I have been searching both here and on Google and I have found too many answers...
Here is my rooster's comb:
He seems perfectly healthy otherwise- he's my alpha rooster and has been doing all his normal rooster-y duties, running for treats, etc. He's not itching or tossing his head. My other two roosters have a tiny bit of this on their combs as well, but not nearly as bad. I don't see anything on my hens' combs.
At first I thought it was just dirt, because it seems to not always been in the same exact spots.
Then I thought they were scabs from altercations with each other. But I never see my roosters fight. Ever. No, I'm not out there all the time, but I am out there a lot. They seem to have a pretty set pecking order.
Then I thought it might be mites, so I treated with bag balm to smother them out. Other than their combs getting super dirty (because the dirt clung to their combs) it didn't seem to help at all. And on this particular rooster it got worse. It was then I started to notice white spots/halos around the black spots.
Then I stumbled across a post on favus- could it be that?
I don't think it's avian pox, because the scabs don't seem wart-like and aren't very raised, or no more than a scab should be.
I tried to check him for lice/mites in his feathers when I caught him for this picture, but he is dang hard to hold onto, and I don't have anyone home to help me.
Anyone have any input? I want to get this treated before it gets out of hand, but I don't know what to treat for! Or should I just use a topical wormer/parasite treatment AND treat with lotrimin (for favus).
Here is my rooster's comb:
He seems perfectly healthy otherwise- he's my alpha rooster and has been doing all his normal rooster-y duties, running for treats, etc. He's not itching or tossing his head. My other two roosters have a tiny bit of this on their combs as well, but not nearly as bad. I don't see anything on my hens' combs.
At first I thought it was just dirt, because it seems to not always been in the same exact spots.
Then I thought they were scabs from altercations with each other. But I never see my roosters fight. Ever. No, I'm not out there all the time, but I am out there a lot. They seem to have a pretty set pecking order.
Then I thought it might be mites, so I treated with bag balm to smother them out. Other than their combs getting super dirty (because the dirt clung to their combs) it didn't seem to help at all. And on this particular rooster it got worse. It was then I started to notice white spots/halos around the black spots.
Then I stumbled across a post on favus- could it be that?
I don't think it's avian pox, because the scabs don't seem wart-like and aren't very raised, or no more than a scab should be.
I tried to check him for lice/mites in his feathers when I caught him for this picture, but he is dang hard to hold onto, and I don't have anyone home to help me.
Anyone have any input? I want to get this treated before it gets out of hand, but I don't know what to treat for! Or should I just use a topical wormer/parasite treatment AND treat with lotrimin (for favus).
