Floppy Combs

Chicken Chaser

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Howdy,

I heard if you entered a chicken with a floppy
comb you'd get disqualified. Is this true? :?

~Chicken Chaser
 
could be true...
but look at the pic!
http://www.theleghornclub.com/images/Picture_014blue.jpg
 
Howdy,

That is what mine looks like only she a little bit smaller.
Thanks for you help! :D

~Chicken Chaser
 
leghorn hen will have a floppy comb but the cockerel should have a large straight comb.
 
As said already, Leghorn hens should have a flopped over comb (doesn't matter which way it flops). Males have to have an upright comb.
Leghorns from laying (utility) lines don't generally have the exagerated size of combs that the show Leghorns have and would probably not stand up to the competition on those grounds and the yellow legs tend to fade when in full lay.
Leghorn bantams have even more enlarged combs than the large fowl and I find these combs quite repugnant and can't be good for the birds either.
 
it's unlikely a male bird with a lopped comb would be disqualified, but it would stand little chance of gaining any awards.
in breeds such as Minorcas and Leghorns which require females to have lopped combs, males with lopped combs are necessary to breed daughters with good head points. Similarly, good exhibition males are bred from cocks with strong erect combs, bred to hens with strong upright combs as well.
Most strains of show Leghorns and Minorcas are pullet breeding strains, that is strains created to breed show females. Many show males are also from these strains, but are fortunate to retain a strong upright comb in their first season, making them suitable for showing. Most of them develop lopped combs as they mature.
The excessively large combs that chuck refers to, can cause cerebral hernias through their sheer size and weight in males, and can impede a birds vision flopped over their faces. This in turn can reduce a birds fertility, and it was common practice for breeders to 'dub' ( cut off the comb) these males before using them in the breeding pen.
Dubbing although now only legal when performed on a chick up to 24 hours old now, is still widely practiced by commercial breeders who flock mate their birds.
 

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