Genetic advantage of single over pea comb

[Red Mangrove]

Are there any genetic advantages to having a single comb over a pea comb?

Single gets complaints of frostbite in the far north, yet pea seems to be universally fine from Alaska, to Brazil to the Philippines

Single combs are also removed by cockfighters because they present a physical liability during combat

Are pea combs simply genetically superior?

 

[NatJ]

There's nothing in nature that occurs as an accident. The pea comb came from somewhere and it served a specific genetic purpose wherever it originated

Lots of mutations occur as an accident. The harmful ones die out quickly, the helpful ones get spread, and the ones that people specially select will become common in captive chickens.

Things like crest, muff/beard, silkie feathers, and frizzle feathers would all be disadvantages in wild chickens. But people like them, so the people keep breeding them.

The pea comb mutation happened at some point, and some people kept breeding it, so it is still around in domestic chickens.

Pea combed breeds live perfectly in many different places though, including many very hot places. Clearly heat alone is irrelevant. Perhaps humidity is the missing factor here

Single combs are also removed by cockfighters because they present a physical liability during combat

People in cold climates have been more likely to select for pea combs, but they are also more likely to select for chickens with large amounts of feathers (like Brahmas and Orpingtons.) To see if pea comb is a problem in hot weather, I would look at pea comb chickens from hotter places (examples: Cubalaya, Sumatra, Aseel). I would also look at some of the Easter Eggers that have large amounts of Leghorn in their heritage (example: Whiting True Blue from McMurray hatchery.) That should make it a comb difference only, not a comb + feathers difference.

Your point about cockfighters removing single combs (dubbing) is interesting, because some of them are in hot places. If the dubbed birds fare poorly and the un-dubbed birds are fine, it would be pretty good evidence that comb type matters in the heat. If all the birds do equally well, it would strongly suggest that a small comb (dubbed or pea) is just as good as a normal single comb in hot weather.

I have never lived in a place that gets very hot, so I don't have any personal observations of pea comb vs. single comb chickens in hot places.

Are there any genetic advantages to having a single comb over a pea comb?...
Are pea combs simply genetically superior?

I know of at least three points against pea combs:

--Pea combs are smaller, so it is harder for people to recognize male chicks when they are young. This does not hurt the chicken, but is a point that matters to some people. (I read of one breed-in-development that has single combs for exactly this reason.)

--The pea comb gene also causes a strip along the breastbone that has no feathers. This does not seem to bother the chicken, but does affect how it looks after butchering (different texture to the skin there.) This matters to some people raising chickens for meat (especially commercial meat-producers.) I can't remember whether this happens only in chickens homozygous (pure) for pea comb, or if it happens in the heterozygotes (split) as well.

--I have noticed that roosters seem more attracted to hens with single combs rather than pea combs, probably because the single comb is larger and more obvious. Roosters tend to mate with the laying hens (big red combs) and not with immature pullets (small combs). If the rooster considers the pea comb hens to be less desireable, this could potentially be an issue in a flock with mixed comb types. In practice, it does not seem to be a big deal in most flocks, because most roosters end up mating with all the hens often enough and with their favorite hens more often than that. I would not expect it to be a problem in flocks with only pea combs.

Personally, I like pea combs better than any other comb type, and I do not see them causing harm to chickens (but I'm not in a very hot climate). But any person can have different preferences about what comb looks best to them, and the points I listed can be important to some people.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

Since chickens lose heat from their comb, a single comb, which is generally larger than a pea comb, is better for living in warm climates. Also, I’ve heard that hens are attracted to roosters with bigger, redder combs. I don’t know how much truth is in that statement, not being a hen. Curious to see what other people think!

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Straight and pea comb rooster comparison. Similar housing for both birds (wire coop with tarp top, wooden roosting branch, about the same height off the ground.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

If I remember and have time, I’ll take out the thermal scope at dark and take some pics of pea and straight combed birds

Actually I’ll have to hit the office this evening, but I can do it tomorrow evening.

 

[DarJones]

Single comb is an advantage in hot climates. Light body size is also an advantage. Light colored feathers are another heat advantage.

What about cold climate advantages? Pea comb, rose comb, cushion comb, and flat comb are all advantaged to different degrees in cold climates. But it takes a lot more to make a cold weather adapted chicken. Large body size, thick fluffy feathers, and yellow legs are all advantages in cold climates. How so? Large body size and thick fluffy feathers are better for generating and retaining heat. Yellow legs are from sequestering caroteinoids. Guess what a chicken needs to lay eggs? Yes, carotene! Where does carotene come from? It comes from grass and plants chickens eat. In a cold climate, there is a shortage of green plants in winter. Yellow leg chickens have a small but significant advantage. Also, midden heaps prove all chickens from 2000 years ago had white legs. As they moved further from the equator, yellow legs became more and more common. We know yellow legs came from green junglefowl along with several other traits needed in cold climates.

 

[fluffycrow]

In general, though of course not always, single combs go along with lighter body types, which do better in the heat. I have noticed that my single comb birds do much better in the triple digits than the ones with either pea or rose combs. My Wyandottes don’t do well at all, and the Easter Eggers aren’t much better. @fluffycrow how do your Brahmas do in your heat versus any single combed breeds you have?

My brahmas don't do well in the heat at all. Even my modified pea comb male does slightly better, but there is a clear difference between them and some of my straight combed birds. The temperatures we had two, almost three weeks ago ranged from 42°C-46°C. The pea comb pen had to be hosed down each day, even though it was in the shade, and they had plenty of cool water. They still flattened out like pancakes for most of the day. On the other hand, this male

did nothing more than slightly opened his wings to allow air flow to pas through. No "panting" no nothing. There is just not enough surface area on that comb to help them with this kind of heat. And if it means anything to anyone, egg production didn't drop in any single comb pen

 

[JacinLarkwell]

There's nothing in nature that occurs as an accident

Plenty of mutations were the result of accidents that were then brednby people because they liked the look

 

[Finnie]

The code was already there inside of the bird.

Actually, in the case of mutations, the code was not already there in the bird. That’s what a mutation is, a change in the DNA from what was there to something different.

That change is usually an accident. These accidents in replication happen all the time. They go unnoticed unless they happen to damage the way something works and cause a noticeable difference. Then we see a new form occur that had never occurred before. Due to an actual change in the DNA.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Actually, in the case of mutations, the code was not already there in the bird. That’s what a mutation is, a change in the DNA from what was there to something different.

That change is usually an accident. These accidents in replication happen all the time. They go unnoticed unless they happen to damage the way something works and cause a noticeable difference. Then we see a new form occur that had never occurred before. Due to an actual change in the DNA.

What we’re learning about DNA is that many or most mutational possibilities are already built into the genome of the animal. They are merely activated or deactivated, and its usually not accidental. Change is rapid and purposeful, and DNA like a Swiss Army knife that pulls out needed modifications as conditions change.

Molecular biology is rapidly proving much of what we believe about how evolution works to be wrong.

https://www.thethirdwayofevolution.com/