Little Chicken Girl
Songster
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.
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!
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.
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!