A pullet comb color question...

[LuckyMNChick]

I raised 20 hen chicks for 10 weeks, then gave 5 of them to my son and daughter in law. They incorporated them into their existing flock of 5 hens, and the chicks are now 3 months old. I was over to their home today to care for their chickens while they are away on vacation, and I noticed that their chicks have a much more red color to their faces and combs, and their combs are larger than the ones I have kept at my house. Why would there be a difference. Is it because they are with hens that are already laying eggs and developing quicker? Just curious.

 

[cherrynberry]

I raised 20 hen chicks for 10 weeks, then gave 5 of them to my son and daughter in law. They incorporated them into their existing flock of 5 hens, and the chicks are now 3 months old. I was over to their home today to care for their chickens while they are away on vacation, and I noticed that their chicks have a much more red color to their faces and combs, and their combs are larger than the ones I have kept at my house. Why would there be a difference. Is it because they are with hens that are already laying eggs and developing quicker? Just curious.

Do you have pictures...by 12 weeks, they should not have much red in the face along with a large comb unless they are cockerels...

 

[Aapomp831]

A female chicken under the age of one is called a pullet... so you gave your pullets to your son and daughter in law to join their flock of already existing and laying hens? Just confused, bc you said their “chicks,” so do they have hens (female chicken over one year old), and chicks? I’m not trying to grill you on chicken terminology, just trying to better understand what you’re saying. At 12 weeks, your pullets should still have light pinkish combs - unless like the above poster said, they are cockerels. Laying hens tend to have deep red combs, but this typically occurs around 5 / 6 months or at POL (point of lay). Laying hens mixed with young non laying pullets should not affect the color of their combs.

 

[aart]

Pullets combs can redden up with exertion, the pale back out when they relax.

 

[LuckyMNChick]

Do you have pictures...by 12 weeks, they should not have much red in the face along with a large comb unless they are cockerels...

I'm sorry, I don't have pictures. I was just noticing what I thought was a little darker red color to the face and combs of the 5 pullets that were pulled from my flock that my son took. I don't think they are cockerels, because the odds of 5 birds pulled from my flock of supposed pullets that all turn out to really be cockerels is unlikely. Maybe I'm just imagining things, but there seemed to be a little difference between the ones they have and the ones I have. Thank you for your reply!

 

[LuckyMNChick]

A female chicken under the age of one is called a pullet... so you gave your pullets to your son and daughter in law to join their flock of already existing and laying hens? Just confused, bc you said their “chicks,” so do they have hens (female chicken over one year old), and chicks? I’m not trying to grill you on chicken terminology, just trying to better understand what you’re saying. At 12 weeks, your pullets should still have light pinkish combs - unless like the above poster said, they are cockerels. Laying hens tend to have deep red combs, but this typically occurs around 5 / 6 months or at POL (point of lay). Laying hens mixed with young non laying pullets should not affect the color of their combs.

Thanks for the reply. You can grill me all you want on chicken terminology--I take no offense, because I have so much to learn! I could be imagining the color difference, and it could be the different light that I'm viewing each of the bird flocks in. When I saw my son's pullets, it just seemed like their combs were a little bigger, and their faces a little more red. Since they were put in with their existing flock of laying hens (5 birds) I just got to wondering if that would cause them to mature a little more quickly.

 

[LuckyMNChick]

Pullets combs can redden up with exertion, the pale back out when they relax.

Oh! Well, that may explain the difference, because my son's chicken run is more sunny than ours and our birds probably stay much cooler! It's been so hot here in MN the last couple weeks, too. That possibility didn't even enter my mind. I probably have a much more red face than I usually do, too, in this 90+ degree weather!

 

[Aapomp831]

Thanks for the reply. You can grill me all you want on chicken terminology--I take no offense, because I have so much to learn! I could be imagining the color difference, and it could be the different light that I'm viewing each of the bird flocks in. When I saw my son's pullets, it just seemed like their combs were a little bigger, and their faces a little more red. Since they were put in with their existing flock of laying hens (5 birds) I just got to wondering if that would cause them to mature a little more quickly.

I wish! Unfortunately, a chicken is going to lay whenever they feel like it and there’s nothing we can do lol. A lot has to do with breed; I have some chicks that are part leghorn and the cockerels (a rooster under the age of one) have been very apparent from day 2 bc of their inherited comb sizes; however, they are now now 8 weeks old and mixed with my laying hens and the pullets still have light pink combs and wattles