Lesson 286 – Example of a Chicken’s Single Comb

In the “I’ll bet you never knew this about chickens” department –

Those bubble gum blobs on top of chickens’ heads? You know the combs? The American Poultry Association recognizes several forms or shapes of combs including buttercup, cushion, pea, rose, single, strawberry, v-shaped, silkie, and walnut.

This summer I will be on a quest to document all of these variations.

The first captured from our very own flock is the single comb – This particular comb belonged to Currier. He was the pair to Ives and while we had them both together the only way to tell them apart was that (C)urrier had the (C)omb – hey it worked.

Here is a picture of his beautiful single comb. It is the classic type of comb you probably think of when you envision a typical chicken or rooster.

Example of a Chicken's Single Comb

By definition:

The Single comb is a moderately thin, fleshy formation of smooth soft surface texture, firmly attached from the beak along the top of the skull with a strong base. The top portion shows five or six rather deep serrations or distinct points, the middle points being higher than the back or front, forming a semi-oval shape when viewed from the side. The comb is always upright and much larger and thicker in males than in females. It may be lopped or upright in the female. This depends on the breed. The comb is divided into three sections: the front, the middle and that extending past the rear base of the skull, the posterior or blade.

As you can see, Currier’s comb fits the definition to a “T”. It demonstrates the striations, the middle is higher than the back (even though it appears to be a little clipped in the back), it is upright (it doesn’t flop over which I have seen in some combs, especially females) and extends off the back of his head.

I’ve got the whole summer in front of me to find examples of the rest of these comb variations. If you’ve got an outstanding example of a recognized comb shape (or one that is just really weird), please send it my way so that we can all learn more about this fascinating aspect of chickens.