chicken with a black comb

ArizonaDesertChicks

Eggstactic for Pretty Eggs
15 Years
Dec 8, 2008
2,378
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Glendale, AZ
We started out with 9 black-sex link chicks (before rehoming some of them) and all but one had a normal colored comb. I have one that has a black comb - she is about 12 weeks old now and the comb is still completley black. It is not from frostbite - she was never exposed to cold temperatures. She is normal in other ways - she's the same size as her cagemates. Is this unusual? Will the color of her comb cause problems with her overheating (we live in Phoenix)?
 
Anyone have experience with this? She also has black wattles and black skin on her face, whereas the other black sex-links have pink combs, wattles, & facial skin.
 
Neat--I think that would look pretty!!! About the overheating, just make sure they have some shade to get under in the really hot part of the day and plenty of cool water.
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It's called Gypsy or mulberry skin and is found in a few different breeds. There's a paragraph about it here on page 155 http://books.google.com/books?id=VMSF7m2CFTEC&pg=PA155&lpg=PA155&dq=gypsy+skin+in+chickens&source=bl&ots=9cLTO6mifF&sig=zr7_3E7vWwEd_Vw3gv5XRK-w0H0&hl=en&ei=DC63SY_yFZO-Mp28ydUK&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result#PPA155,M1

Silkies
have it as do Sumatras and other breeds. I've seen picture of BSL's with it too. I have a Silver Spangled Hamburg with black freckles. So it can sure show up in different breeds.

I doubt heat will affect her any more then the other hens.
 
Quote:
I made a mistake about her skin color - last night I could have sworn her facial skin was black, but it's not (my daughter thought the same thing when she looked at her - I guess it was too dark.

This chicken does have the black comb and the matching black wattles - see pics.

a regular colored chick along with the one in question:
gardenchickens001-6.jpg


the black combed chick:
gardenchickens004-2.jpg


her wattles:
gardenchickens0012.jpg


the other chick with the pink comb, so you can see the difference
gardenchickens003.jpg
 

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