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An Appearance of Abnormal Combs
A Beginner’s Experience with the Unexpected
By Scott Colomb
February 8, 2013
Ignorant Bliss
In April of 2012, I hatched chicks from Wheaten and Copper Black Marans eggs. At that time, my out-of-state
work was extended through the end of the year and I ended up being away for as much as two weeks every
month. As such, I never was able to spend enough time with the birds. Fast forward to January, 2013. With
my background in conservation breeding of foreign pheasant species, I am quite capable of caring for and
breeding birds. However, selection against anything other than evidence of hybridization or deformity is never
done in conservation breeding, so selecting toward a poultry standard is something I had never done. I felt
quite unsure of myself and kept putting off any culling. I had five wheaten cockerels with four pullets, and ten
copper black cockerels with eight pullets. In January, they were 9 months old and eating me out of house and
home. I could not put off culling any longer and cockerels seemed like a good place to start. One of the
workers at my local feed store was willing to take my cockerels, and I was happy to give them to him.
However, he could only take them three at a time. After he processed them over the weekend, he could take
three more the next Thursday, and so on.
I began by culling cockerels with what I thought were obvious faults. Two wheaten cockerels were culled for
color on their flanks and one copper black had a side sprig on each side of the blade of his comb.That brought
me to three culled cockerels, so I stopped. The next week, I picked out three more. One copper black had a
sprig along the center of his comb and two had a sprig on each side in the comb blade. The next week I culled
another wheaten cockerel I didn’t like and pulled one copper black I didn’t like and another that had a sprig on
each side of his comb blade.
I was now left with two wheaten cockerels that I liked and four copper blacks. Two of these copper black
cockerels I liked. Another had some really good qualities, but his color was off. The fourth wasn’t bad, but
had a sprig on either side of his comb blade. He would have to go. I wasn’t ready to go to the feed store, so I
decided to go through my pullets. I started with copper blacks and the first one I pulled had a sprig on each
side of the comb blade. With the cockerels I didn’t really think much about the sprigs, because it made it easy
to decide which ones to cull.... even though some of them were nice birds. However, with the pullets I was
disappointed to find such a fault in the very first one I pulled. I consigned her to the “cooking egg flock”. I
pulled the next pullet and found the same thing. Out of the eight pullets, five had a similar defect, ranging
from one sprig on the blade to one sprig on each side of the blade, symmetrically opposing each other. This
was quite similar to what I was finding in high percentages on my cockerels. I checked my four wheaten
pullets. One had a tiny, thin sprig at the base of the center of her comb, another had one sprig similar to the
copper black pullets on the blade of her comb. The other two pullets were clean. This was quite disappointing
and it got me to thinking. With the exception of one copper black cockerel and one wheaten pullet, both of
which had a sprig on the center of the comb, all other sprig-affected birds had a similar situation with sprigs in
the comb blade. Of those, most had two sprigs symmetrically opposing each other. This could not be a chance
occurrence because it seemed to be a pattern.
The Search For An Answer
My use of words such as “sprigs” and “blade” might sound intimidating. I must admit that these terms were
new to me when I began culling through my birds. I had heard about “sprigs” a few weeks before and had to
do a google search to find out exactly what they are. Rather, what I thought I understood them to be. As it
turns out, for such a common occurring fault in chickens, there does not seem to be a lot of sure or proven
information about them.
Marans should have a single comb, which is composed of the comb base,
Point
Point
points, and a blade at its rear. The comb should be straight, erect, and
Point
Point
smooth, with five or six distinct and deeply serrated points. Ideally, the blade
Point
should be smoothly rounded, without any
Base
Blade
points. Other than the five or six points, the
comb should be free of any other bumps or
protrusions. Though not meeting the
Sprig
Standard, it is not hard to find birds with
Sprig
more than 6 points on their comb. It is also
not hard to find birds with bumps, points, or
protrusions on the side of the comb base or
blade. These are typically called “side
sprigs” and are a genetic trait that can be
Anatomy of a Single Comb
passed on to future generations. They are
also a disqualification in all single-combed breeds, with the exception of the
Penedesenca. In the Penedesenca, the sprigs are not only allowed, but are
Side Sprigs
required as long as they specifically form a swirl at the back of the blade. This
formation is called a “carnation comb” or “king’s comb”.
