Rooster’s comb turning purple??

[lisakathleen]

This is my rooster Marco Pollo. His comb has turned purple in less than 24 hours. He seems to be eating and drinking normally and is still his usual feisty self. He is usually an avid crower but today he is only crowing 2-3 times an hour. He’s about 11 months old. Thanks in advance for any help!!

 

[JNC]

If he’s eating and drinking okay I wouldn’t be too worried. Most of the time it indicates respiratory issue or lack of oxygen. Is your coop really dusty? If it goes back down in the morning it was probably just hormones. I have heard of roosters getting purple combs on and off because of hormones.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sometimes big combed roosters can have darkening on tips and toward the back. It sometimes is thought to be due to excitement or temperature. Does the color improve at different times of the day? If so, I would not worry about it. Usually, when there is something seriously wrong, such as a heart problem or dehydration, the whole comb will become blue. I am not a vet, but this is just something I have seen in a few roosters.

 

[lisakathleen]

Thanks for the advise! When I went back to check on him about a half hour later his comb was completely back to normal I had checked his crop and breathing and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Their coop isn’t dusty so maybe it was just a rush of hormones? He is a rather randy rooster

 

[Kirmi8]

Okay this must be a common thing to happen to guys with bigger combs. My guy has the exact same thing as yours. Seems to come and go and he appears completely healthy.

 

[Shadrach]

This is my rooster Marco Pollo. His comb has turned purple in less than 24 hours. He seems to be eating and drinking normally and is still his usual feisty self. He is usually an avid crower but today he is only crowing 2-3 times an hour. He’s about 11 months old. Thanks in advance for any help!!View attachment 2787237View attachment 2787238

I don't want to be alarmist but comb darkening like that, it comes and goes, is one sign of impending liver failure.
The cause for some is they've been fed layers pellets, which are obviously for laying hens and not for roosters. Roosters, some at least, cannot process the high levels of calcium in the layers pellets.

 

[Lizzy733]

I don't want to be alarmist but comb darkening like that, it comes and goes, is one sign of impending liver failure.
The cause for some is they've been fed layers pellets, which are obviously for laying hens and not for roosters. Roosters, some at least, cannot process the high levels of calcium in the layers pellets.

Yellow in the urates is also a good indicator of liver/kidney function issues, so keep an eye out the next time he poops. Urates should be white and I've seen them 'curry yellow' in a very sick hen on her deathbed, so it can be a good scale as to how bad the problem is.

 

[SHP]

I don't want to be alarmist but comb darkening like that, it comes and goes, is one sign of impending liver failure.
The cause for some is they've been fed layers pellets, which are obviously for laying hens and not for roosters. Roosters, some at least, cannot process the high levels of calcium in the layers pellets.

my 6m old Mr Wilson is like this too. (The picture doesn't show it quite as dark as it actually is.They all share the same feed and I often try to offer him more protein. I dont have a way to feed them separately at this point, but we don't feed them pellets, it's a layer mix from a local producer and we offer free choice oyster shell for the girls.

It's not been under 8c in the coop for a while, even at night.

It's been off and on since he was younger, even before he let the girls strip his neck and chest

I've only seen white urates when he poops. Everything seems pretty normal otherwise. Still active, still crowing incessantly and after the girls futterwugging all of the time.

Just checked him over for mites again, nothing. Just not sure what to think. Hoping it's hormones.

 

[Crazi Oma]

Thanks for the advise! When I went back to check on him about a half hour later his comb was completely back to normal I had checked his crop and breathing and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Their coop isn’t dusty so maybe it was just a rush of hormones? He is a rather randy rooster

I haven't heard "randy" used for an overly amorous dude in ages. Not since I left BC some forty years ago. It's true, many young roosters deserve that name. My six month old RIR named Reuben is as randy as they come - and his coxcomb goes through several color changes a day from cardinal red, to purple around the rear, and back again. He's obviously got plenty of testosterone he just doesn't know what exactly to do with it. He can't figure out what end of a lady he is supposed to want to mount.