Of all the girls Peaches and Barley’s combs have gone through the most noticeable change while moulting. This is because they have floppy combs and while they were laying eggs their combs were big and red. Barley’s comb was especially big and it made it easy for me to tell them apart at a glance.
Barley’s comb flops to the right and Peaches flops to the left but when their combs are big I don’t have to check which way they flop as I can tell Barley immediately by the size and angle of her comb.
Peaches and Barley stopped laying at the end of August and started to moult. Their combs got smaller and smaller and paler and paler. I have just taken some photos of them today to compare with photos of them last year in November when they had just started to lay their first eggs.
Below are some photos that I took today.
Barley is on the left and Peaches is on the right
Barley and Peaches combs are small and pale
Barley and Peaches
Barley’s comb in the foreground
Below are some photos I took last November. As it was their first year they didn’t moult and continued to lay all winter.
Barley and peaches with big, red combs
They can hardly see out from under their combs, Barley is on the left
Barley is on the left and Peaches is on the right
Barley’s huge comb and wattles
It is amazing how different they look. I am looking forward to spring when their combs return to being big and red and they start to lay their lovely eggs again.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
Huge difference. I love to see pullets’ combs developing, as they come to PoL; like you, last year I had new pullets starting to lay in November, giving us eggs throughout the winter, but this year’s 4 pullets, currently 18 weeks, look miles away – I suspect January, when some of the old hens start again! Only 2 laying now, so some days without any eggs (one is Dart, of course!)
We have no eggs now that Butterscotch has stopped laying. I can’t wait to start getting eggs again. Your Dart is amazing! I am hopeful that Speckles should start early next year as she was moulting when we got her. She has been having a brief look in the little coop nest boxes some days as if she is making sure she knows where to go when the time comes.
Weird fact I found…turkeys have this snood, (looks like they’ve got a drippy nose) that will go down when they’re laying eggs or to attract females. Then they retract it backward and up when not needed, making them look like little unicorns
Just wondering if chicken combs do the same…? ?
I have seen the turkey’s snood. I have to say that I think it looks most unattractive.
My first chicken when I was a little kid was a Brown Leghorn and she had this HUGE floppy comb that flopped all the way over to one side so she could only see out of one eye. LOVED that bird and will always have a soft spot for hens with floppy combs.
When Barley’s comb was at it’s biggest she couldn’t see out of one eye. She would turn her head to look at me. Recently I said to my husband that her comb doesn’t look as good in winter and he remarked that at least she can see in winter and it must be quite nice for her.