Pullet - from above
Rooster - side
Rooster - front
Rooster - rear
In form of a cup
Examples of Carnation Comb Expression As Seen in the Penedesenca
In order to better understand what I was dealing with, I began searching on the internet for “side sprigs” and
found various pictures. Though all texts stated that sprigs could occur anywhere along the comb, most of the
pictures showed them in the blade of the comb. At this time, I was unaware of the “carnation comb”, but some
of these pictures I was seeing mentioned carnation comb and looked similar to what I was experiencing.
Further, some of these supposed carnation comb pictures were part of discussions about marans. The story
behind these pictures is that breeders were having carnation combs suddenly appearing in their marans
offspring. Supposedly, in the past penedesencas where crossed into marans in an effort to darken the marans
eggs. I’ve been told that the penedesenca, whose egg color is actually more of a terracotta color, not only did
not darken the marans egg, but left the marans with carnation combs and white ear lobes, both of which are
genetically multi-factoral and difficult to breed out. The appearance of carnation combs is not limited to birds
in North America. From what I have read, it seems to also be a problem in European stocks.
So, what was going on with my birds? All of my investigation on the web provided no further clarity on the
situation as there seems to be a lot of confusion between “side sprigs” that are located on the comb blade and
“carnation comb”. As for the genetic basis, there doesn’t seem to be any real understanding of the causes or
inheritance of either fault. I have seen reports that carnation comb is controlled by two recessive alleles, which
both must be present for its appearance. Other reports add that it may additionally be controlled by unknown
modifiers. Another report questions whether the incomplete dominance of the duplex comb gene may be
responsible. I read one comment that carnation comb is a simple dominant trait, but from what I see that can’t
be possible. Sprigs, on the other hand, have been variously reported as dominant, recessive, or double factor
recessive. Logically, since they can pop up in almost any location and take on various shapes, I tend to think
they are affected by multiple modifiers or other genes. I have also seen it questioned whether carnation comb
simply being sprigs with selection for very specific modifiers governing location and shape. In the end, I’m
now educated enough to know I still don’t know much about sprigs or carnation comb.
Reconciliation
I spoke with the person from whom I purchased my eggs. I consider him an open and honest friend and
mentor. Not only is he experienced with marans, but he is knowledgeable of penedesencas. He has never
crossed penedesencas into his birds and has never knowingly brought crossed birds into his flocks. He has
never had carnation combs appear in any of his birds. He has selected against sprigs over the years and has not
had major issues with that fault in his birds.
As a simple recessive trait, you would expect that carnation comb would occasionally appear over time in a
flock, which did not happen in his flocks. If, however, carnation comb is controlled by two different recessive
alleles, then it is possible that a flock, or even multiple flocks within a particular line, could carry ONE of
those recessive alleles and not ever show any sign of carnation comb. It is also possible that another flock, or
multiple flocks within a particular line, could carry the OTHER recessive allele and never show any sign of
carnation comb. Then, it would seem that crossing those two flocks or lines could lead to the sudden
appearance of carnation comb. However, this scenario would still require two generations before appearing.
If my birds have carnation comb, and I say IF because of all the confusion over what exactly is the difference
between carnation comb and sprigs, then it is possible that my birds could be the result of the merged lines
hypothesis. As it turns out, at least some of my copper black eggs were likely from one of my friend’s pens
sired by a newly acquired rooster, who did not show any sign of carnation comb. However, this rooster was
not from the same line as the hens. It is possible (but not proven) that merging these two lines led to the
appearance of my comb abnormalities. However, my birds are the first generation sired by that rooster and as
a double allele recessive the trait should not have appeared yet. Unfortunately, my friend did not hatch any
eggs from this mating for himself last year, so my birds are the only possible examples of their offspring.
Further, that rooster did not last long and is no longer available for examination or testing.
On the other hand, if sprigs are controlled by modifiers or other factors that my friend has selectively bred to
produce birds that either don’t have sprigs or the sprigs are not expressed on the comb, then it is also possible
that the addition of this rooster from an unrelated line could have added factors that allowed the expression of
sprigs. This begs the question, if there is a gene that inhibits the expression of the comb (Breda - Br), is it
possible there is a gene or modifier that inhibits the expression of sprig? Further, it is not out of the realm of
possibility that if sprig location and size could be controlled by specific factors, then this new rooster could
have contributed factors that produced offspring with sprigs only in the patterns seen in my birds. Again, I am
left with no surety of what is happening with my birds.
