How should you treat bleeding combs?

[elmdene]

It's finally happened - Basil and Herbert, my 2 pekin cockerels, who seemed to tolerating each other quite well until now, appeared this afternoon with their combs and wattles in a total bloody mess, presumably after fighting over their girls. Herbert's was especially bad and it looked really sore around his eyes, although thankfully they don't look damaged themselves. I tried to bathe off some of the blood but it had gone black and scabby so I didn't want to make it bleed again by removing the scabs. Should I be treating it with anything or just leave it to heal itself? I only have the purple antiseptic spray which is fine for feet but I wouldn't want to put it anywhere near their eyes. I think it probably looks worse than it is but I don't want to risk infection - any suggestions?

 

[Chuck]

Mine often fight and unless they are very badly torn, I leave them alone. It's surprising how quickly the bleeding stops and they heal. If I do use anything it's clear wound spray - don't like the purple too messy !

 

[Marigold]

I don't know about bleeding combs on cockerels but for my quails I've used antibiotic powder when the male has damaged the top of the females head when mating. You have to be careful not to get it in their eyes but this is easier than with the spray and it helps dry up the wound.

 

[kegs]

You can use the purple spray. Just take the bottle apart and put some of the liquid on a child's small paintbrush or a cotton bud then dab it on their cuts.

 

[elmdene]

Herbert's eye was closed up this morning so I've bathed it with warm water and it's open again. I can't see if it is damaged at this stage, although the pupil did look very dilated - probably because he wasn't keen on having his eye bathed! Does anyone know if there is an antiseptic cream I could put around his eye that won't sting? I'd hate him to go blind.

 

[Marigold]

I've just been having the same thing with a quail whose eye was closed after an attack. I just kept bathing away the gunge with a cotton bud dipped lukewarm water, and after each treatment it opened a bit more until today she seems fully recovered. Maybe if you try antiseptic creams etc they will sting the eye and make it worse. also you never know if the antiseptic is going to be suitable for chickens.
Good idea about the purple spray, Kegs - I shall try that when the next disaster happens. Main thing is to have some sort of first-aid kit ready, in the hope of never having to use it!

 

[elmdene]

Yes I would use the purple spray applied with a cotton bud or something similar, but am worried it may sting his eye and make it worse. Also the colour really does last for ages - Basil's foot is still purple from months ago! Will just keep bathing away for now and hope for the best. I think I'll let them out in shifts today!

 

[Lordcluck]

Comb/wattle face injuries always bleed profusely, but heal very quickly as a result. Most heal up without any recourse for treatment rather as Chuck mentions, but a wash with a little salt water, then some gentian violet applied should ensure a speedy uncomplicated recovery, should you feel the need to treat them.
Birds seem to be pretty much unaffected by comb injuries. When it was still legal Practice,many thousands of game Cockerels were 'dubbed' annually, latterly for the show pen, previously for the Cock-pit, with no side effects whatsoever! Combs, wattles and earlobes were snipped off either with specially designed Dubbing scissors or razor blades, and the surgically alltered birds resumed service as normal, almost straightaway.
One Old story recounts how some keepers would immediately feed the removed appendages back to their owner, partly as a valuable source of protein and partly to demonstrate how little the act affected the bird! it is said the newly trimmed Males would call any females nearby to share in the feast! Gruesome! but it just goes to show that inspite of appearances, comb damage is rarely of any serious significance to a bird.

 

[Marigold]

Well, you learn something every day on here - and sometimes you wish you hadn't!

 

[elmdene]

Absolutely - yuk! 03

 

[Marigold]

Yes I would use the purple spray applied with a cotton bud or something similar, but am worried it may sting his eye and make it worse. Also the colour really does last for ages - Basil's foot is still purple from months ago! !

Yes, mine is a lovely white quail so I'm glad the powder + bathing did the job without staining her head for weeks. Amazing how fast they do heal up, on Sunday she looked terrible, covered in blood, and was just sitting there looking shocked, but today she appears nearly normal and laid her first egg!

