Frozen Comb and Wattle, Broken Feathers and more....

[WishfulChick]

I have a Moran Rooster, aprx. 1 yr. old. Yesterday we noticed its Comb was black and hard on the tips. The wattle also black in small spots, but had a big patch that looked more like a thick dark, yellowish scab on a few edges. I have been applying vasaline heavily and massaging carefully thinking this must be frostbite.

However my fear is that this rooster may have more wrong with him. All of his feathers seem to be cut/broken off nearly 1 to 1/2 inches from his skin. He has scabs and scaley skin in places. And near his rear-end there is a large patch of missing feathers that is also scaley and scabby. Could he also have some sore of mite problem.

His feet appear very white and the toes sort of lay flat against the floor.

I have quarentined him from the rest of the flock, and given him a heat lamp for warmth, but I worry about what to expect in the morning when I go check on him.

What should I do???

 

[JennsPeeps]

You've already separated him and given him warmth, which were smart moves.

Since you suspect that he has mites or lice, you'll need to treat those. Do you have Seven 5% dust? It can be purchased in the garden section of any hardware or home supply store.

You should give him some food with high protein in it. This will help with his feathers, those if he's not molting, he's stuck with the feathers until he does molt. Canned cat food, tuna fish, meat, hard-boiled eggs & the like are all good sources of protein.

 

[WishfulChick]

Im going to check the co-op today for the seven dust. Thanks for all your help. Any idea how the feathers ended up looking so horrible?

 

[sussexgal]

Good Morning Wishfulchick,

Is your roo low in the pecking order? Maybe the other chickens are picking at him causing the broken feathers?

 

[needmorechickens!]

If it is possible, get a picture of him and post it here.
Is he eating and drinking?
~Rebecca

 

[WishfulChick]

Until last week I have thought he was near the top end of the pecking order, but it seems this may be playing a part also. Another rooster ( Delaware) is also in the pen and may be above him. Unfortunately I dont have as much time as Id like to observe them. The pen is very large though and they have plenty of space, and plenty of hens of both types to contend to.

I will be taking several photos of him this evening and will post them later. This morning when I checked on him before work, he seemed happy struttin around making racket! His comb and waddle looked about the same as yesterday except well vasalined.

 

[chickenlady]

Those scabby areas could be from mite infestations. He could be getting anemic. You need to treat that ASAP if that is the case. Most likely it is. He could have broken all his feathers off trying to take care of his problem. If you have him inside already, I know this sounds crazy, but give him a nice warm bath and see if you can clean up those scabby areas and wash him with a flea and tick dog shampoo. Anyway, that is what I would do for starters. Best of luck with him.

 

[WishfulChick]

This is my sweet rooster. I finally figured out how to post the images, so I have two more, closer up.

 

[WishfulChick]

I dont know why these will not post bigger, but I hope that they help.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Hi wishful,

It's hard to tell from the full body pic. From what I could see, his legs look pretty good. The frostbitten parts of his comb will fall off over time.