It always amazes me how different Speckles comb is in summer and winter.
Speckles comb in May
In summer Speckles comb is huge and bright red. In winter it is small and pink. It completely changes her look.
Speckles comb in October
Her head looks smaller and her face looks quite different. She is all pastel coloured instead of bold red. Her comb changes more than any other girl I have ever had.
In summer her magnificent comb and wattles remind of a cockerel. I never cease to be amazed how her comb can change so completely.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
Wow I didn’t know they could change in size so much like that!
I forgot to press the reply button so my reply to you is further down, after my reply to Mum (Marion).
That certainly is different. Looks very nice bright red.
In summer it is a wonderful bright red.
In their first year hens will lay through the winter but from the second year onward they take a break from laying in winter while they moult. In summer while laying their combs are big and red but when not laying they shrink and go pale. However Speckles has the biggest contrast in this that I have ever come across but then she also has the biggest summer comb of any girl I have ever had.
Seramas on the other hand are a bit different because they moult a few feathers all year round and lay all year round. However mine are moulting heavier than usual at the moment and have stopped laying all except Freckles. This is my first winter with laying girls so I have yet to see for myself. I only had Rusty and Freckles last winter and they didn’t start to lay until spring.
Yes, the difference is huge with large-combed birds – I have a blue andalusian much the same; the good thing is that it lets you predict fairly accurately when they are about to start and lay again – much harder with birds with smaller or rose combs.
That is so true. It is very obvious when they are about to start laying again. With Emerald her comb is so tiny that the only difference between summer and winter is that her tiny comb and her face become more red. Her comb doesn’t change in size at all.