Chicken Breeds Health Problems

[annagoodspeed]

I hope that my electric fence would deter dogs.

I find chasing flyers to get them back into the run very annoying. Also, large birds are less tempting to hawks and we have quite a few hawks in our area.

Large birds for hawk deterrence was the primary reason I got the Langshans. I started with electric fence, never got much of a charge off the solar and with grandkid toddlers around I didn’t want lethal levels anyway, so let it slide. Thankfully, not sure why, at this point the situation is working for me. I have pretty active Cooper’s and Goshawks, coyotes, but at this point no onslaughts from dogs, big knock on wood. A good cockbird (F-1 Langshan/Svarthona, fibro with a Langshan body type) has helped. I actually saw him herd the two old fat Brahmas into the brush one day, first one, then out and back with the other. Letting hens raise chicks straight out of the incubator or through brooding them out makes for smart healthy birds right off the bat.
Lots of hawthorn hedges for cover and plenty of native quail around to feed the hawks helps too.

 

[NatJ]

Maybe (now bear with me), its recessive? It would show on females because they only have one Z chromosome, but males have two. I'll most likely be hatching a bunch more (my girl is so cute but i think the females lay male heavy, ended up with 4:1 out of five last year) and I'll keep an eye out on their nostrils

What I've read about V-comb:

V-comb is not on the Z chromosome, so it is not sex-linked.
There are three options for that gene: V-comb, Buttercup comb, normal comb.
Normal comb is recessive, so you only see it when the chicken has two copies of this gene.

Two copies of the Buttercup comb gene cause a Buttercup comb and normal nostrils.
Buttercup/normal also causes a Buttercup comb and normal nostrils.

Two copies of the V-comb gene cause the small V-comb we're used to seeing, and cavernous nostrils.
V/Buttercup also causes the small V-comb and the cavernous nostrils.

The V-comb gene paired with the normal comb gene is funny: it makes a Buttercup-style comb and normal nostrils (but depending on who you breed it to, it can produce chicks like itself or with normal combs or with small V combs & cavernous nostrils.)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/polish-y-comb-genetics.1160469/
Here's an older thread that says some of the same things, and has a photo of a hen that's Leghorn/Polish cross with a comb that looks like a Buttercup comb (but is genetically V/normal.)

the genes for the v-comb, nostrils, and crest are all on the same chromosome, which if all are present, makes it more likely that they all show up together. However the nostrils and v-comb are the closest and present together more often than all three. I've got a bunch of Spitz/EE mutts that show all kinds of combinations.

I have seen sources that say crest and v-comb are not linked chromosomes. Can you point me to something that says they are on the same one?

Here's one of the sources I've found:
http://kippenjungle.nl/sellers/page3.html

 

[JacinLarkwell]

What I've read about V-comb:

V-comb is not on the Z chromosome, so it is not sex-linked.
There are three options for that gene: V-comb, Buttercup comb, normal comb.
Normal comb is recessive, so you only see it when the chicken has two copies of this gene.

Two copies of the Buttercup comb gene cause a Buttercup comb and normal nostrils.
Buttercup/normal also causes a Buttercup comb and normal nostrils.

Two copies of the V-comb gene cause the small V-comb we're used to seeing, and cavernous nostrils.
V/Buttercup also causes the small V-comb and the cavernous nostrils.

The V-comb gene paired with the normal comb gene is funny: it makes a Buttercup-style comb and normal nostrils (but depending on who you breed it to, it can produce chicks like itself or with normal combs or with small V combs & cavernous nostrils.)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/polish-y-comb-genetics.1160469/
Here's an older thread that says some of the same things, and has a photo of a hen that's Leghorn/Polish cross with a comb that looks like a Buttercup comb (but is genetically V/normal.)

I have seen sources that say crest and v-comb are not linked chromosomes. Can you point me to something that says they are on the same one?

Here's one of the sources I've found:
http://kippenjungle.nl/sellers/page3.html

My pullet and 2 of her brothers are/ were Pea/V. The other two brothers are/were Single/V.

