Stunted Comb?

[youngjedi32002]

My Buff Orpington is 19 weeks old now, as are her coop-mates, a Silver-Laced Wyandotte, an Australorp, and a Rhode Island Red. The Silver-Laced has a beautiful rose comb, very bright red and a lovely waddle. The Australorp has a giant blazing red comb and waddle (if she had plumage on her rear, she would definitely be a roo!) and the RIR has the same, large and red, as is normal for the breed. But my Buff Orpington has a teeny pink comb and barely a waddle happening! She look like my other babies that are only 2 months old, except for that she is GIANT! Is it possible for a comb to be stunted? Is this normal for this breed? This is my first flock and I can't find any info for this issue! Any help I could get would be appreciated. She eats the same as the others, she is active and healthy, but that comb just isn't right!

 

[Sparklee]

Combs and wattles are affected by hormones. Maybe she is a little late with puberty? You'd think by the time she reaches 25-26 (1/2 year) she'll be getting things all worked out. But yes, she is a little late for the average backyard chicken. If she's acting normal and eating well, there's nothing to do but wait. Well, you could take her to a vet, but that seems a bit drastic at this point. It doesn't have anything to do with her breed.

Let's just hope it's not a matter of she's the hen and the others are roosters. Wouldn't that beat all?

 

[nicalandia]

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True... just give her time

 

[youngjedi32002]

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Oh, good Lord, no! LOL

It's odd but that comb is a teeny thing! She is very "red in the face" so I just don't know, maybe the "red" needs to go up?! We'll just have to wait and see. I am hoping that all my hens will start laying soon! If she isn't laying when the others lay then it will definitely be hormonal, I would think!

 

[Sparklee]

You could always try posting pics to see if anyone would know what the problem is by looking at her and her compared to her flockmates. I don't think I could tell anything by pics, but I bet a few people could tell you if her comb looks abnormal in some way or if her comb is more stunted than the normal small size of non-laying pullets.

 

[youngjedi32002]

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Well, that is her in my profile picture. That was about 6 weeks ago (?) but her comb hasn't changed a bit! I will try and post a more recent picture!

 

[youngjedi32002]

This is her last week:

And no jokes about how she looks like a rabbit! My Buff is (obviously) on the left!

That is Abby, my Australorp's butt in the background on the right. See, no plumes, but she is loud and aggressive and has a comb and waddle to beat the band! If she had any big tail feathers, I would swear she was a he!!!

But what about Gwen, my Buff Orpington.....isn't that comb weak?

 

[Svarthona]

Many of my hens have even smaller combs than that without having any health issues

I'm actually selecting for small combs because of our evil cold winters and big combs/wattles having an increased risk for frost bite.
Granted Orpingtons don't usually get selected for miniature combs lol, but I think it's just natural variation to have a bird with a smaller (or bigger) comb than the norm every once in a while

(It's like our whole family having big ears and my cousin having tiny ears

haha. Natural variation and nothing to worry about.)



Oh and while we are at big vs. small combs. I read somewhere that breeders in hot climates prefer big combs and wattles because that would help the birds to cope better with the heat or something. Does anybody know if this is true?

 

[Sparklee]

The face is red and the comb and pre-wattles are obviously pink ... just like you mentioned! That does look a little out of the ordinary.

I am not sure what to say other than I would also wonder what was going on if she were mine. Hopefully, I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

I hope you're able to update on what happens here (and that I manage to see the update) because this is puzzling. Fingers crossed that someone chimes in with a simple explanation in today.

 

[turtlewomyn]

Any updates to this? My buff orpington is a lot like yours and I was told she was around six months old when I got her two weeks ago. I noticed today her waddles are getting more red, but her waddles and comb are small.