Part 2. Chanti combs, What the heck is that? PHOTO HEAVY

Ok, so this os part 2.
I still dont know nuttin bout gradin no chanties.

What kind of combs (OTHER than wrong) are these. Are any of these "DO NOT USE!" or are they not so bad?
Any enlightenment is absolutely welcome!


ONE
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


TWO
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


THREE
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


FOUR
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


FIVE
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


SIX
Has one crincled wattle, other normal
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


SEVEN
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


EIGHT
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


NINE
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


TEN
Two Pullets with very different head types
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Only the pullet on the bottom right has a decent head, the one to the left has a "crow" type head and should be kept out of the next gene pool. Sorry about your luck. I see you have a couple different comb types popping up. Line breeding will make that show and with that being said you know that both parents of the "other" comb chanties are impure for cushion combs.

Good to know about the crow head. Schip has been trying to teach me about that. I thought this was a pretty good example. One of those things where once you have seen it, you know what it is. She really does look like a crow.

Those are all pea combs, meaning both their parents are only heterogyous for rose comb.

I haven't looked at the other thread yet, but will comment here.
I am having some comb troubles as well with mine. I think it depends on what you want with these. Are you looking for show stoppers or to improve the breed and start a line of your own?
If you are looking for show stoppers, stay away from many of these birds, if you want to improve the breed, look at the type of the bird first and then the comb.
I would stay away from any single combs, but would consider pea combs if the rest of the bird is just what you are looking for. I have used a bad combed rooster and gotten some very nice birds out of it. Some shockers too though.

I agree with Piet about the pullets. Really like the one on the right, don't use the one on the left unless you really have to. I personally like very strong headed females. I like a strong, serious brow and a stern look. Just my preference though.
Sometimes we have to use less than perfect birds when starting out and cull very hard for a year or two. Nice these are such good eaten!

Number SIX I thought had a correct comb, but his one wattle iscrinkled, so that is why he is in this section.

The two girls at the end... I am going to keep the girl on the right as she has a correct comb, but I would rather not keep the girl on the left as she has a peacomb, and the crow head.

I dont have a big flock. All the birds in this group have very yellow legs, so no issues that way. Im now looking at combs. I have two younger groups that I will be keeping from as soon as they are big enough to start choosing from.

Pardon me, breeder of mutts here, crow head? What the heck is crow head? My untrained and non-discerning eye sees that other than the way the feathers sit, those heads look pretty similar to me. Same length of beak, same curve of beak, eye colour very close. I might even go so far as to say that if both birds had shaved heads, their skulls would look the same.

Is crow head simply a matter of how the feathers spring up and make the head look fuller as opposed to lay flat and make the head look more tapered? So, it's all about having a bad hair day? You can be removed from the gene pool because your feathers ain't sitting just right?

So is crow head an actual BONE situation or FEATHER situation? I is confu zed.

Uno, crow head is a longer, thinner head with no depth to it. They are often more narrow when viewed from the top as well. They are often associated with a bird that is more shallow in its body as well with a narrow back and a body that lacks depth and substance. Usually a crow headed bird has a lack of vigor and is much less productive.

Look again at the picture, the head appears longer and thinner with the beak looking a little longer as well. She is not the worst example I have seen of it, but I would agree that she is a bit crow headed.

I would say she may be the same pullet as picture 4 and there are a couple of males I think are tending to crow heads as well, but have crappy combs so will not be used anyways.

I was actually touching the two different heads and it is defintiely not just feathers. The skull shape is ver different. The correctly skulled girl has a round skull to the touch. It is substantial and round.
The girl with the crow head has a longer skull and it is a little smaller. The girls have the same body size and weight, but the round headed girl has a hint larger bone (leg thickness).

I dont know why one is prefered above the next other than esthetics. I too like the look of the rounder head. Usually there is a reason why something is prefered other than it is pretty. I have no idea what it would be.

Coopslave! Thanks!

So the crow head is linked to the narrowre body, which is of course not prefered.
Now I know!

Are there breeds in which the longer, narrow head is to be expected?

I too prefer a chunkier head and recall some of the nicest Dark Brahmas I have seen had a solid head with a prominent heavy brow and almost a scowl, which is so NOT their personality!

But now that it is pointed out to me, I see the differences, although to be honest they did not immediately make themselves apparent to me. Now if one had been growing antlers, I would have noticed that! I feel so much smarter now!