What’s Wrong With The Combs???

[Harry'sMom]

Hi everyone,

My hens started laying eggs!!!! So exciting for me because I am a first time chicken owner. But I need to make sure I am still taking the best care of them that I can.

I have 2 roosters out of the six I raised from chicks. A Silkie and a Belgium D’Uccle... every once in a while the little bantam would get black spots on his comb, which I assumed were from being pecked because he’s half the size of all the others, but now a point of his comb is missing!! Is Vaseline and pepper the best solution to stop this??? It doesn’t look to terrible, but I want the little guy to stop getting picked on. My coop is 8’ x 4’ and the run is 8’ x 8’ and they free range most days.

Also, I have two leghorn hens... both started laying about a week ago (yaaay!!) the both have big beautiful red combs, but one of their combs flops over. Is this normal??

Pictures of both attached!!

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Silkie2]

A comb flopping over is fine. the comb just gets so big it will flop over (common in leghorns because of their large combs they usually get) I just learned this too, since i used to have my silkies with my standards; Standards and Bantams don't mix. Bantams should live in separate pens/coops then standards. due to their size, standards will pick on the bantams (to death in some cases)

Congrats on your first eggs! when i first got my chickens that was a very exciting day!

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Floppy combs is normal.

Nothing is wrong with keeping bantams and standards,I always keep standards and bantams.Maybe better space would help.
Have never had a bantam get picked on,your birds need viable reason to kill another chicken no matter size.However they may be more susceptible to getting bullied because their small,as long as they have aduqate space,they should be fine.I have standard size New Hampshire rooster with an. Cochin bantams,and trust me a New Hampshire is much bossier and aggressive then a silkie,an dthey coexist just fine,your issue is your boy is probably getting beat up by your male.

 

[Silkie2]

Floppy combs is normal.

Nothing is wrong with keeping bantams and standards,I always keep standards and bantams.Maybe better space would help.
Have never had a bantam get picked on,your birds need viable reason to kill another chicken no matter size.However they may be more susceptible to getting bullied because their small,as long as they have aduqate space,they should be fine.I have standard size New Hampshire rooster with an. Cochin bantams,and trust me a New Hampshire is much bossier and aggressive then a silkie,an dthey coexist just fine,your issue is your boy is probably getting beat up by your male.

I was told by multiple people on here to separate my bantam silkie hen from my standards because she was going “bald” and it was getting worse and worse. My hens live in a fairly big run (we used to have goats in it.) but my silkie would still get pecked on and would be chased around by the other birds. Also silkies heads are VERY sensitive so if they get pecked on hard enough it can damage the silkie internally. So yes it can lead to death especially with silkies (I don’t know about the other bantam breeds, if they are similar)

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Every flock of birds is different.I had a large fowl hen who just in general was disliked by the others.I keep all my bantams and large fowl together and have never had an issue.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

But that’s not seeing it isn’t possible.

 

[Aapomp831]

A comb flopping over is fine. the comb just gets so big it will flop over (common in leghorns because of their large combs they usually get) I just learned this too, since i used to have my silkies with my standards; Standards and Bantams don't mix. Bantams should live in separate pens/coops then standards. due to their size, standards will pick on the bantams (to death in some cases)

Congrats on your first eggs! when i first got my chickens that was a very exciting day!

I don’t think that’s necessarily true; I have bantams living with my huge sex linked girls. They all get along perfectly fine; as a matter of fact my broody Bantam is the head of the pecking order.

 

[Folly's place]

My bantams and standard birds also live together, and always have. That doesn't mean that individual birds can't have problems, and that removing a bully, or making arrangements for a picked on bird won't be necessary sometimes. It's part of flock management.
Some breeds tend to be either more aggressive than average, or much milder than average, and that can mean separate coops for them.
Mary

 

[Birdsong 82]

Are all of the chickens picking on this one or is it just one chicken picking on it?

 

[Folly's place]

If your two roosters have resolved their issues, and the hens aren't being harassed, maybe you can keep both of them. There are too few hens for two roosters though, so either move one of them on, and/ or get more hens!
Mary