Golden Laced Wyandotte Thread!

[wild chick]

SQ=Show Quality.

With my hatchery birds I have certainly had treading issues. How old is your rooster? I feel like it is not as much hatchery stock as just annoying rooster. Mine just turned a year old and are calming down.

Thanks - I knew I'd have a palm-to-forehead when I got the SQ answer, and I did. My birds will be a year old in June, so I'm giving him the excuse of teenage hormones. When he was free ranging with the girls he would call them, tidbit them, gather them up with warning calls and was overall learning to be a gentleman. Wondering if feather quality could be part of it?? I would eventually like to have 12 hens to 1 roo, instead of 8. Although I'm pleased with the chickens overall, the more I learn about hatcheries the less I want to go back. And I'm still wanting to find some old timers who can tell me if treading the feathers off was common back before hatcheries were so huge. Thanks for your comments.

 

[wild chick]

Hatchery stock tends to be focused on production layers. You'll find stock from private breeders to be significantly heavier in body, fluffier feathers, a big difference in conformation (tail set, length of back,etc), correct eye color. Not to say you won't hatch out culls, every chick is not going to be SQ so cull hard and breed the best. Hatcheries don't do that, it's all about the numbers.

Thanks for this comment. I don't have any intentions of showing, but I do want quality heritage birds that lay well and are hardy and still have some broody tendencies. I guess so many people just want hens for eggs that is they are happy when they don't go broody.

 

[VistaSRJ]

Just a note on color. Hatchery birds are often lighter than the standard, but they can also be darker. Unfortunately, the Black Laced Red progeny of the Blue Laced Red birds has been unknowingly mixed in with many breeding programs, especially at hatcheries where they just don't care. This has caused the pure GLW bloodline to be almost impossible to find.

Another "usual" of hatchery stock is that they won't lay as long as the true heritage birds you can get from breeders. Hatcheries tend to breed them for fast/early production, lots of it, and then the hens tend to wear out. If you don't plan to keep your hens around for a long life, this won't be a problem at all.

Lastly, if you don't care what your chickens look like, hatchery stock is fine; I've had many and no two have looked exactly alike, which doesn't matter for egg layers. But if you want to keep a breed true to its ancestry, it's best to start with better stock. Chickens are just like dogs, cats, horses, or any other purebred. If you want to know what your stock is going to look and- to a large degree- act like from generation to generation, get pure birds to start with.

 

[wild chick]

Great info VistaSRJ. Basically I didn't want to have to raise another batch of chicks, I thought once I did this, kept all the pullets and 1 male then it would be up to them. Then I was reading some post on BYC and someone commented "good luck with a hatchery chicken going broody", referring to the way they would cull if not productive. Then when I had problems with girls getting their feathers treaded off I read answers that suggested "hatchery roosters are the worst" because all their stock comes from the most aggressive roos in the warehouse. I can't start over now and really, I like what I have, just wish I'd known more before I got started. Surely out of 8, I will get one or two broodies? What age do the GLW hens generally go broody, if they are going to?

Thanks for all the info I learn from you guys on BYC!

 

[Lora1]

This is Percy. He is 9 weeks old-I got him from the farm store on Feb 24 and that was the day the chicks were delivered so I assume he was a day or two old. I was holding out hope that "she" would be a Petunia (everyone I have asked has said cockerel and I have had a suspicion since they were about 3 weeks old), but this morning while I was doing my morning chicken rounds I heard, what I assume is, the starting of a crow. It was a pretty pathetic sound and only got the first syllable of the "cock-a-doodle-doo" out, but that is the first time ANY of my chickens have made that kind of sound. We inherited 5 grown hens when we moved into our house (almost exactly a year ago). I realized that I really enjoyed them so this spring we got 6 more chicks. They were sold as pullets, but I knew that the sexing was only 90% accurate so I'm not overly surprised. I do have a million questions now though.
1) are GLW roos known for being friendly? So far he is the friendliest of the 4 Wyandottes we have. Our chickens free range for at least half the day and I have small children so I cannot have a roo that attacks the kids.
2) how long until his hormones go crazy and we have to start watching for him to attack (if he is going to)?
3) I have read that the roos shouldn't eat layer feed. Right now he is still eating the chick crumble. How do I make sure he doesn't eat the layer feed while making sure the hens get nutrition they need?
4) right now he is in a coop/run with, what appear to be, 3 pullets the same age as he is and 2 pullets that are 2 weeks younger. Should he go to the coop/run with the older hens to keep him from beating up my younger ladies? So far they are all fine, but I will be keeping a closer eye on them now.

 

[VistaSRJ]

Quote:

 

[ChuskaMtns]

Great info VistaSRJ. Basically I didn't want to have to raise another batch of chicks, I thought once I did this, kept all the pullets and 1 male then it would be up to them. Then I was reading some post on BYC and someone commented "good luck with a hatchery chicken going broody", referring to the way they would cull if not productive. Then when I had problems with girls getting their feathers treaded off I read answers that suggested "hatchery roosters are the worst" because all their stock comes from the most aggressive roos in the warehouse. I can't start over now and really, I like what I have, just wish I'd known more before I got started.  Surely out of 8, I will get one or two broodies? What age do the GLW hens generally go broody, if they are going to?

Thanks for all the info I learn from you guys on BYC!

I've yet to have any of my Wyandotte hens go broody, I leave that to my Silkies. As far as hatchery roosters being the worst on treading the feathers off the girls? That's hormones and happens with my imported English Orpingtons. I keep a bachelor's pen to allow the girls a break from the overzealous boys. Aggressive roosters can happen with any stock, not just hatchery, I choose not to breed any birds displaying aggressive tendencies, they are culled.

 

[melstone]

I am new to chickens. Just starting but it appears to me that my GLW is smarter than the Plymoutn Rocks? Does anyone else find this true?

Also where do you buy chicken of not from a hatchery?

 

[VistaSRJ]

I am new to chickens. Just starting but it appears to me that my GLW is smarter than the Plymoutn Rocks? Does anyone else find this true?

Yes! I have had several varieties of Plymouth Rocks and Wyandottes, and as a general rule the Plymouth Rocks are the dumbest of my bird species.

Also where do you buy chicken of not from a hatchery?

Do a Google search for the breed you want. At the top of the list will show up the hatcheries, but some breeders should be scattered in there, too. Be prepared to pay a higher price, and to receive straight run, as I don't know of any breeder who sexes their chicks.

 

[Flaisure]

Laffy and Taffy- they are 2 years old