My starcombs (Single/V) didnt go quite as far as buttercups. The front was single comb, followed by a star or flower in the back of all directions. The cometcombs (Pea/V) are a more condensed back with a short single comb in front

 

[Aunt Angus]

Interesting thread. I don't know enough about genetics to comment, really. I only have anecdotal evidence, so I won't really comment about that.

This is just my train of thought, so don't skewer me, please.

Alrighty. I've spent the vast majority of my life working with people who have disabilities. Not really the same thing, but when Autism Spectrum Disorder was thought to be tied to vaccines, I thought, "Would I have refrained from getting my children vaccinated if I'd known that my youngest wouldn't have 'gotten' ASD?" I didn't know at the time. Of course, it's not an issue now that it appears that vaccines aren't the cause.

But if ASD is caused by human intervention, then maybe the analogy of chickens and Austistic folks is valid. Now, I'm not saying that we should go around causing ASD, but without is, my son wouldn't be who he is. The world would be way less awesome without him and his ASD. Not really related. But, like I said, it was just my train of thought.

Maybe the world wouldn't be as awesome without 5-toed chickens. Idk.

 

[NatJ]

My pullet and 2 of her brothers are/ were Pea/V. The other two brothers are/were Single/V.

My starcombs (Single/V) didnt go quite as far as buttercups. The front was single comb, followed by a star or flower in the back of all directions. The cometcombs (Pea/V) are a more condensed back with a short single comb in front

I have not been able to find any research about V comb with pea comb, so that's very interesting.

The ones that are split pea/not-pea and V/not-V are the ones where the pullet has small nostrils and her brothers have big nostrils? Hmm. I wonder what the mechanism is there.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Nope
My males all look normal, and my female has very slightly larger ones. They're nothing compared to her spitzhauben family (who have ridiculously large nostrils), but theres a very slight difference when feeling and comparing in person side to side. I don't know if its just she's lucky ir not considering 2 if her brothers had it too or if its because she's female. Gives me an excuse to hatch more eggs.

I have not been able to find any research about V comb with pea comb, so that's very interesting.

The ones that are split pea/not-pea and V/not-V are the ones where the pullet has small nostrils and her brothers have big nostrils? Hmm. I wonder what the mechanism is there.

 

[NatJ]

Nope
My males all look normal, and my female has very slightly larger ones. They're nothing compared to her spitzhauben family (who have ridiculously large nostrils), but theres a very slight difference when feeling and comparing in person side to side. I don't know if its just she's lucky ir not considering 2 if her brothers had it too or if its because she's female. Gives me an excuse to hatch more eggs.

OK, normal nostrils matches what I would have expected from what I've read about the genes. The larger ones on the pullet are not what I would have expected, but I agree that more research is needed-- you should definitely hatch more eggs!

 

[Ponyiqandhens2]

Since I am orientating myself on buying chickens, I did some research about the health of different breeds. I found the health problems I encountered quite shocking, although I am familiar with these kinds of problems in dog breeds, I was not aware that this is also a problem in chickens.

I think it is very important to raise awareness about these kinds of problems. It's sad that animals have to suffer so much because we think they look cute. When I was a kid I had chickens (a mixed group of a local), a couple of them had a cute tiny crest, not realizing that this often goes together with a hole in the skull.

Below are a few examples of different breeds:

I read about the serama fantail hens that the hens can have problems with egg production because there is simply not enough space in the body.

The araucana chickens usually have problems with the development of the ear canal, or do not hatch at all. Limited hearing is quite stressful for a prey animal.

The breeds with feathers on the legs are also not completely free from suffering, they scratch around less, which is of course nice if you want to leave the garden intact because it feels uncomfortable for them if the feathers move in the wrong direction. But isn't it the natural behavior of a chicken to forage, be honest a healthy happy chicken is busy all day long?

The chickens with curls in the feathers have also suffered genetically badly, because of the poor insulation they cannot withstand more extreme weather conditions.

Of course I hope that these health problems are already well known here, then I'm sorry for the repetition and otherwise I hope to make people think twice before they buy chickens...

I'd love to hear what you think about this subject, feel free to start a discussion or just ventilate your opinion about it

I have feathered footed birds in south louisiana.y birds scratch as much as theirclean leggedflockmates i do make sure theyhave plentydry clean areas when there is wetweather and inspect legs regularly