I noticed a few small black spots on one of my pullets comb. On the side of her head, the comb looks a greenish color like it's mildewed. She spends most of her day inside the coop due to the bigger chickens picking on her. It's not too cold and the coop is dry. I turn a light on for them during afternoon. None of the other chickens seem to have this problem. She is eating and drinking without difficulty. What could this be? Thank you!
Black spots on combs are often pecking injuries, but I have no idea what the green is. Some bacteria cause a greenish residue so I'd probably put an antibiotic ointmnent on the comb for a few days to see if it helps. You could also try an antifungal cream -- one of those sold for people as athlete's foot cream. When choosing an antibiotic ointment for chickens, the only caution is to be sure there is no "caine" drug in it. Examples are benzocaine and cetacaine -- this is a large group of drugs, but all end with "caine." If you live where there are mosquitoes this time of year, fowl pox is another possibility. This is a viral disease carried by mosquitoes which usually requires no treatment. It runs a course of about 3 weeks and goes away. Chickens who had it once are then immune for life. Sometimes a spot will get a secondary infection and benefit from something like antibiotic ointment, dilute Betadine, etc. Rarely, fowl pox is seen in its "wet" form, which is more serious, but this does not present as black spots on combs.
