Black Spots on some of my girls combs

[haybail2028]

Hi there!

Not sure how to go about diagnosing what some of my girls have but here is a picture of the dark black spots on some of their combs... I have googled and have read it could be fowl pox... or it could be mite damage. It doesn't seem to be painful when I touch it...I'm not sure what it is being that this is our first ever backyard flock, but I want to get it taken care of right away!! Any insight on what it is would be much appreciated!

 

[BantamLover21]

From the photo, those marks look more like scabbed-over injuries due to pecking or another cause. In that case, I would apply some antibiotic ointment to the blackened areas once daily until the scabs go away. I'd also spend some time observing your flock, and make sure there are no hens bullying the others and scratching their combs.

If not injuries, Fowl Pox is a possibility. There is no treatment for Fowl Pox, but the symptoms should go away after 2-6 weeks. One thing you could do is treat with antibiotics to prevent secondary infections. Otherwise, your hens should be fine. Fowl Pox is rarely fatal, especially in its dry (external) form. Wet fowl pox, which affects the mouth and upper respiratory tract, is a little more concerning. However, your hens only appear to have the dry form (for now).

 

[haybail2028]

Alright thank you so much! So if we do treat with antibiotics that should help prevent secondary infections such as the respiratory infections and such that could come from wet fowl pox, correct?

I will pay close attention to if we have a bully. It only appears on about 3 or so of our 8 girls so it very well could be bullying. Hopefully if it is the fowl pox it stays as just that... and doesn't extend past the (for now)! Will be applying some antibiotic ointment to the scabs to help them heal.

I appreciate your help! I was really stressing out trying to determine what it was! Sometimes google really freaks you out!

-Bailey