be happening:
Circulation problems:
You can tell whether a bird has good or bad circulation by looking at its comb. If your bird’s comb turns purple, and the bird becomes lethargic, then the bird may have poor circulation or a lack of oxygen in the blood.
This can develop because the bird has an issue with its respiratory system, or because the bird has a heart problem causing heart failure, a heart attack, or a stroke.
What to do:
If you think that your bird has a circulation problem then you’d need to get your pet to the vet as soon as you can.
Something stuck in its throat:
If your chicken’s comb is turning purple then this can also mean that there is something stuck in your bird’s throat. If something is stuck in your bird’s throat, this object will reduce the amount of air that your bird manages to get into its body.
A lack of air circulating in the bird’s body will turn the bird’s comb purple and cause it to become lethargic.
What to do:
You’d have to check whether there is in fact something stuck in your bird’s throat. Gently, yet firmly, hold your bird and keep her wings flat, this position will keep her from flapping and keep her calm.
Open her mouth to check her throat. If there is something stuck in her throat then you’d need to try to break the object up or move the object down her throat.
You can use olive oil, or any vegetable oil, to help lubricate her throat and break up or get the object down. You can use a small plastic syringe to do this, use the one that is normally used for baby medicine.
Squirt the oil down the back of your bird’s throat where the object is. Let the oil run down her throat and then gently massage the throat to try to get the object down.
Massage slowly and carefully trying to break the object up or get it down the throat if the object can’t be broken down.
Once the object is dislodged, keep an eye on your bird for the rest of the day to make sure that it’s ok.
If you can’t seem to get the object down, then you’d need to take the bird to the vet as soon as you can. Surgery may be required to remove the object.
Avian flu:
Another reason why your bird’s comb may be turning purple and why the bird may be acting lethargic may be because the bird has avian flu.
Avian flu is a quick-spreading disease that can be caught by chickens as well as waterfowl like ducks and geese as well.
The illness is spread from infected birds to healthy birds, from infected birds to your shoes, hands, or clothing and then to your other birds. It can also be spread to chickens on equipment as well as on farming materials and egg crates.
If you think that your bird has this disease, then the bird will likely show a few other avian flu symptoms like a lack of appetite, diarrhea, purple wattles and legs, sneezing, coughing, a runny nose, falling down, stumbling, decreased egg production and laying soft-shelled eggs.
What to do :
The best thing that you can do in this situation is to first isolate the bird that you think has this illness, then get the bird to the vet as soon as you can. Not having your bird seen by a vet can mean the rapid decline and death of your bird.
Cleaning the area is also important, all the areas that the illness can attach to need to be cleaned, this includes equipment, cages, and tools. Also, throw away manure and dead birds.
Avoid handling healthy birds, after handling your sick birds, without washing your hands. Not washing your hands after handling birds can lead to cross-contamination.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Iodine For Fowlpox, Chicken Comb Turning Grey, Chicken Comb Turning Blue, Turmeric For Fowlpox, Toothpaste For Fowlpox