 

[chrismahon]

When Frankie fought off the advances of his father on his girls, he ultimately stood on his neck and started eating his head. Well his very large rose comb actually. We smeared it with teatree oilntment and left it. Fully healed in a few weeks. But we have had several problems with hens pecking off the scabs then eating the comb, which the cockerel just let them do. The hens were despatched and the cockerel separated until fully healed to avoid encouraging further cannibalism -they were our best blue laced wyandottes as well!

 

[foxy]

I don't tend to do anything with bleeding headgear...I guess I have become a little blase as I always seem to just miss the point where I should separate the boys, then ending up in the morning being confronted with something that wouldn't look amiss on one of those hatchet type horror films! :roll:

 

[foxy]

When Frankie fought off the advances of his father on his girls, he ultimately stood on his neck and started eating his head. Well his very large rose comb actually. We smeared it with teatree oilntment and left it. Fully healed in a few weeks. But we have had several problems with hens pecking off the scabs then eating the comb, which the cockerel just let them do. The hens were despatched and the cockerel separated until fully healed to avoid encouraging further cannibalism -they were our best blue laced wyandottes as well!

Maybe we should edit the title of this thread....do not read before food! 03 03

 

[chrismahon]

And I went our just a few hours ago to discover that Claude had baited Bottom a little too much and Botty had tried to go through the chicken wire at him. Claude is OK, but a little frightened with 6 Kg of crazed Orpington crashing at the wire towards him! Net result is Botty has cut his comb and has blood all down his chest. Decided to leave it and discovered it stopped bleeding and scabbed over in an hour! Now he will be staying in until the scabs drop off reference my last post plus someone keeps pecking another scab off anyway, so a Cannibal is lurking out there!

 

[elmdene]

It's all very labour intensive this chicken keeping. Now I feel I ought to be out there monitoring Basil and Herbert constantly. Basil has already been on the naughty step this morning (ie shut in) which he was very grumpy about. It was quite funny as the other 5 just sat on the other side of the wire in solidarity. It's really all his fault as he keeps chasing Herbert, although despite my best efforts to encourage the 2 groups to forage at opposite sides of a fairly large garden, Herbert does insist on sauntering over to join Basil's group, leaving his 2 girls by themselves. It's a worry!

 

[tygrysek75]

I went this road before and eventually you need to think of new home for one of them.They will fight till one of them die,mayby not today but in few weeks it will happend again.If you keep cockrels totally separete from the ladies they can happily live together.My friend keeps all cockrels together up to 20-30 in the shed and they cant see any ladies.He has pece and quaiete happy flock made of cockrels.Some of them he sales some of them he eats.If you have space you can try to do this way,good luck its no fun to scrub all chicken cop from the blood(as mine fought before I had managed to let them out)It brings terror and stress to the hens too.
Bloody conbs I had always washed and used dry antyseptic(made for poultry )powder.

 

[elmdene]

I had made an admittedly weak attempt to rehome Herbert and his 2 girls but since they are our very first progeny, we were very keen to keep them if we could. I knew there was a likelihood of this happening come springtime. Anyone interested in a lovely trio of very tame pekins in the West Oxfordshire area? Must go to a very good home where they will be treated as royalty

 

[lacy blues]

I have read that 3 cockerels is better than 2. That way, the head honcho doesn't focus on and brutalize one. I've had several cock birds in my flock and the only blood I ever saw was when one of the underlings decided he was tough enough to take on the main man. I've never witnessed such heart in a defeated foe. He was the only one bleeding too... amazing! I finally had to separate him because he kept going after the big boy... dope!

 

[lacy blues]

Forgot to mention... one time we had two cockerels get into it and and one of them had one of his wattles completely peeled. You could see the inside of it and luckily, all the exterior flesh was still there.

I took a Vit E capsule and smeared the contents onto the inside of the peeled wattle and pressed the other side back into its place. The next day, it didn't look like he'd been damaged at all!