6 Amazing Facts You Should Know About Chicken Comb
A chicken comb is a fleshy mostly red outgrowth on the top of the head of some poultry birds, such as turkeys, chickens, quail etc.
It comes in different shapes and sizes depending on the age, breed and sex of the birds.
The health of a chicken comb can stand it out amongst its peers.
No wonder most customers would rather prefer to buy a healthy-looking cock or chicken with a bright red big chicken comb, because of its attractiveness and perceive health status.
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Here are some amazing little-known facts about this beautiful multipurpose fleshy outgrowth on top of the chicken head:
It’s a known fact that Chicken Comb Helps the chicken regulate its body temperature
As we all know Chickens do not have sweat glands or don’t sweat like humans do. That healthy fleshy-out growth helps it to regulate its body temperature during hot weather conditions.
The chicken comb enables your chicken to sail through that stressful period alive. It is often referred to as the cooling centre of the bird.
Also during cold weather, a chicken will often restrict circulation to its comb to help it conserve body heat, and prevent heat loss from the comb thereby keeping it warm and safe.
The Chicken Comb Helps in selecting mates (servers as sexual attraction)
A chicken comb also plays an important role in selecting sexual mates for itself.
As a chicken matures and their reproductive hormone becomes matured, its comb starts to get red, bigger and fuller.
In general, cockerels start experiencing those growth hormones more than pullet i.e. because they are the male counterparts of chickens.
This causes them to develop larger, bigger and faster combs than pullets.
Mature cockerels have larger combs than hens of the same species or breed.
Both hens and cockerels use comb size as a way of selecting mates that are healthy and fit.
A chicken with a vibrant red chicken comb that is large and full indicates that the chicken is usually healthy and mature.
Research has shown that hens are more attracted to cockerels or roosters with the brightest and red sparkling comb than they are to a cock that has a boring-looking comb.
Invariable males (cockerels) can use the size, shape and colour of the chicken comb and wattles to attract hens (females).
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Chicken Comb Can Reveal the Health Status of Your Chicken
The colour of your chicken comb can tell you a lot about the health status of your chicken.
A normal healthy comb will be sparkling red, purple or black depending on the breed of the bird, but a pullet that has not yet reached the point of lay or has not started laying egg may have a small pinkish comb.
This is normal as her hormones have not yet started developing or have not fully developed
Once the hen has fully started laying eggs and she is healthy one of the best indicators of that is to see a bright red comb on the chicken’s head.
Chicken combs that are looking pale or dull not too bright may indicate that all is not well with your birds dig in and understand what the problem could be so as to proffer a solution to the problem.
It might be worm infestation or some underlying diseases that could be cured using one or two antibiotics.
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Signs of Molting
Normally chickens go into molting in the second year of laying eggs, particularly laying hens.
When the time for moulting comes, their combs become pale or pink indicating that moulting has begun, and they begin to shade their feathers for a period of time.
they also shade their feathers in preparation for the coming winters for those who live in cooler regions of the world.
The chicken comb also reveals the chickens’ age
The chicken comb will always tell us about the age of a chicken when their combs shrink or become floppy and pink is an indication that the chicken is nearing its last days or is advanced in age.
Especially if the chicken doesn’t have any other health issues or complications.
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The chicken comb can also reveal to us a Broody Hen
In chickens laying eggs for human consumption, normally laying hens are meant to be laying eggs daily for human consumption.
There are instances where some hens just start brooding and stop laying eggs as frequently as required.
once they start this behaviour their comb can change its colour from the usual bright red colour, to pale or pink indicating to the farmer or owner that his hen or chickens are brooding so that he can proffer a solution to the problem.
Conclusion
In simple terms, the comb will help you differentiate the boys from the girls’ i.e. the rooster (cockerels) from the hen.
It will equally help the farmer to understand the healthy status of his birds through the colour of their comb as explained earlier.
A healthy chicken would have a bright tick-red comb while a sick bird would have a pale, dull or less healthy-looking comb.
Adhering to the best managerial practices and taking good care of birds at all times will always keep the chicken comb of your birds red, healthy and attractive, and if your birds’ comb are healthy and attractive the birds in turn will be in good health.
