Rooster has dark stripes on comb and wattles

Nov 2, 2022
30
40
54
NE Oklahoma
My roo came out of the coop this morning with wide dark stripes through the middle of his comb and around the curves of his wattles. It doesn't appear to be frostbite. He has been unusually quiet today, and has spent the day on a roost in the run. He doesn't run at me, which is odd. I put Rooster Booster in their water this afternoon, and fed them some fruit. I have not put Vaseline on any of the chickens.

My coop is small, has a peaked roof, and it's covered with a quilt for insulation and plastic for wind- & waterproofing. Drafting is going to be minimal. They have cross ventilation at the roof peak. Their bedding is dry, so it's unlikely condensation dripped on him. Even so, I think it would have run down the ceiling and not dropped direcly on him, particularly in such a pattern. None of the hens seem to be affected.

The run is also protected from the wind. They have south sun, a heated waterer, and can go under the coop for more wind block.

Has anyone seen anything like this? I'm concerned it's circulatory. He's a pain in the rear, but I don't want to lose him. If it is frostbite, how does it go through the middle of the comb?

Thanks in advance.
 

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I found this photo online of mild frostbite, and it could be possible that it might not be so bad. Make sure that he does not have water inside the coop, and there are no drafts on him. Overhead ventilation in the coop high up can rid the moisture which can help prevent frostbite.
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I found this photo online of mild frostbite, and it could be possible that it might not be so bad. Make sure that he does not have water inside the coop, and there are no drafts on him. Overhead ventilation in the coop high up can rid the moisture which can help prevent frostbite.
View attachment 3726682
That certainly looks similar! I've always seen frost bite start on the tips. No water in the coop and there is cross-ventilation at the roof peaks. They were out in the snow and wind for a couple of hours yesterday. They're all in the run today.
 
I've found bag balm applied about once a week and keeping things dry but well ventilated so moisture doesn't build up goes a long way towards avoiding frost bite.
 

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