Golden Laced Wyandotte Thread!

[foundhenfarm]

Mine is lovely at five weeks! They're truly wonderful little hens

 

[danceinchicken]

I had mine delivered by Cackle Hatchery. Shipped wed. the 7th. and received fri. the 9th. My very first flock of G.L. Wyandotte

. My first flock of any thing !! I was very pleased with them. Ordered 2 cockerels, and 4 pullets. They were very active, water and food, also no real signs of up set...They just wanted to get out of that box.

 

[danceinchicken]

I had mine delivered by Cackle Hatchery. Shipped wed. the 7th. and received fri. the 9th. My very first flock of G.L. Wyandotte

. My first flock of any thing !! I was very pleased with them. Ordered 2 cockerels, and 4 pullets. They were very active, water and food, also no real signs of up set...They just wanted to get out of that box.

 

[danceinchicken]

Now at 3weeks, dumpling is the tiny one, Her growth has stunted. I was told she won't make it, But she is so normal in every other way. Hey she still pushes her little weight around, and the rest hasn't noticed !! I wonder if I should move her ???

 

[carriebain]

Now at 3weeks, dumpling is the tiny one, Her growth has stunted. I was told she won't make it, But she is so normal in every other way. Hey she still pushes her little weight around, and the rest hasn't noticed !! I wonder if I should move her ???

If they aren't picking on her, I see no reason to move her!

 

[KsMom]

My daughter (11yr) and I are new to chickens and are getting some GLW. We are hoping to get some sort of standard. In the next few years she is going to want to show some in the fair for 4-H. Also, is it possible for us to get a good flock and not spend a fortune getting it started? I realize that people work hard for their lines but starting out it seemed like a lot to spend over $150 for a few birds that might not make it to begin with (because we are so new to all of this).

 

[CackleJoy]

My daughter (11yr) and I are new to chickens and are getting some GLW. We are hoping to get some sort of standard. In the next few years she is going to want to show some in the fair for 4-H. Also, is it possible for us to get a good flock and not spend a fortune getting it started? I realize that people work hard for their lines but starting out it seemed like a lot to spend over $150 for a few birds that might not make it to begin with (because we are so new to all of this).

Where are you located? A lot of time people are willing to help children get started with 4-H projects by not charging an arm and a leg for chicks.

 

[silkieguy5]

. My 2 week old GLW

 

[crazyfeathers]

Very true cacklejoy, 4-H is wonderful. I am presently gifting all of my bunnies to 4-H kids. If I had more chickens I would gift them too, teach them young.

 

[poltroon]

My daughter (11yr) and I are new to chickens and are getting some GLW. We are hoping to get some sort of standard. In the next few years she is going to want to show some in the fair for 4-H. Also, is it possible for us to get a good flock and not spend a fortune getting it started? I realize that people work hard for their lines but starting out it seemed like a lot to spend over $150 for a few birds that might not make it to begin with (because we are so new to all of this).

I am a 4-H leader and here are a couple of thoughts from that perspective.

First of all, GLW are a hard choice to start with. I'm not sure if you're talking bantams or large fowl, but both are relatively scarce and they are one of the more challenging varieties to show. They don't tend to be as close to the standard as other Wyandotte varieties from what I've seen in shape, and there is a lot that can go wrong in the color. It is also my experience that amongst the show lines, both LF and bantam, that they tend to be a bit more skittish to handle. This is fine for breed judging but it could be a challenging showmanship bird.

That said, my daughter is also a 4-Her and loves her LF GLW and is dedicated to propagating and improving them. If the attraction is strong, go with it, but it's good to know that you're starting in a bit of a hole.

As far as a fortune... I'm assuming that the $150 involves several chicks and some shipping. If you want breeder quality birds, that's pretty much what it costs unless you're fortunate to have a breeder within driving distance. Really, the cost is in the shipping rather than the chicks in most cases.

Feed store/hatchery GLW are probably not going to be good show birds.

And finally, with costs... by the time you add up the cost to build or acquire a coop, the feed, the parking/admission/food/camping/gas/etc for the fair... the price of the chickens is the least of your worries. I try to break that to the parents gently. But after you spend all that other money, it's especially disappointing to go to fair with the $4 feed store chicks and then get a DQ or just be completely out of the ribbons. The money part of nicer birds is actually the easy part. (The harder part is the logistics to get the birds you want in the first place.)

So, buy these birds because you are really excited about the variety and love them. But, if winning is important and/or if you want a more economical path, another breed or variety might be better, something that you can acquire locally and easily and perhaps at high quality. (At many shows, adult started birds suitable for 4-H are much more affordable than chicks, not least because you only need to buy one or two instead of a whole batch.)

And finally - your post suggests that maybe she's not trying for the next fair but to show at some unspecified future time. If so, why not start with a few feed store chicks? It's a way to learn if your coop is secure and to get used to raising them when the stakes are lower. In general, in poultry you're going to tend towards showing birds that are under 3 years old... it's not like say horses where you expect the same animal to be your show animal for many many years.