Weird dark red scabby spots :S

[monkfish]

Hello! My cockerel Bruce (buff Orpington) has scaby looking spots on his comb. He's a healthly boy, nearly a year old. None of the others have these spots on them, so don't think it's contagious. He's had it for a few months, and it comes and goes. No other cockerels, only delightful hens and ducks! If I can upload a photo, I will. But would like to know what they are, and if they need getting rid of.

 

[Bertie & The Chooks]

What kind of fencing do you have or do you have any wire fencing on your coop? They could just be grazes from that or from bumping each other. Or they could be pecking in the night if they don't have enough space in the coop at night. Would have to see some photos and know a bit more about the environment to say for sure.

 

[chrismahon]

Our cockerel Bottom (Buff Orpington) gets scabby spots on his comb which may be as you describe. His claws are rather long and he's a bit erratic with his scratching. Often his claw skids across his comb and takes little pieces of skin off. It bleeds and leaves small roundish scabs. These heal in a few days and drop off usually. He needs a trim on his claws now which works. Just round them off with a nail file and be careful not to cut the quick -their claws are like our nails, most of the length has flesh underneath. Danger here is that the hens routinely peck the scabs off for him, which will stop any infection forming underneath. Problem is if they taste blood when they do it. They can turn cannibal and eat his comb -had it happen. At that stage you have no option but to despatch the offending hen(s) or separate them permanently. So I would sort out those nails as soom as possible.

 

[Bertie & The Chooks]

just a suggestion, but i don't think i would recommend trimming any claws if you don't know what you're doing. filing the nails can be unpleasant for them if they are not used to it and can seriously stress the bird. I think I would look at other environmental causes first and eliminate them first before going down the claw route. If you have the right ground for them and they are getting regular scratches round they should keep their claws down naturally as they grow in sheaths. but this is just my opinion...

the cannibal comb story! i'm gonna have nightmares now. bit too ott for me! spose it's a good thing it's rare and unlikely to happen!

 

[Chuck]

Could be several reasons, scratching it on something, penning etc. scratching with their nails which can get overgrown and affectionate pecking by the hens. Take a look at the nails and file them if you think they need it. Go slowly, you can usually see where the blood stops in the nail, wash them off if they're dirty. I doubt if it's anything that serious, I certainly get a few scrapes on the combs of my males for various reasons.

 

[monkfish]

Thanks so much for the info guys, you're all amazing. Cannibal story did freak me out a bit, and there will definitely be no deapatching of any hens!!

Struggling to upload pics from my iPhone :/ sorry.

They have lawn, concrete path, a couple of apple trees and a mint bush! The fenching is stock and chicken doubled. I've never seen him scratch, but that doesn't mean he doesn't.