Anything wrong with this rooster?

[BorregoMike]

Several of my hens have this same thing on the back of the neck but I figured it was caused by this guy, grabbing by the back of the neck when he mates. I was surprised a couple days ago to see the rooster has the same thing. It looks to me like feather have been plucked out but I've never seen one of the hens bold enough to do this to him. He, and the hens, are not loosing feathers anywhere else.

The other thing is the black on his comb. He won't let me pick him up so I can't look closely but this shot shows it pretty well.

My birds are all 8 months old and a first time with chickens so I figured I would ask the community here what is going on.

 

[AmyJane725]

Is that black stuff on the other side of his comb too?

 

[BorregoMike]

Yes

 

[AmyJane725]

Yes

Was it always black, or did it start out lighter? White or yellow?

 

[BorregoMike]

It was red, normal red. He had a couple points of the comb that went totally black but they are a bit better now. You can see second and third points from the back that are still a little black.

 

[AmyJane725]

It was red, normal red. He had a couple points of the comb that went totally black but they are a bit better now. You can see second and third points from the back that are still a little black.

Do you think you could catch him to do a closer exam? See if that black stuff comes off, or if it seems like it's part of his body. Check his neck (and the rest of his feathers) for creepy crawlies.

 

[BorregoMike]

What are you thinking, cones off does not come off?

 

[AmyJane725]

What are you thinking, cones off does not come off?

Well, the only thing I know of off hand that causes black stuff on a comb is the dry form of fowl pox, but it looks like he has one big spot, rather than a bunch of smaller ones. And they usually have some white stuff around the black too. That just looks black.

I'm wondering if it's a fungus or something. I was curious if you could get close and see if it smells bad or if you can wipe some of it off, say what it feels like (crusty, moist, hard, normal, etc). The more information the better.

I guess the only other thing I know of that causes black comb is frostbite, but it's the wrong time of year for that. It hasn't been cold where you live in the last few weeks has it? That would explain the tips going black at least. I feel like it would have taken the tips before the middle of the comb though, so that's another reason I think it's something else.

 

[AmyJane725]

@Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @casportpony @Texas Kiki @dawg53

Any ideas?

 

[BorregoMike]

No chance of frostbite here. I am actually taking them through the first few days of a normal summer, it spiked to 114 this afternoon.

The blackened spikes do have some white at the base of the white tips. I’ll see if I can catch him tomorrow,