Purple Cone

[firerunner]

This morning we went out to do our morning chores and our rooster cone is turning PURPLE!

Nugget is almost one year old.

He is with 6 hens

He is a mix buff

We live in Florida so no frost bite



and here is the kicker

He has the LARGEST CONE AND WATTLES I have ever seen! The above pic is last summer when we battled fowl pox with him, between then and now his wattle and cone has probably doubled since this picture. Do a google search and look for a rooster with large wattles and Nuggets wattles are probably twice the size of what you see on google (accept for a couple but you can tell they were photshopped on)

When he eats he has to swing his head back and forth to get the wattles moving and then comes down to peck at the food while the wattles are on the upswing.

We recently had an injury to his wattle from him missing and pecking himself , he drew blood. So we treated it and cleared it all up only to go out this morning and see the purple cone.


Do I need to take him to the vet?

Can I treat him at home?

Argh He is SUCH a pretty majestic bird but seriously this wattle/cone thing is really a PIA.

Ps no talk of culling these are my pets

any help would be appreciated!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Do you think he has worms?

I saw a purple comb once with worms right before I lost him (a rooster). He died very quickly after that...hopefully that is not your rooster's problem.

It basically means not enough oxygen (can be a heart condition) I have read.

Sorry I don't know what the problem is...I hope someone else can help too.

 

[firerunner]

I am playing the waiting game.

At 9:30 AM we noticed his purple cone due to other appointments I figure I would get back and take him to the vets.

10:30 we left and I checked on him then and thought gee it looks better.

2:00 we came back and I checked him thinking a trip to the vets was in order AND the cone was back to its normal colour.

It is now 5:12 and he is still fine.


So we are going to play the waiting game. See what morning brings.

For those wondering here is my coop and run

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/lil-red-and-white-house

Coop is cleaned every sunday. Use straw in the nesting boxes and sand on the floor, Roost has sand and PDZ. No change poop.

 

[ten chicks]

Purple comb can mean several things from heart related issues to nostrils being plugged from feed. The first thing i always check is nostrils,make sure they are clear.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I am glad he seems to be better!!!! Stay that way little guy!

 

[firerunner]

Almost 10 PM and I was out at the coop checking him and he seems just fine. (dont think any of them were too happy to see a light shining on them at 10 pm lol)

Lets see what morning brings

 

[firerunner]

And this morning his cone is purple..again. I took some pics. I will post them in a little bit

 

[ten chicks]

And this morning his cone is purple..again. I took some pics. I will post them in a little bit

Is cold weather an issue? Have you checked nostrils(nares)for blockage?

 

[firerunner]

We think we have an answer let me show you the pics. No cold in Florida and no nostril blockage

 

[firerunner]

This is Nugget this morning. The first pics I took at 7 am turned out black (camera was set wrong) and this was taken just a few minutes ago. As you can see the purple is going away.

BUt I drew some arrows on it..see the top one pointing at his cone. There is a crease there and the back half..goes purple at night..the front half remains bright and normal. The second arrows is trying to show you how far his wattles hang. I need to get a front on pic so you can really see how big these are.

Anyways our neighbor who also has chickens showed up and peeked at him and we are wondering if again the size of his wattle and cone is an issue. It is going purple last night when he is sleeping, two mornings in a row there has been a crease in his cone, almost like it is bent over and no blood is getting to it making it turn purple. Come morning He is up and running around the cone is back upright (or upright for him given the size) and the purple is gone within a couple of hours.

We are wondering if THAT could be what is causing this.

He is healthy, he is eating, drinking, mating, and pooping all normally. His cock-a-doodle-do is loud and clear

So we are really stumped as to why this is happening.

On that note however, he does have a vet appointment tomorrow at 9 AM