12 week old pullets - should wattles be red yet?

[sandiatonimarie]

I'm sure this is on the forum somewhere but I can' t find it just now so I apologize but ...

My pullets are young - 12 weeks and their combs and wattles are still pink, not red ( except for one, who is very red but he is a rooster trying to convince me that he is a hen). They are getting 16 % protein chick starter/grower feed and a few table scraps (lettuce, other greens).

So should the combs and wattles still be pink or should they be red at this age? Will they get redder wattles and combs later, when they are closer to egg laying (20 weeks old or more)? Do I need to do or add something to their diet?

Thanks!

 

[Jen4]

they will get red as they get older

 

[beachchickie]

My sex links have red wattles and combs and they are only 10wks old.

 

[newchickmom09]

They get more color as they come to laying age.

 

[sandiatonimarie]

Thanks all.

I should have mentioned that mine are wyandottes and they are way slower than sex links to reach egg laying age. I just wasn't sure what the relationship was between first eggs and comb/wattle color and couldn't quite find it even though I know someone has posted this before.

So since comb/wattle color gets redder as they get closer to egg laying, they'll be "wearing pink" for another ten weeks at least.