A simple cure for black spots on comb!

[azygous]

Yeah, I know. There have been at least one of these kinds of posts every day. It's been a cruel winter, and our feathered friends are in danger of suffering real damage from the intense cold. You're worried. I'm worried.

I've been noticing my SLW roo Stan has black spots on his comb. He's about seven months old, and is pretty pampered. It's been cold, and I was beginning to fear it could, indeed be frost bite in spite of all the precautions I've been taking. I had been assuming that the hens might be giving him an occasional peck, and I was just seeing scabs, but this morning my paranoia overcame me.

I needed to confirm, for my own peace of mind, what those black spots actually were. So I hauled that scamp into the kitchen, ran some warm water, and scrubbed his little noggin with a tooth brush and some baby shampoo. When I rinsed off his comb, it was a pristine red - flawless except for one spot that was an obvious peck scab.

So, my recommendation to anyone who has a roo, or hen, with black spots that are beginning to be of concern, try gently washing the comb in warm sudsy water before you panic, chasing after a diagnosis of frost bite, pox or whatever.

 

[purpletree23]

Excellent suggestion. I had to laugh when i visualized the rooster on your kitchen counter being scrubbed with a toothbrush! Oh the indignity! Too funny.

This past spring a poster wrote that her hens were bleeding to death. There poop was all red. She was frantic. I asked her if the red in the poop was getting darker as the poops got older. She wrote back that no they were not. I then asked her what she fed then the day before...any scraps etc. She replied that yes she fed them cooked beets.

We all have to remind ourselves to take a deep breath and think.