Half of roosters face is white?! Please help

[Lhynes1478]

I have 11wk old chicks. Everyone is fine and eating, drinking, pooping well. But I noticed one side of my roosters face is pale white while the other side is red. I remember my boyfriend telling me a week or so ago this was happening but I didn’t notice with his crest. His crest also droops to that side covering it. Pin feathers just started coming in on his head about 2 weeks ago. Lots of scratching his face on that side. Ideas? Thanks!

 

[SmiYa0126]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive pleas help!

Do you see any wounds around the crest? It almost looks like there is circulation is cut off. Can your bf hold him while you inspect every inch of his head?

 

[Eggcessive]

That looks strange. I haven’t seen that before. Is his left/red side or eye area swollen? The white might be from something like a spider bite, but I really don’t know.

 

[azygous]

First thing, scratching his face means it hurts him, not itching, hurts.

Feel the white tissue and feel the red side. Does the white side feel cold compared to the normal side? Cold means the tissue is in danger of dying.

You don't mention where you are located, but seeing the green in the background, I'm guessing it's not winter and this is not frostbite. Something has damaged that tissue, though.

It really would help to know your location as there are some very nasty insects in some locales that can do that kind of damage. I'm in southern Colorado and just this week, I picked up two buck moth caterpillars that have nasty poisonous spines that can kill tissue instantly. Several years ago, three young chicks of mine pecked at one of these caterpillars and it turned their tongues white and caused seizures and killed them.

I would look around for something on that order. Buck moth caterpillars are pretty common in the southwestern US.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Here's what to look for:

And it turns into this:

They live in oak forests, "stretching in the United States from peninsular Florida to New England, and as far west as Texas and Kansas," according to Wikipedia.

 

[azygous]

These are two different buck moth caterpillars. The lower one is covered with parasites. It was the caterpillar that killed my chicks. The top one is more recent. I'm getting better at seeing them and removing them before my chickens engage with them.

 

[Lhynes1478]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive pleas help!

Do you see any wounds around the crest? It almost looks like there is circulation is cut off. Can your bf hold him while you inspect every inch of his head?

Thank you so much. No wounds. I will double check that nothing is cutting off circulation here in a second and will update! It has apparently been this way for a while. Again thank you!

 

[Lhynes1478]

That looks strange. I haven’t seen that before. Is his left/red side or eye area swollen? The white might be from something like a spider bite, but I really don’t know.

Right! If it was his whole face and comb I feel like I would be able to find answers but it’s just that right side. His left side looks great and really red.

 

[Lhynes1478]

Right! If it was his whole face and comb I feel like I would be able to find answers but it’s just that right side. His left side looks great and really red. Also thank you!

 

[Lhynes1478]

First thing, scratching his face means it hurts him, not itching, hurts.

Feel the white tissue and feel the red side. Does the white side feel cold compared to the normal side? Cold means the tissue is in danger of dying.

You don't mention where you are located, but seeing the green in the background, I'm guessing it's not winter and this is not frostbite. Something has damaged that tissue, though.

It really would help to know your location as there are some very nasty insects in some locales that can do that kind of damage. I'm in southern Colorado and just this week, I picked up two buck moth caterpillars that have nasty poisonous spines that can kill tissue instantly. Several years ago, three young chicks of mine pecked at one of these caterpillars and it turned their tongues white and caused seizures and killed them.

I would look around for something on that order. Buck moth caterpillars are pretty common in the southwestern US.

I am in Alaska, USA. We mostly deal with biting flies, white Sox and mosquitos. Hes the only one affected. I will double check that these don’t have a range that reaches to Alaska. Thank you so much.