# Whats this?



## jennifer (May 14, 2013)

Her comb has some white flakes and dark spots..
The rooster had some black spots too..
Is this normal?


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

It seems to be. I've seen it on the combs of some chickens down through the years and it comes suddenly and goes just as quickly. Some think it is bug bites and it could very well be, though I have seen it happen in the winter time also. 

It sort of almost looks like mold or fungus but I think it would be more persistent if it were, so I'm not sure. I've never found one official statement or study on this phenomenon online, though many just pass it off as insect bites or fowl pox on the forums. 

I don't think it is either and I don't think it is a result of pecking..it looks exactly like mold,it comes suddenly and just as suddenly goes away. That's all I know about it and it doesn't seem to affect several birds or spread from one to another..usually when I see it, it's just one bird with a few spots and the next time I see her it is gone.

If it were insect bites, I'd think more would have them. If it were fowl pox, again, more would have them as it is contagious. It just seems to be isolated incidents of these spots that go away on their own and don't necessarily come back on that same bird and I won't see it again for another year, on a different bird. 

Some recommend applying ointments to them and I have done so in the past and it didn't really accomplish anything, so I didn't do it any more and they went away in the same amount of time as the birds on which I had applied ointment. 

Go figure..it's one of those chicken mysteries.


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## jennifer (May 14, 2013)

Bee! Thanks! I just wasn't sure. It dosent look
Infectious or nasty. Just strange! Quirky birds!


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