The Buckeye Thread

[fowlman01]

Very good question. Medium compared to what? Well IMO you have to read the whole standard. And also the whole description. It also says close to the head. So if you see a big space between the peas on the comb and the skull, I would call that larger than medium. I am looking for minimal space between well defined peas and 3 straight rows. And the hens should be small but still have 3 defined rows. My feeling is that the females are the key to this. If your female combs are showing any space off the head then I believe they will throw too large a comb in their offspring. Especially the males. I am looking more so at what traits my females are carrying as far as type more so than my males. Not completely but I believe the female is the key. This is all my opinion and only from a few short years of breeding and tons of research. I am no expert bit I believe what Nettie and a few successful breeders have to say. I'm having success in my birds so far in my opinion again.

Good point Josh people forget about the female comb because it is not as noticeable as the male.

Walt

 

[buckeyechicken]

Very good question. Medium compared to what? Well IMO you have to read the whole standard. And also the whole description. It also says close to the head. So if you see a big space between the peas on the comb and the skull, I would call that larger than medium. I am looking for minimal space between well defined peas and 3 straight rows. And the hens should be small but still have 3 defined rows. My feeling is that the females are the key to this. If your female combs are showing any space off the head then I believe they will throw too large a comb in their offspring. Especially the males. I am looking more so at what traits my females are carrying as far as type more so than my males. Not completely but I believe the female is the key. This is all my opinion and only from a few short years of breeding and tons of research. I am no expert bit I believe what Nettie and a few successful breeders have to say. I'm having success in my birds so far in my opinion again.

Both of my rooster have about 1/4 inch space from the crown of the head to the peas and I am calling that a large comb, one has the defined rows of peas and the other is not so defined, my hens all have combs that rest on the crown of the head but the rows are not as defined as the roosters so should I pick out the best hen with a defined row of peas and work with the defined rooster (Larger comb) which is liking in other areas to meet the SOP for the comb and get that under control and them move to other parts that do not meet standards.

 

[Minniechickmama]

With other comb types, they vary greatly depending upon where the strain was originally from. With single combs, we find strains raised in the south have MUCH larger combs than their Midwestern or Northern cousins. Combs dissipate heat, and so it's thought that the larger Southern combs have developed in large part to assist with cooling.

I wonder if the Buckeye breed is similar?

Typically, comb issues are very low-point faults; it's one of the last thing that most breeders work on after body type issues are resolved. I would be curious what our judges here on BYC say about the Buckeye comb and point value for what they would consider a comb that's too large or too small.

I have been curious about the weather effecting the combs on some of my birds. I see pictures of Wyandottes for example, that have huge combs on them and mine just don't get like that. I have BLRWs from 3 strains here and none of them are overly large combed.
Also, my Black Minorcas, compared to the other SC breeds/varieties I have here have big combs and wattles, but I see others that are huge.
The Bucks, I see are very consistent in comb size with the strain I am breeding regardless of time of the year that they are hatched and reared.

 

[Minniechickmama]

What would be the proper dimension of the comb? I keep hearing medium comb to someone that has no idea what a medium comb is it is hard for new comers to know what to breed to or look for when selecting their breeding stock.

Go to the SOP pg. 115 shows a difference in combs sizes for Leghorns. Even though they are using a different breed and comb type, I think it is a good guideline to use for comparing comb size. It is more in relation to the size of the head. Again a question of balance and proportion, in my opinion.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Both of my rooster have about 1/4 inch space from the crown of the head to the peas and I am calling that a large comb, one has the defined rows of peas and the other is not so defined, my hens all have combs that rest on the crown of the head but the rows are not as defined as the roosters so should I pick out the best hen with a defined row of peas and work with the defined rooster (Larger comb) which is liking in other areas to meet the SOP for the comb and get that under control and them move to other parts that do not meet standards.

