Why do Wattles Shrink?

Aug 13, 2017
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the coop
Hello Y'all! I have a chicken question... :)

I have researched a lot about chickens' wattles... but I have noticed that my hens' wattles shrink in the wintertime and grow in the spring/summer... I could not find anything on the internet about this one. Has anyone else observed this or know exactly why this is? I would assume that it has something to do with egg-laying, temperature (or both?) but that is just a guess. :hmm

Below is a picture of my welsummer hen (Donna) at 3+1/2 years old. The picture below that is of her at 2 years old. As you can see, her wattles shrunk. Other than that, she is a happy, friendly and pretty healthy (other than a recent case of bumble foot), free range hen. She hasn't layed since it dipped below freezing but I expected as much. :)
Thank you for you time!​

welsummer-chicken-breed-hen-rooster.jpg


Image 12-12-17 at 9.46 PM.jpeg
 
Good question and good guesses. It has nothing to do with temperature. It does have to do with egg laying. However the reason is that it is related to day length or, more accurately, whether days are getting shorter or lengthening.
It just happens to be cold when days are short in most climates.

Here's a brief rundown of the science.
Light exposure to the retina is first relayed to the nucleus of the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that coordinates biological clock signals. Fibers from there descend to the spinal cord and then project to the superior cervical ganglia, from which neurons ascend back to the pineal gland. The pineal gland translates signals from the nervous system into a hormonal signal.

When light periods are shorter, the gland produces serotonin and subsequently, melatonin. That's the hormone that affects the gonads for sperm production in males and ovulation in females. An increase in melatonin causes the gonads to become inactive. This also causes combs and wattles to pale and shrink.
Photoperiod, in relation to day vs. night, is the most important clue for animals to determine season. And by extension, when to reproduce.
Cold really has very little to do with egg production. The same thing happens whether it is a cold or warm climate.
As light lengthens, the gonads are rejuvenated. The duration of melatonin secretion each day is directly proportional to the length of the night because of the pineal gland's ability to measure daylength. Besides reproduction, it also affects sleep timing and blood pressure regulation.
So as the light period increases, in relation to the dark period, it stimulates reproduction, the growing and reddening of combs/wattles - voila - EGGS.
 
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She's a very pretty girl.
I also have welsummers.
Two of them. One has a small set of comb and wattles, one is enormous!

Perhaps it has something to with heat transfer and cooling their bodies.
This would make sense since there is so much blood flow to both those areas.

*side note-mine also have had some bumblefoot issues, although no other birds in my flock who live in the exact same circumstances and clean conditions.
I wonder if it's a breed thing.
 
Good question. It has nothing to do with temperature. It does have to do with egg laying. However the reason is that it is related to day length or more accurately whether days are getting shorter or lengthening.
It just happens to be cold when days are short in most climates.

Here's a brief rundown of the science.
Light exposure to the retina is first relayed to the nucleus of the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that coordinates biological clock signals. Fibers from there descend to the spinal cord and then project to the superior cervical ganglia, from which neurons ascend back to the pineal gland. The pineal gland translates signals from the nervous system into a hormonal signal.

When light periods are shorter, the gland produces serotonin and subsequently, melatonin. That's the hormone that affects the gonads for sperm production in males and ovulation in females. An increase in melatonin causes the gonads to become inactive. This also equates to combs and wattles growing pale and shrinking.
Photoperiod, in relation to day vs. night, is the most important clue for animals to determine season. And by extension, when to reproduce.
Cold really has very little to do with egg production. The same thing happens whether it is a cold or warm climate.
As light lengthens, the gonads are rejuvenated. The duration of melatonin secretion each day is directly proportional to the length of the night because of the pineal gland's ability to measure daylength. Besides reproduction, it also affects sleep timing and blood pressure regulation.
So as the light period increases, in relation to the dark period, it stimulates reproduction and - voila - EGGS.
Thanks for this great information!
 
Good question. It has nothing to do with temperature. It does have to do with egg laying. However the reason is that it is related to day length or, more accurately, whether days are getting shorter or lengthening.
It just happens to be cold when days are short in most climates.

Here's a brief rundown of the science.
Light exposure to the retina is first relayed to the nucleus of the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that coordinates biological clock signals. Fibers from there descend to the spinal cord and then project to the superior cervical ganglia, from which neurons ascend back to the pineal gland. The pineal gland translates signals from the nervous system into a hormonal signal.

