I feel like I am becoming obsessed with Peaches and Barley’s combs at the moment but a comb is such a good way of recognizing a chicken. In fact it is thought chickens of the same breed will recognise each other by their combs.
Honey and Amber used to look as similar to each other as Peaches and Barley do now but today a glance at their combs would set them apart even if nothing else did.
Peaches comb flops to the left
Barley’s comb looks as if it may flop to the right
It may be too early to tell yet but Barley’s comb does have a very slight curve to the right at the moment.
I would love it if their combs flopped opposite ways as I would easily be able to identify them.
I wonder if there is a common way for their combs to flop. I wonder if it’s like being right handed and is more likely one way than the other but not impossible to flop either way or is it fifty fifty. It’s something I haven’t thought about before but will do some research.
My Bluebell (adopted by Jackie and now re-named Blossom) is a chalk hill blue and her comb flops to the right.
This seems to suggest it is possible that Barley’s may also flop to the right. I would be interested if anyone has any thoughts on this.
As far as Barley is concerned only time will tell. Watch this space.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
I am left handed and so are many members of my immediate family , but it is a lottery.I expect it is the same with chickens.. I would say at a guess that Barley is a right sided one.
They say we are more intelligent being left handed. !
Steve’s theory is that when it’s ready to flop it will flop whichever way they lean their head the most then it will stay that way.
A vague bit of research – I googled “brown leghorns” clicked on the thread with lots of photos and counted. There were 19 right sided combs and 11 left sided combs out of a the total 29. That’s two thirds right sided. It seems it is random but more right sided.
There does seem to be a majority of ‘right-floppers’, but either way, they meet the breed standard, providing they do flop, the reverse being true for cockerels – http://www.theleghornclub.com/standards.htm
As to the reason, I have no idea, but I think you are entirely right about Barley. It might be something worth addressing to the Leghorn Club or via one of the various forum discussions. Sometimes with Leghorns, the comb can flop so much that it almost obliterates vision on one side, but your two beauties look as though they’ll have big combs without being overly obtrusive.
Barley’s comb is already flopping even more to the the right than the last photo. I will take some more photos in a few days when it has flopped more completely.
Looking at the photos of leghorns, you are quite right, some of them look like they can’t see out of one eye which seems a shame. I also think you are right that my girls combs won’t hang too far over their eyes.