Is she laying? I ask because I had a Marans hen that crowed. We found out that she had a tumor that was creating a chemical imbalance. We thought we might have a cockerel with henny feathering but when we culled her at 15 months we checked inside and she was definately a hen, but also had zero signed of any egg development. We learned that some of the hens will lay a few eggs but they don't earn their keep.
These are a few pics of our Cream Legbar cockerel Twisty and one of our pullets, Jazzy. I am worried about Twisty's comb. It is definitely crooked. Do you think we should not breed him? He has the best disposition and I just love him but...?
Don't discount disposition. And as others have said give him time. Combs are so hard to judge because so many things can effect them and they change a lot as they age too. Also breeding to a female with a good comb can mitigate it. Disposition is very important too, beautiful but angry birds are no fun for anyone.
These are a few pics of our Cream Legbar cockerel Twisty and one of our pullets, Jazzy. I am worried about Twisty's comb. It is definitely crooked. Do you think we should not breed him? He has the best disposition and I just love him but...?
Sad day today - one of my Cream Legbar pullets approaching POL looks like she has Mareks and is doing very badly - she's looking just like her mother did the day before she died, dropped wings, pale floppy comb, and really, really thin when picked up. (I hatched this group before losing her mother to Mareks, so I didn't know at the time). She's separated and in the brooder in the mudroom - if the time course is similar, she doesn't have long. All the pullets in that group (7) are daughters of either the hen who died or the hen with ocular Mareks (still alive). I am really, really not looking forward to this. (At least I have four younger pullets from the hen with no sign of disease.)
Breeding for resistance is necessary, but it's NOT fun.
- Ant Farm
