Hello!
I wasn't sure where to post this, as it wasn't a breed question per se, just an oddity my particular cockerel has. I have a Buff Orpington cockerel I purchased (or "rescued" depending on how you view it), from a very overcrowded feed store. I would say that many of the birds had no more than 1 - 1 1/2 square feet despite being full grown and cooped up all day. Many had been severely pecked with lots of missing feathers. Out of the many Buff Orpingtons, he was their only cockerel, so feeling rather sorry for him and thinking in the back of my head that I have always wanted a BO male, I purchased him (for a hefty sum of $20).
I brought him home and quarantined in the garage for about a week. He looked healthy and his feathers were beginning to grow back in, so I began introducing him to my flock in a see but no touch environment. After a couple days of that, he was integrated into the flock and his been roosting with them for 2-3 days now. Yesterday, my mom pointed out that he has white earlobes. I'm pretty sure he had white earlobes when I bought him, though I can't remember for sure (I should have taken a pic when I brought him home). I know he is hatchery stock, so could this be an impurity from mixing White Leghorn genes to improve laying rates? Or is it an infection of the fungi Favus? The earlobes do not feel powdery, and it is not on his comb or other parts of his face. Unfortunately, I did not think much of the white earlobes as being a problem before introducing him to the flock. I hope the other chickens are not going to be affected as it is to my knowledge a rather slow spreading ailment.
He is going back into quarantine and I have preemptively applied some miconazole to his earlobes. Photos:
No tail
But it's beginning to grow back!
Feedback is much appreciated. Thanks!
I wasn't sure where to post this, as it wasn't a breed question per se, just an oddity my particular cockerel has. I have a Buff Orpington cockerel I purchased (or "rescued" depending on how you view it), from a very overcrowded feed store. I would say that many of the birds had no more than 1 - 1 1/2 square feet despite being full grown and cooped up all day. Many had been severely pecked with lots of missing feathers. Out of the many Buff Orpingtons, he was their only cockerel, so feeling rather sorry for him and thinking in the back of my head that I have always wanted a BO male, I purchased him (for a hefty sum of $20).
I brought him home and quarantined in the garage for about a week. He looked healthy and his feathers were beginning to grow back in, so I began introducing him to my flock in a see but no touch environment. After a couple days of that, he was integrated into the flock and his been roosting with them for 2-3 days now. Yesterday, my mom pointed out that he has white earlobes. I'm pretty sure he had white earlobes when I bought him, though I can't remember for sure (I should have taken a pic when I brought him home). I know he is hatchery stock, so could this be an impurity from mixing White Leghorn genes to improve laying rates? Or is it an infection of the fungi Favus? The earlobes do not feel powdery, and it is not on his comb or other parts of his face. Unfortunately, I did not think much of the white earlobes as being a problem before introducing him to the flock. I hope the other chickens are not going to be affected as it is to my knowledge a rather slow spreading ailment.
He is going back into quarantine and I have preemptively applied some miconazole to his earlobes. Photos:
No tail
But it's beginning to grow back!Feedback is much appreciated. Thanks!
