What are the black spots on my roo's comb?

Does anyone know what the black spots on my rooster's comb are? I've attached a photo but you have to blow it up to really see them.

Is this what blackhead or bluecomb look like?

I first noticed the spots this morning. This rooster free ranges with one hen, who also has the spots though less noticeably. The other birds, who are separate, don't. The two groups are separated in the coop by chicken wire.

I'm concerned because I recently lost a hen to hepatitis, probably vibrionic hepatitis. Since then, for the past few days, I've been treating all the birds with terramycin (on a vet's advice).

I don't know if this is relevant but yesterday afternoon I locked the two affected birds inside the coop and let the others out, so they were in the coop for several hours when they would normally be ranging.

This rooster is a new addition. He started spending the day here a couple of months ago and I've been letting him sleep in the coop for a couple of weeks (he was abandoned).

Any ideas what's going on? Disease, injury, dirt?

It might be "comb scab." When pecking each other, chickens often go for unprotected areas like the comb and wattles. If the skin is broken, a black scab will form (just like scabs on an injured human). Since he's new, he's probably been in a few pecking order squabbles.

It's not cold enough for it to be frostbite, or that would be my other guess.

He doesn't have direct contact with any of the birds except one hen. But maybe they were pecking each other when they were locked in yesterday. Would a hen peck a rooster?

My big combed birds get scabs all the time but mostly from picking each other.


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Do your scabs look like my photo? Would a disease, like bluecomb or blackhead look different?

I probably sound hysterical but I missed the disease in the hen that died, so I want to be careful this time.

Can you get a better, closer pic of his comb? More often it is just peck scabs, and yes a hen will peck a roo, especially a bossy one. Fowl poxs is normally a raised welt with scab. His looks like it is on the tips of his comb, prob. just bites.

Photographing him is hard (he doesn't stand still and isn't very tame) but I've got a few more that show his comb more clearly. Please let me know if you still need a better picture, though.

I'd be surprised if the hen is causing this, although who knows. She isn't usually very bossy. But they were locked in together for a few hours yesterday afternoon for the first time when it hasn't been dark or gloomy.

Looks like peck wounds to me. Also they can get them from insects, scratching their comb against something, another chicken interested in something stuck on his comb,etc. If other wise he acts normal, should be fine. P.S. you can go to the top of the page to The Learning Center, and look under dieases, it gives some good pics of different stuff.

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Chickie would peck Roo. She has even jumped on his back a couple of times. She bullies him and he bullies her.

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sorry if this is off topic, but I just have to ask...You mentioned that he is only with one hen... I am trying to decide if it's ok to have an EE pair together in a pen next to 10 girls that I don't want exposed to the rooster. How does it work with yours? Is the rooster too physical with the hen sometimes or does it work out ok? Do they pick on one another?