C~is for Chicken Combs

This is Mr. Cotton. He is a handsome Japanese Silky Rooster. Check out his impressive comb. Have you ever wondered, why Chickens have Combs? Well apparently they act as a cooling agent, because chickens do not sweat. Instead, birds are cooled by blood that flows through the comb and wattles and as the warm blood circulates through the comb and other head appendages, it is cooled and returned to the interior of the chicken. The second reason is that the large combs on males attract females - chickens can detect color and are very attracted to red.

But did you also know that the males of some breeds of chickens are required to be "dubbed" in order to be shown. This is similar to the docking of tails on certain breeds of dogs. And at one time, many of the commercial poultry farms routinely removed the combs from all birds at an early age to prevent injuries and subsequent infection later in life, which would reduce the commercial value of the bird.

Mr. Cotton proudly displays a 'Silky Comb', a type of Walnut/Rose comb. And I bet you didn't know that throughout history cock's combs have been thought to have mysterious powers including medicinal uses. And there is currently an FDA approved drug, from the combs of specially bred roosters, for the treatment of facial wrinkles and folds. Neat, huh?

This is Sid Vicious, our Golden-Laced Bearded Polish Rooster. He sports an intriguing horn-like comb, called a 'V-Shape' comb.
Isn't he a handsome devil!
Sid Vicious, the Sultan of the coop, and his Minion, Mr. Cotton are oddly enough, best buddies still. They never fight with each other and don't have any problems with sharing the ladies of their harem.
So, just in case you wanted to know, The American Poultry Association recognizes several forms or shapes of combs including buttercup, cushion, pea, rose, single, strawberry, v-shaped, and walnut. There are actually two different forms of rose comb. (Click photo to enlarge)Different Types of Standard Male Combs:

Single: (The most common) A moderately thin, fleshy formation of smooth soft surface texture, firmly attached from the beak along the top of skull with a strong base, the top portion showing five or six rather deep serrations or distinct points, the middle points being higher than the anterior or posterior, forming a semi-oval when viewed in profile. The comb always erect and much larger and thicker in male than female; may be lopped or erect in female, depending on breed. The comb is divided into three sections, the front or anterior, the middle, and that extending past the rear base of the skull, the posterior or blade, (Fig. 12).
***TIP: One of the major problems with single combs is that the points tend to freeze and fall off in extremely cold weather. This does not normally affect the health of the bird and the comb can be protected by covering the comb with petroleum jelly during times of extreme cold. The petroleum jelly insulates the comb and prevents frostbite.***

Rose: A solid, broad, nearly flat on top, low fleshly comb, terminating in a well developed tapering spike, which may turn upward as in Hamburgs; is nearly horizontal as in Rose Comb Leghorns; or follow the contour of the head in Wyandottes. Top surface of the main part should be slightly convex and studded with small rounded protuberances. General shape varies in different breeds (Fig. 13).

Pea: A medium length, low comb, the top of which is marked with three low lengthwise ridges, the center one slightly higher than the outer ones, the top of which are either undulated or marked with small rounded serrations, (Fig. 14); a breed characteristic found in Ameraucanas, Brahmas, Buckeyes, Cornish, Cubalayas and Sumatras.

V-Shaped: A comb formed of two well defined, hornlike sections joined at their base, as in Houdans, Polish, Crevecoeurs, La Fleche and Sultans, (Fig. 15).

Cushion: A low, compact comb of relatively small size, it should be quite smooth, possess no depressions or no spikes and not extend beyond the mid point of the skull, (Fig. 16).

Buttercup: Consists of a single blade arising at the juncture of the head and beak rising up and slightly back to the cup shaped crown, set squarely on the center of the skull. The rim of the cup shall bear an evenly spaced circle of points and be closed at the back. Points emerging from the center of the cup are a serious defect, (Fig. 17).

Strawberry: A low set, compact comb of somewhat egg shape with the larger portion forward and the rear extending no further than the midpoint of the skull, (Fig. 18).

Silkie: An almost round, somewhat lumpy comb, inclined to be greater in width than length; covered with small corrugations on top and crossed with a narrow, transverse indentation slightly to front of the middle of comb. Sometimes two or three small rear points hidden by crest, others without points. Generally considered to be genetically a rose comb, changed by rose comb plus crest.

Walnut: A solid, moderately broad comb resulting from the combination of two dominant alleles for the Rose (R) and Pea (P) comb, with a surface that shows some furrowing reminiscent of a walnut half.
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Here are several hens from my coop modeling their combs. Can you guess which types of combs they have?

First up is one of the Silver-Laced Wyandotte Sisters. (They don't have individual names, just the SLW Sisters).
Second up is our Easter Egger hen, Fertile Myrtle. (She's the gal who gave us many double yolked eggs and several triple yolkers last Spring)
Next up is our beautiful Barred Rock hen, Betty.
And last, but certainly not least, is one of our Danish Brown Leghorns.

So what type of combs reside in your coop?

For more information on combs, check out Dave Anderson's article.
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PS And in case you're wondering....No, my current borrowed camera (from the deepest pit in Hades) did not take any of these photos. All of these nice photos were taken by my beloved camera, that was stolen last month (sob).