What is Up With This Comb??

[OlyChickenGuy]

I got this little guy and five others at an auction late last spring, I think. Two of his brothers had a similar comb problem, but none flopped over NEARLY as much - unfortunately, they passed away. One of his sisters also had a somewhat floppy comb. Also, breed?? My house mate guessed Old English Game mutts, but due to the white earlobes I'm thinking Dutch Bantam mutt? One of his sisters had an almost faux Sebright patterning, and one of his brothers had a very weak Mille Fluer - and I know both colourings are currently being attempted to bring into Old English Games, and the combination of Pea combs and Single combs can result in something... similar to this, but I've never seen one just FLOP.

Also... should I be worried? Should I consider docking the comb? He gets along fine, seems to be able to see just fine, he can find food and water without issue, and the comb doesn't actually touch his eye. It's not painful to him, it's not swollen or anything, it's just... floppy. House mate suggested that it was just very, very BAD breeding. Agree / disagree?

Anyhow, here's some poor quality photos of my boy, Bowser, chilling with me while I surf the web:

The scabs are from when my Rhode Island Red rooster took a liking to him and kept trying to mate him. Other than that, though, they get along great. Also I'm looking quite a bit out of it because I'm sick, and I never look very "together" when I'm taking self-photos. Oh well!

 

[BoldogKennel]

He'll probably be OK without dubbing. I mean my leghorn hens have big old combs like that and they do pretty good. He seems to enjoy house time with you!

 

[Illia]

Such a thing happens a lot with heterozygous pea combs (what he has - it's part pea comb, part single comb) It isn't a big worry except if it seems really heavy or seems to blind his vision, otherwise there's a lot out there with combs like that. You can choose to or not to dub it.

 

[OlyChickenGuy]

@BoldogKennel - Oh yes, he is very sweet and absolutely loves being with me. He still has a little ways to go to be totally comfortable riding my shoulder, though!

@Illia - Hah! So I was right! It IS a Pea x Single thing! The comb just kind of seems like a big, fleshy blob. If I could get a good recording and upload it to YouTube or something I'd show what happens when I flip his comb up ( it only goes so far in the other direction ). It'll almost always just flop back down. Like I said, though, it doesn't actually TOUCH his eye and there doesn't seem to be any swelling or irritation in the area where it does touch the face. I worry what will happen when we end up on the street, though. Guess I'll just have to make extra sure he stays clean and dry under there!