reddening of the waddles and comb??

[chachie]

Does anyone have before and after laying pictures of their chickens' waddles and combs? I've looked through the posts but all the ones in the threads seem to have been removed. I'm new to all this and just trying to get an idea of what to look for when my hens are ready to lay.

Thanks

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I don't think I have any "before" pics, sorry. But you'll know--about a week or two before your first egg, suddenly the pullet's wattles and comb will become much redder and larger. It's a fairly sudden transformation, and you'll notice it.

I'll go look and see if I have any pullets out there that haven't started yet. I'm not sure, since I have so many hens I don't pay attention to individuals too often.

edited to add: Sorry, I don't have any that havent' started laying right now. I guess you'll just have to believe me that you'll know it when you see it.

 

[Fred's Hens]

The combs and wattles ( "t's") burst forth with their redness in the pullet with hormones are now pumping.




The two birds were hatch mates. You can see they don't mature at the same rate. The pullet on the left is not quite laying yet, while the pullet on the right is laying daily. The size of the wattles and combs is pretty tell tale, as well as the deeper shade of red. Hope that helps.

 

[gbounds2007]

About 4 - 4 1/2 months old and not laying





Last two around 6 months old and had just started laying.

Maybe this will help.

 

[chachie]

thanks! I just picked them up last Thursday so I'm not expecting anything any time soon. Apparently they were already laying (they are about 7 months now) but with the move it'll probably take a couple weeks to settle into their new home. 2 of the hens have larger combs than the other so I'm assuming they were laying and the other 2 hadn't started yet. Are combs always the same size for the same breed?

 

[Fred's Hens]

thanks! I just picked them up last Thursday so I'm not expecting anything any time soon. Apparently they were already laying (they are about 7 months now) but with the move it'll probably take a couple weeks to settle into their new home. 2 of the hens have larger combs than the other so I'm assuming they were laying and the other 2 hadn't started yet. Are combs always the same size for the same breed?

You are right about the adjustment time. No, combs and wattles are distinctive to each bird.

 

[chachie]

The combs and wattles ( "t's") burst forth with their redness in the pullet with hormones are now pumping.




The two birds were hatch mates. You can see they don't mature at the same rate. The pullet on the left is not quite laying yet, while the pullet on the right is laying daily. The size of the wattles and combs is pretty tell tale, as well as the deeper shade of red. Hope that helps.

Two of my hens look like the one on the right, the other two are a little smaller but not as small as the one on the left. Thanks for the info.

I guess if I raised them from chicks I'd see the difference but seeing as I just got them and I've never had chickens before (i.e. noob) I had nothing to compare.

Thanks again

 

[chachie]

Wow...so I got home today and guess what? TWO EGGS! !! I only had them for 6 days. I guess I'm doing something right

 

[escape]

The two birds were hatch mates. You can see they don't mature at the same rate. The pullet on the left is not quite laying yet, while the pullet on the right is laying daily. The size of the wattles and combs is pretty tell tale, as well as the deeper shade of red. Hope that helps.

Thank you so much for sharing this picture! I've spent hours searching for pictures to compare to my chickens and this was perfect! Eggsactly what I needed to see!