Acceptance
I do have two pair of wheatens and four copper black cockerels and three pullets, none of which show any sign
of sprigs or carnation comb, to possibly work with this season. The dirty truth is I am also left with one copper
black cockerel and three pullets with opposing sprigs on their comb blades and two copper black pullets with a
similar, but less extensive, fault exhibiting only one sprig on the blade. Additionally, I have one wheaten pullet
with a tiny sprig midway along her comb base and one wheaten pullet with what appears to be a sprig on one
side of her blade. I say it appears to be a sprig because, though it is quite similar to the sprigs of the lesser
affected copper blacks, it appeared in only one bird and I have a hard time reconciling how it could have
otherwise suddenly showed up in the closed wheaten flock. I will say that my friend looked at the affected
birds and commented that, in his experience, some of the situations looked like sprigs, but at least one did
strongly resemble carnation comb. However, with the lack of understanding of either trait, who can say for
sure. It is possible that carnation comb could be fully expressed as is seen in penedesencas, but maybe also as
a partial expression as is seen in some marans. The only thing I know for sure is this is what the abnormal
combs in my birds look like.
Examples of Abnormal Combs Appearing in My Flock
Copper Black Marans Cockerel
In this cockerel, the only one
remaining with a comb abnormality,
two opposing protrusions appear on
either side of the rear of the comb
blade. These protrusions are slightly
flattened similar to wings, except
turned nearly vertical instead of flat.
While this appears similar to the
“swirl” of carnation comb, it does not
produce the cup-effect often seen in
the complete carnation comb.
Comb
Protrusion
Comb
Protrusion
Comb Protrusions
Copper Black Marans Pullet
The comb of this pullet strongly
resembles a carnation comb. The
additional points are opposite each
other on the top rear of the blade and
are interconnected at the base of each
point such that a cup is formed in the
space between them.
Copper Black Marans Pullet
This pullet exemplifies the comb
abnormalities exhibiting only one
additional point. Though the size of
the point varies between birds, the
shape tends to be pointed, but
widening at its base. These points are
more flag-like and tend to extend
generally in line with the comb, rather
than projecting out from it. In the side
view, the shape of the point can be
seen in its shadow cast on the comb.
Wheaten Marans Pullet
I consider this comb abnormality to be
a sprig because of the low incidence in
this wheaten line and due to my
inability to determine a way carnation
comb could have recently entered this
line. This flag-like sprig is very
similar to the single-occurring point in
the copper black pullets, which may
indicate that both incidences may be
side sprigs and not carnation comb.
Cup
Comb
Protrusion
Comb
Protrusion
Comb
Protrusion
Comb
Protrusion
Moving Forward
While I would like to breed my birds that appear clean, it is possible that they carry the alleles necessary to
again produce this comb abnormality. As detrimental as it is, I do not wish to allow it to remain within my
birds going forward. I will only breed these birds if I can prove they do not carry the alleles to reproduce the
trait. If it is recessive, either single (doubtful) or double allele, or as a result of modifiers, I should be able to
determine whether my birds are carriers by test breeding them to birds that are known carriers. If any
abnormal-combed offspring are produced, it can be assumed that the single-combed bird is a carrier. If only
single-combed offspring are produced (though they should still be carriers), it can be assumed that the singlecombed parent MAY be free of tainted genes. It is possible that alleles could still be present that will allow the
trait to reapper in future generations. In reading other people experiences, I came across a tongue-in-cheek
response from one breeder who was dealing with this issue. Her comment, made in jest, was that it would be
much easier if we just culled for single comb and selected for carnation comb.
I am an optimist. I want my nicest single-combed birds to test “clean”. But, this opens my breeding to future
disaster should these abnormalities reappear. The truth is I may be better off culling them all and starting over,
but the optimist will not let me do that. Instead, part of me hopes that are found to be carriers... absolving me
of the regret of culling them all and starting over, But for now, all I can do is move forward.