If you have no other traits to concentrate on, then I would look much closer at the comb, but I would first look at the best body type. If you have fluffy birds or poor leg color or 'off' wing carriage, etc, then I would start really culling the combs. Like was mentioned, combs are on the lower end of importance. That is not to say that you want to ignore completely, just know it isn't as important a trait that the overall bird's type. If I had a hen that had a perfect comb but only weighed 4-pounds. I would cull her.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Here is a comb we can look at, and feel free to comment:
What I like about this comb is the nice definition of the rows of "peas". I like the size enough, but would like to see it just a little larger

However, when you look at it from the side, I really dislike how it comes up almost to a point in the back with a drop down to the skull again.

This bird was culled, not for his comb, but because he completely lacked undercolor and he was not filling out in width or weight as I expect my Bucks to.

 

[cgmccary]

On combs size:

I think if the comb is not grossly small nor grossly large and if generally, the pea comb is medium in size relative to the head, then all is well if it otherwise is correct. Size of the comb here is somewhat subjective.

I have not seen that combs generally are the big problem when it comes to Buckeyes. I suspect what Wynette says about different climates making combs larger or smaller would apply to the Buckeye's comb as well. I do not understand why it wouldn't. I am not at the point where I am selecting just on the basis of a comb, but I have only been breeding Buckeyes for 7 years.

IMHO, the problem I see with some Buckeyes that is not as easy to fix is in the bodies of some present lines.

Edited by staff

 

[slfarms]

...

On combs size:

I think if the comb is not grossly small nor grossly large and if generally, the pea comb is medium in size relative to the head, then all is well if it otherwise is correct. Size of the comb here is somewhat subjective.

I have not seen that combs generally are the big problem when it comes to Buckeyes. I suspect what Wynette says about different climates making combs larger or smaller would apply to the Buckeye's comb as well. I do not understand why it wouldn't. I am not at the point where I am selecting just on the basis of a comb, but I have only been breeding Buckeyes for 7 years.

IMHO, the problem I see with some Buckeyes that is not as easy to fix is in the bodies of some present lines.

I agree that type and color needs to be worked on prior to combs in the buckeye lines.

Edited by staff

 

[Minniechickmama]

On combs size:

I think if the comb is not grossly small nor grossly large and if generally, the pea comb is medium in size relative to the head, then all is well if it otherwise is correct. Size of the comb here is somewhat subjective.

I have not seen that combs generally are the big problem when it comes to Buckeyes. I suspect what Wynette says about different climates making combs larger or smaller would apply to the Buckeye's comb as well. I do not understand why it wouldn't. I am not at the point where I am selecting just on the basis of a comb, but I have only been breeding Buckeyes for 7 years.

IMHO, the problem I see with some Buckeyes that is not as easy to fix is in the bodies of some present lines.

I can see in my own flock that overall the size is very good and birds dress out nicely like the one in the right of this photo, but have some that are just not great specimens coming from the same exact parents. Sometimes I believe it comes from an individual birds genetic coding to be thrifty or not. Most of us already know that you can get variation with offspring, if you have to show quality birds that you mate together, the likeliness of getting SQ birds out of them is higher than mating two average birds, but is no guarantee. Just as the possibility of breeding two average birds can produce real winners once in a while. It is really a numbers game more than anything.
I have Blue varieties of a few breeds and after a couple of years of breeding, I am looking at the color and not really crazy with what I am getting. I have done research and found that a key to keeping good color is to utilize the Splash birds for improvement in color. So, I asked Duane Urch about that this summer, "What do you do to improve the color of Blues?" His reply, "Hatch a lot of them." Sometimes it isn't some secret 'recipe' but merely a numbers game. Having good foundation and knowing what traits to breed and when you should and shouldn't introduce new blood is all going to help you with all of that.

Edited by staff

 

[homeworkin]

I love these great discussions about combs and such. I will need to be selecting my breeders from the 15 Buckeyes I have. My younger birds will be 24 weeks in January so I'll need to know what I am looking at when that rolls around. For me, how fast they gain is important so I will also be recording weights in a few weeks.

Good info on the blues as well. I have 4 birds from a breeder who purchased them directly from Foley and a cockerel descended from them. BLRW genetics is a whole lot more to learn.

Edited by staff