My rooster has a light pink comb!

[Amber the Easter Egger]

My rooster has always had the reddest comb. Now it is light pink. He is also acting really mean to the hens but was a sweet guy, who shared his treats. He chases the hens around and wont let them eat. We thought we would give him a little to get better. But he has been like this for over a month. He is not molting has no mites either.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

How old is he?

 

[Amber the Easter Egger]

He is 1 and a half years old.

How old is he?

 

[Amber the Easter Egger]

He has always looked like this.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Can you post a picture of his poop? Has his crop been functioning properly (completely flat in the morning)? What feed do you feed him, including treats? Is he or any of your other chickens showing any other symptoms? Have you added any new birds to their flock?

 

[Amber the Easter Egger]

One died yesterday she had symptoms similar to mareks.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I'm so sorry. Did you separate her from the flock when she started showing symptoms?

 

[Amber the Easter Egger]

Yes, I separated her, she was holding as well, which made it harder on her.
It has been a while since we added a chicken to our flock, his crop seems to be working perfectly fine, it is always full. He has seemed to lose s lot of weight though he is only about 5 pounds, he was 8ish pounds. But he has been eating a lot. We feed the country road layer pellets, and have always given them dried mealworms. And recently started feeding the,m these new treats. After he started doing this though. I will check in the morning if his crop is flat. And I do not think any others are showing these symptoms. But they have seemed to have fowl pox. Because they have black spots on their comb. I do not have any photos of their comb, but I will get some tomorrow. And his poop is like it always has been, medium brown.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

@EggSighted4Life is very knowledgeable about feeds. I know a lot of folks feed their rooster layer feed, but it's not good for them in the long run. A non layer doesn't have the same calcium needs as a layer. Excess calcium is hard on their bodies and isn't flushed out safely like many vitamins and minerals. I'm not convinced that is what's going on with him now, but I wanted to let you know. I should add that many folks that feed layer feed have roosters that live to an old age without any problems. I guess it's the same with humans.
As far as his crop, it shouldn't be full all the time. @azygous and @Wyorp Rock helped me with one of my hens today and crops came up. His crop should be flat (aka empty) first thing in the morning before he has any food or water. This is an important thing to take note on anytime a bird is unwell. If he's suffering from a crop disorder, that will certainly cause him to lose weight and to be unwell.
You mention fowl pox. Yes, please take some pics of his face - comb and wattles, to share on this thread. Have you opened his beak to check inside and down his throat? Wet pox is more difficult for the bird and its important to know if he's suffering from wet or dry or both.
I've tagged some incredibly knowledgeable folks that are always helpful. I will be thinking about him and cheering for his full recovery.

 

[azygous]

Your rooster is old enough for his first molt. Some roosters molt very discretely, and you may not be aware that he is changing his "outfit" in slow motion. It's normal for some chickens to lose a bit of weight during molt as it can dull the appetite. Also, hormones are squelched during molt and this affects the color of the comb and wattles, causing them to shrink, appear dry, and turn a pale pink.

If you suspect a chicken in your flock has died from Marek's, then it's possible this rooster is showing symptoms. Marek's is very contagious so all the flock would have been exposed if that hen had Marek's.