Silver Laced Wyandotte gender?

[chooks4life]

It doesn't matter where you get them, there will always be a dud every now and then, and sometimes the whole lot will be duds. Don't beat yourself up about it. Even buying from proven breeders brings duds occasionally too.

I temporarily forgot your particular circumstances, sorry, lol, was busy with other threads too, trying to be helpful. Really I'm still quite the learner myself, but some things everyone takes for granted are new things to others, you never know what will help.

I guess with your chooks I would just keep trying to treat through diet and keep an eye on them. Not much else you can do unless you're willing to spend out on a lab diagnosis which may not help at all. The panting is a bit worrying but no point fretting if you can help it; they'll either make it or they won't. Sorry, not much help, it's one of those things. Best wishes.

 

[lauranickerson]

Well I definitely appreciate all your help. I'm going to try and get them healthy because they are very nice and calm birds.

I am very much interested in an all natural diet that keeps them healthy. I would like to be able to consider my chooks 100% organic/free range/blah blah blah to the highest extent. I would feel good about the meat I get from them, as well as the eggs.

 

[lauranickerson]

So I don't have a current picture of my SLW-in-question, but it sure does kind of look like this (not nearly as big yet). And this picture is a hen...obviously.

 

[chooks4life]

Pretty bird. A lot of variation between yours. I wonder if you didn't get a cross somehow. The one everyone thought was a rooster still looks male to me, compared to the others, but we will have to see. I was basing my estimation of gender on its differences in development compared to the others, and if the pullet was the standard for the breed then you would expect a male to show more white... But I'm no expert with purebreds. If this hen you've posted a pic of is the standard for the breed then I'd think your pullet is a mix. Best wishes.

 

[lauranickerson]

Yeah I'm STILL not even sure! They are almost 15 weeks old now, and it's comb STILL hasn't changed much since the pictures I uploaded a while ago! It still looks like a straight comb, but not big, not really red, just basically the same. The ONLY difference I see in feathering between this one and the other SLW is this one has more white, and it's tail feathers still up a little straighter. Now, my other SLW got all it's tail feathers picked off, so that isn't really a fair comparison, but my Golden Laced Wyandottes have almost the same tails and they are pullets, too.

I guess I'll just have to wait for "make it or break it" evidence to come through. :/

 

[chooks4life]

Not an easy breed to sex, as compared to some others. Best wishes with that. At around 20 weeks you might start seeing some definitively male feathering, in fact some might be showing now. Some of my little roos have had male feathers from 6 weeks and younger. Side effect of feeding them kelp. Makes sexing very easy.

 

[lauranickerson]

Not an easy breed to sex, as compared to some others. Best wishes with that. At around 20 weeks you might start seeing some definitively male feathering, in fact some might be showing now. Some of my little roos have had male feathers from 6 weeks and younger. Side effect of feeding them kelp. Makes sexing very easy.

But you mentioned that make take a few generations for that to happen right?

I've searched it over for male feathering, and nothing is really throwing up a red flag yet. My other cockerels definitely looked like cockerels without question at this age. I'll probably keep it if it's a boy anyway, but of course, everyone hopes for pullet. Haha.

 

[chooks4life]

Yeah, it did take a few generations. Each one showed some signs earlier and earlier until I could reliably sex them within a week of hatching.

It's a good thing you're able to keep males where you are, takes the pressure off sexing it accurately when still young enough to not crow. And makes him one lucky cockerel, if it is one.

 

[lauranickerson]

Haha. Yeah. He's lucky. I made the choice to only keep two though, so if it ends up being a cockerel, it will be taking another's place...so the other isn't so lucky. Haha. That's okay, though, because the one's I have now are skittish yet almost challenge me with their rooster dances.

I live on about 16 acres on a lake, and my neighbors are in earshot, but they claim they like the sound of our rooster(s) crowing.

I sure hope so, but maybe I should bring them some eggs soon, anyways.

 

[chooks4life]

Lol yeah, watch out for the folks who say they like or don't mind the crowing.. Not to slur your neighbours, whom I have of course never met, but in my experience that sort is often a person who is so uncomfortable stating their mind that they resort to passive aggressive methods of obtaining their desires. Like creeping through the bushes at night with a machete to attack your roosters despite always having claimed they are fine with them. Almost nobody I've kept roosters near, so far, has really been fine with them despite their repeated claims to the opposite. I hope your experience is better!