pink comb....

[gilroycarol]

This is my light sussex hen,the dealer said she was about a year old when we got her 2 months ago. She wasnt laying when we got her and went straight into a moult,now all her feathers are back lovely but she still isnt laying,also I notice her comb is this funny pink colour now,is this normal? Sorry the pictures not very good! :roll:

 

[Bertie & The Chooks]

the comb will go a light pink or pink when not laying and bright red when laying. it looks ok to me and most chickens have stopped laying for the season. though i have a couple who are still laying at the moment. mine are also still moulting.

 

[gilroycarol]

ahh thanks very much,we always had hybrids before and they seemed to lay all winter! Thanks for putting my mind at rest

 

[chrismahon]

I agree with Bertie -looks fine. May not lay this year now but that's good really, as she will be all the stronger next year.

 

[Chuck]

She looks OK. I expect most of mine, hybrids and pure breeds to lay throughout the winter otherwise they're not worth keeping !
If people don't set their sights higher when breeding, they soon won't lay in the summer either.

 

[jubilee]

She looks OK. I expect most of mine, hybrids and pure breeds to lay throughout the winter otherwise they're not worth keeping !
If people don't set their sights higher when breeding, they soon won't lay in the summer either.

On the other hand, it's a well earned rest for most birds, who have laid their hearts out all spring and summer, constant laying takes it's toll on the birds body, and then moulting too which comes at the end of the season, in the wild, all birds will only lay in the spring, it's un-natural to force birds to lay eggs all year round. No wonder battery hens are changed so often, when they have been forced by adding artificial light to lay for over a year at a time. They are fed well, but you only have to see the state in which they're in when the farms have done with them to understand why keeping birds in lay, when they should naturally be recouperating, is not for the best.
Also, when breeding from them, chicks will naturally grow better, and reach their full potential being hatched in the natural time-span, from early spring to late summer. Late hatched birds moult at strange times, and spend most of their growing time trying to keep warm, so never really reach their full size. Not to mention the fertility of the cockerels dip, and the males even have periods where they don't tread at all, and most are infertile during the winter months.

JubesX

 

[Chuck]

So cows should only lactate for three or four months, long enough to feed the calf ! And horses shouldn't be bred for work.

And didn't I read on another thread that you don't allow your chickens to perch being a heavy breed thus depriving them of their natural instinct to roost on a perch. And didn't your hens become so big because they have been bred that way for fancy not for function.

From what I read on the Forum, my working girls are fed a much more natural diet and live a much more natural life than many others and still manage to lay eggs in the winter.

 

[Bertie & The Chooks]

So cows should only lactate for three or four months, long enough to feed the calf ! And horses shouldn't be bred for work.

And didn't I read on another thread that you don't allow your chickens to perch being a heavy breed thus depriving them of their natural instinct to roost on a perch. And didn't your hens become so big because they have been bred that way for fancy not for function.

From what I read on the Forum, my working girls are fed a much more natural diet and live a much more natural life than many others and still manage to lay eggs in the winter.

:shock: good point Chuck, but i don't think it was meant to stir. 11 07

oh and mine lay in the winter, usually as soon as the snow comes!! lol but they have a break usually one or two at a time will stop and then start again after a month. I have two laying at the moment but the rest are moulting.

 

[jubilee]

So cows should only lactate for three or four months, long enough to feed the calf ! And horses shouldn't be bred for work.

And didn't I read on another thread that you don't allow your chickens to perch being a heavy breed thus depriving them of their natural instinct to roost on a perch. And didn't your hens become so big because they have been bred that way for fancy not for function.

From what I read on the Forum, my working girls are fed a much more natural diet and live a much more natural life than many others and still manage to lay eggs in the winter.

Sorry Chuck, don't know much about cows, and no body asked what i thought about them and how they are forced to give milk all year round. but i do like milk in my coffee. Horses should be bred for work, totally agree, my horses work! I wasn't by any means having a go at how you keep your birds, you didn't ask for my advice, so it wasn't given to you. I was mearly giving the poster a different opinion. Which is why i began with ''on the other hand''.....
Not allowing my birds to perch is condusive to their welfare! along with other breeds of heavy fowl, not just orps. My hens are a very large breed, i personally didn't breed them that way, happened way before i kept orps! Although i have been for the past 5 years campaining for folks to breed them smaller like they used to be, and their distant cousins the Australop! None of my birds are 'Orpyphants'! Take a look on my website. Getting them too big is detrimental to their health, fertility and wellbeing as far as i'm concerned.
Personally, i prefere the natural approach, letting birds chill out and moult while having a break from laying. And i thought the person who posted asking for advice kept pet poultry, not working girls. Each to their own hunny. Every one is different, no need to have a pop just because my opinion is different to yours eh? I thought this forum was supposed to be friendly, i shall be certainly much more careful on answering posts in future!! (if at all!)

JubesXX

 

[chrismahon]

So are we all agreed that this pink comb is nothing to worry about then? And she might lay before Winter?

 

[Chuck]

So we are not so far apart after all then Jubes.

 

[jubilee]

Apearently not! :lol: I have pm'd you chuck.
Yes, we agree that this birds comb is quite normal, and she'll begin to lay again in her own time.

JubesX