Almost black comb

[ramboas93]

So I have this black copper marans cross hen that has almost black comb, I mean its no ayam cenami you can still see the red in it but it's pretty dang dark. Also her hackles are super light yellow borderline white compared to her sister who have copper hackles. So she came from black sexlink rooster and black copper marans hen. Hen came from greenfire and rooster I bred came from a new Hampshire rooster and barred rock hen. None of them showed this and none of their resulting offspring have either except her, she is the only one that has this, I have yet to breed her to see if she will pass it on but i do have plans too. Anyone else ever have this happen or seen this?

 

[Chicken_Guru]

I think maybe mites could be the problem, but don’t take my word. When mites are a problem, clean your chicken along with the coop and usually that fixes the problem. If you can, try to get water and try to brush the black off.

Was the comb like that when she was first hatched/ when you got her? If so, it’s most likely either a genetic disease or it could be a part of its dna that makes it look that way.

 

[Chicken_Guru]

Forgot to add, but some pulleys have black combs until laying point, that is most definitely the “problem”

 

[ramboas93]

No not mites, I have 50 birds and none of them show signs of mites, also all other birds have nice bright red combs. She's had it since hatch, also she's 9 months old has been laying nicely for 3 months now. That's why I waited until now to see if she would grow out of it or if it would change at all and it hasn't. She is perfectly healthy, I'm thinking it's a genetic mutation but wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this, I've had and bred few hundred birds of bunch different breeds over the years and this was first for me.

 

[JanetMarie]

This chick's mom is Dominique, and the father is a mix of buff Orpington, true RIR, and Production Red.

I've had other hens who had darker combs as chicks, and as they matured the comb turned redder, but the facial skin has remained dark.

It would be neat if this chick's dark rosecomb remained dark.