Undeveloped Comb/Waddles

[Grins]

We have a Buff Orphington known to us as 'Combless" for reasons apparent. She is 23 weeks old and her sister just laid her first egg a couple days ago. Her sister has well developed comb and waddles. So I'm tapping into the collective genius of all you smart folks. Will Combless lay eggs? Is she destined to go through life flat combed? Thanks folks!

 

[BantamLover21]

Can you post a photo of her comb? Its smallness may be because it is a different type of comb than a regular single comb.

Edited: Just looked at the photo again, and was able to see that it is indeed a single comb. Some birds just have smaller combs than others, either due to genetics or slower maturing. She may lay later than her sister, but she almost certainly will lay if given time to mature. The comb may never be particularly large, but it will probably get redder/slightly larger before she lays.

 

[Grins]

Thanks for the reply, here are two more pics, I hope they help.

 

[BantamLover21]

Looks like a normal shaped comb for a Buff Orpington. I expect that it will get larger once she starts laying.

 

[BantamLover55]

Looks like a normal shaped comb for a Buff Orpington. I expect that it will get larger once she starts laying.

I agree with BantamLover21. It is a fairly normal comb.

Oh, and by the way:

 

[Grins]

Fantastic! Thanks for the reassurance! As I said, her sister has a well developed comb so I was concerned. We re-started our flock this last spring with 2 Buffs, 2 New Hampshire Reds, and 2 Australorps. It's good to be getting eggs again.

Thanks for the welcome! I've been a lurker for quite a while.

 

[lazy gardener]

Welcome. No need to lurk. Jump right in! More conversation is what keeps these threads alive. and she's a pretty gal. If you're in a cold weather state, you'll be thankful for that dainty little comb.

 

[Grins]

Some around here think it gets a bit nippy at times. 35 below does call for long sleeves at times. We are in Montana and we have had frostbitten combs in the past. We use a heat lamp when it starts pushing 20 below and the hen house is well protected.

 

[lazy gardener]

My RIR had a bit of frost bite last winter. Didn't loose any points. But, I'm switching my flock over to pea and rose combs, though I did allow one straight comb chick to stay b/c she was one of the first to start laying. She's a small Pioneer (one of the meat birds) and they're reputed to be good layers, so she gets to stay for now.

 

[Grins]

We've had chickens off and on for well over a decade here in Montana. We've only had frostbite once, last year, and it was an extended cold snap when the polar vortex came'a'knockin. We had the worst chickens of all our years then, sexlinks, and I think they were weenies. We did away with the sexlinks and got some real chickens, Buffs, New Hampshire Reds, and Australorps, a pair of each. I'm sure these babes are hardier than those sexlink weenies, never liked those birds.