Purple comb?

[member 593900]

The back of my FBCM rooster’s comb has turned purple. Google gave me about 50,000 possible causes and no useful information on how to determine such causes, so I’m hoping someone here can help me narrow it down.

He’s about 9 months old and comes from the very reputable Alchemist Farm. I’ve had him since October. I did a quick check on his feet today when I noticed he was avoiding standing on one just a little - that foot looks a bit irritated, but no signs of bumblefoot, which is what I was expecting. That’s when I noticed his comb. No frost to speak of around here, so I know it’s not frostbite, and there are no other physical anomalies. He’s acting perfectly like himself and eating just fine. I didn’t see him drink while I was out there, but I don’t have reason to think he’s dehydrated, either. The flock consists of him, 3 ducks, 5 pullets, and another chicken who I bought as a hen but randomly developed wattles and became a rooster last month despite being 2 years old (but my genderfluid chicken is a whole ’nother post). I don’t believe he and my surprise rooster have been fighting, and I don’t see any signs of injury to his comb, just the discoloration. There have been no substantial changes to the flock recently, no one else is showing any concerning signs, and I’m just kind of stumped.

Any ideas on where to start? Can I even get a definitive diagnosis without a necropsy? Which I would strongly prefer to avoid, since, ya know, he’d have to die for that to work. If culling is necessary, I’d at least want to turn him into a good stew out of respect, but I’m worried that won’t be an option of he’s sick. I’m all kinds of distraught.

Anyways, here he is. This is Chris Pime, Esq. and he’s a very feisty boy.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Could he be getting picked on by the other chickens? I have to many roosters at the moment and the one on the bottom of the pecking orders comb looks similar when bruised. I don’t see a lot of dried blood though. And no I definitely wouldn’t considered culling him over it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I did a quick check on his feet today when I noticed he was avoiding standing on one just a little - that foot looks a bit irritated

He’s acting perfectly like himself and eating just fine

The flock consists of him, 3 ducks, 5 pullets, and another chicken who I bought as a hen but randomly developed wattles and became a rooster last month despite being 2 years old (chicken says trans rights I guess 🏳‍️??? but my gender fluid chicken is a whole ’nother post). I don’t believe he and my surprise rooster have been fighting

Got a photo of the foot?

See if his comb goes back red early in the morning. The purple may be hormones or it could be an indication of loss of oxygen. Nothing you can really do about that.
I would watch to see that he's eating/drinking well and that his crop is emptying overnight.

Got a photo of the hen that became a rooster? How did she become a rooster? What does she do?

 

[member 593900]

Could he be getting picked on by the other chickens? I have to many roosters at the moment and the one on the bottom of the pecking orders comb looks similar when bruised. I don’t see a lot of dried blood though. And no I definitely wouldn’t considered culling him over it.

I’ve kept an eye on him and his comb has returned to normal pretty much on it’s own. Thankfully he’s at the top of the pecking order so I don’t think he needs to worry about injury.

 

[member 593900]

Got a photo of the foot?

See if his comb goes back red early in the morning. The purple may be hormones or it could be an indication of loss of oxygen. Nothing you can really do about that.
I would watch to see that he's eating/drinking well and that his crop is emptying overnight.

Got a photo of the hen that became a rooster? How did she become a rooster? What does she do?

Foot and comb have returned to normal, thankfully. I’ll keep an eye out but perhaps it was a one-off oddity.

This is my hen that became a rooster. I have absolutely no idea what happened - I bought him/her as the hen of a laying pair last fall, the roo ran off while free ranging, but he/she stayed and raised my first batch of pullets. He/she never gave me any eggs, but I figured that was because it was winter. A few weeks ago I started hearing weird, low pitched crows - I thought it was my roo in the above post at first, but lo and behold, I caught this one crowing. Shame on me for not keeping a closer eye during daily checks, but it’s like they grew a full sized comb and wattle overnight. I don’t know if he/she was always a roo that just failed to develop roo attributes until nearly 2 years of age or if he/she really did switch entirely, but I’m absolutely perplexed as to what could have triggered the sudden switch in sex characteristics.

 

[SHP]

Got a photo of the foot?

See if his comb goes back red early in the morning. The purple may be hormones or it could be an indication of loss of oxygen. Nothing you can really do about that.
I would watch to see that he's eating/drinking well and that his crop is emptying overnight.

Got a photo of the hen that became a rooster? How did she become a rooster? What does she do?

How would you check if the crop was emptying?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How would you check if the crop was emptying?

The crop is located on the right side of the breast. If you feel it when the bird goes to roost, it should feel like it has something in it - maybe like a firm ball (feed/water). Go out again right before the bird comes off the roost, before they have have anything to eat/drink - re-feel the crop, it should be empty/flat.

 

[SHP]

The crop is located on the right side of the breast. If you feel it when the bird goes to roost, it should feel like it has something in it - maybe like a firm ball (feed/water). Go out again right before the bird comes off the roost, before they have have anything to eat/drink - re-feel the crop, it should be empty/flat.

Thank you!