Wattles & Combs

[spiderlilly69]

Hello,

I'm new to this site and hope I'm in the right place to get a little help...My daughter has 15 days before she shows her Cornish X at our local County Fair. The birds wattle and Combs aren't very red. Is there something we can feed them to get the desired color?

Last year was our first year raising these birds and she fared well. She got a purple ribbon in the meat category. This year her birds aren't looking so promising so any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Welcome to BYC! Wow, 15 days out from county fair already - I'm so used to it being a summer event.
How old are the birds in question? The redness is something that comes with maturity and, even in these fast growing birds, maturity can vary in the time it takes. It is also possible that her birds this year are female and last year, if redder/more developed at the same age, were male. This is a good link with information regarding how the birds will be judged which may help her to better assess the current state of her birds and how to finish them in the next two weeks: (at the very bottom is info on how they birds are judged)
https://www.extension.iastate.edu/c...files/cedar/Raising-Roasters-and-Broilers.pdf

 

[spiderlilly69]

Ol Grey Mare,

Thanks for sharing the link, that was very informative and I will make certain my daughter reads through it.

The birds are approximately 40-45 days old; we were told feeding corn would help with the pigmentation but I'm not seeing any change in either the wattle or comb. I understand maturity and sex of the bird has a lot to do with the coloring but was hoping maybe someone had some secret they were willing to share with us that could help.

We are almost certain the birds are male, they were a lot bigger than some other birds that we were helping raise for another student (her mom wouldn't let her take them home). We will try some grower/finisher feed, maybe that will help.

Thanks Again!!

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under spiderlilly69 Welcome!

Sorry that I am not able to assist you with your question but you are in good hands with Ol Grey Mare.

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun. Unlike non chicken loving friends, family and colleagues, BYC’ers never tire of stories or pictures that feature our feathered and non feathered friends

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, spiderlilly69, and

! Pleased you joined our flock!

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[N F C]

Good luck to your DD with the fair!

 

[spiderlilly69]

Hello Everyone!

I'm in need of some help again, fair is just right around the corner and we have an issue, at least I think it's an issue... One of my daughter's chicken has black scaly legs (see pictures). Is this normal? If not what is it and is it something we can fix in 6 days. Luckily we have a back up bird to take to fair if this isn't something that's ok but he's not as easy to work with and will not fare well at the fair during showmanship. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
.

 

[spiderlilly69]

Thanks for the Good Luck wishes...Fair was this past weekend and I must say the bird did my daughter & I proud - Grand Champion Market Poultry.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

What an outstanding update!! Congratulations to your daughter on a job very well done!