Ruby Tuesday: Chicken Combs & Wattles

Barred Rock chickens have straight combs

After photographing the Barred Rock chickens here at home, I have become fascinated by their combs (on top of their head) and wattles (under their jaw). They are red in most, but not all, species of chickens and are fleshy growths. The chickens use them for controlling their body heat. Blood flows from the wattles to the combs to cool chickens off on hot days. But wattles and combs can become frost bitten in the winter and many people will cut them off to prevent freezing. This is called dubbing and it is said to be painless for the chicken. I have been told that the pecking order of the flock can be determined by the size and brightness of the comb: the dominant hen will have the biggest and reddest comb. However, I have found no mention of this in my reading so I can't verify it. 

On the subject of eggs: for whatever reason, be it the season, the barn renovations, the raccoons, or simply being silly chickens, the hens have begun laying their eggs in the woods. Pictured here is a nest of 7 eggs that I found in the willows. John found a nest of over 20 eggs, and we even are finding eggs in the garage. Only about 2 eggs a week are in the nesting boxes. That means there are over one hundred eggs somewhere else! When the new chicken coop is finished, the hens will be confined to it for a few days until they adjust their behaviors.

   My Barred Rock Chicken Set on Flickr

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