When light periods are shorter, the gland produces serotonin and subsequently, melatonin. That's the hormone that affects the gonads for sperm production in males and ovulation in females. An increase in melatonin causes the gonads to become inactive. This also equates to combs and wattles growing pale and shrinking.
Photoperiod, in relation to day vs. night, is the most important clue for animals to determine season. And by extension, when to reproduce.
Cold really has very little to do with egg production. The same thing happens whether it is a cold or warm climate.
As light lengthens, the gonads are rejuvenated. The duration of melatonin secretion each day is directly proportional to the length of the night because of the pineal gland's ability to measure daylength. Besides reproduction, it also affects sleep timing and blood pressure regulation.
So as the light period increases, in relation to the dark period, it stimulates reproduction and growing reddening combs/wattles - voila - EGGS.

What a well written, information post! Thank you for taking the time to write it.
 
Good question. It has nothing to do with temperature. It does have to do with egg laying. However the reason is that it is related to day length or, more accurately, whether days are getting shorter or lengthening.
It just happens to be cold when days are short in most climates.

Here's a brief rundown of the science.
Light exposure to the retina is first relayed to the nucleus of the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that coordinates biological clock signals. Fibers from there descend to the spinal cord and then project to the superior cervical ganglia, from which neurons ascend back to the pineal gland. The pineal gland translates signals from the nervous system into a hormonal signal.

When light periods are shorter, the gland produces serotonin and subsequently, melatonin. That's the hormone that affects the gonads for sperm production in males and ovulation in females. An increase in melatonin causes the gonads to become inactive. This also causes combs and wattles to pale and shrink.
Photoperiod, in relation to day vs. night, is the most important clue for animals to determine season. And by extension, when to reproduce.
Cold really has very little to do with egg production. The same thing happens whether it is a cold or warm climate.
As light lengthens, the gonads are rejuvenated. The duration of melatonin secretion each day is directly proportional to the length of the night because of the pineal gland's ability to measure daylength. Besides reproduction, it also affects sleep timing and blood pressure regulation.
So as the light period increases, in relation to the dark period, it stimulates reproduction, the growing and reddening of combs/wattles - voila - EGGS.
Thank you very much! That was well explained. :)
 
She's a very pretty girl.
I also have welsummers.
Two of them. One has a small set of comb and wattles, one is enormous!

Perhaps it has something to with heat transfer and cooling their bodies.
This would make sense since there is so much blood flow to both those areas.

*side note-mine also have had some bumblefoot issues, although no other birds in my flock who live in the exact same circumstances and clean conditions.
I wonder if it's a breed thing.

That is interesting! I also have a welsummer rooster that has had bumble foot 2 times (background of photo 1). My other breeds seem to not have issues with it though. I wonder if it is just coincidence or Welsummers are not as resistant to certain strains of bacteria. :hmm
 
I don't think it is breed specific. Roosters sometimes seem more susceptible, perhaps because of their size.
It starts as a wound of some kind that allows staph bacteria to enter.

The best defense is to eliminate as much as possible in the environment that can cause cuts and abrasions.
 
Good question and good guesses. It has nothing to do with temperature. It does have to do with egg laying. However the reason is that it is related to day length or, more accurately, whether days are getting shorter or lengthening.
It just happens to be cold when days are short in most climates.

Here's a brief rundown of the science.
Light exposure to the retina is first relayed to the nucleus of the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that coordinates biological clock signals. Fibers from there descend to the spinal cord and then project to the superior cervical ganglia, from which neurons ascend back to the pineal gland. The pineal gland translates signals from the nervous system into a hormonal signal.

When light periods are shorter, the gland produces serotonin and subsequently, melatonin. That's the hormone that affects the gonads for sperm production in males and ovulation in females. An increase in melatonin causes the gonads to become inactive. This also causes combs and wattles to pale and shrink.
Photoperiod, in relation to day vs. night, is the most important clue for animals to determine season. And by extension, when to reproduce.
Cold really has very little to do with egg production. The same thing happens whether it is a cold or warm climate.
As light lengthens, the gonads are rejuvenated. The duration of melatonin secretion each day is directly proportional to the length of the night because of the pineal gland's ability to measure daylength. Besides reproduction, it also affects sleep timing and blood pressure regulation.
So as the light period increases, in relation to the dark period, it stimulates reproduction, the growing and reddening of combs/wattles - voila - EGGS.

This is great info , however in my case, only one of my Hens seems to be affected by this. She was the first to start laying at 16 weeks and the only one to stop laying completely. (She's 8 mo now)
Why would this be??
 
Chickens are individuals and not machines. What are breed traits will vary among individuals.
To hazard a guess, it is probably because she started so early so her pipes needed a rest before the others.
 

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