I went into the coop last night and notice that there was blood smears on the feeder, right where their combs would touch when eating. I checked all the chickens, only 2 have combs big enough to touch. Then i noticed my rooster mounting one of my girls (with a comb) and he grabs her by it to hold on! Is that normal? I also notice upon inspection that my rooster comb has black on 2 tips, frostbite? We have a very well ventilated coop. The only thing i can think of is to much humidity due to poop? I was cleaning under the rooster every week, maybe week and a half. I thought it would help add heat. Could that be the culprit? ( i do have 11 Bantams). Any thoughts? Thanks!
nuttyredhead - Based on my limited rooster experience and what I have read on this site, roosters can damage a hen's comb as you described, and I believe this is normal. Perhaps others with more experience will comment as well. If you notice others pecking her because of the blood on her comb, you can put some Blu-Kote on her comb to hide the red so it won't be noticeable to the other chickens. It's hard to know what is going on with your rooster's comb without a picture. Frostbite can cause what you described, but so can other conditions like fowl pox. Can you post some pictures so others on here can see what it looks like and be better able to help you?
