The Silver Laced Wyandotte Thread

[cleopatra]

My girl is a hatchery chicken. Thirty five weeks and no eggs yet - getting ready to hit the 9 month mark. My husband says she can have a full year and then I may have to borrow one of Vicki's delicious chicken recipes. Just kidding - we let slackers live here for free.

 

[delisha]

My girl is a hatchery chicken. Thirty five weeks and no eggs yet - getting ready to hit the 9 month mark. My husband says she can have a full year and then I may have to borrow one of Vicki's delicious chicken recipes. Just kidding - we let slackers live here for free.

By the color of her wattles she will be laying in a month..you will have an extra winter layer

 

[PeakyBeaky]

My SLW has not laid an egg yet and she is 33 weeks old. She is absolutely beautiful. Could this be because of the shortened daylight hours now that we are in fall? Any ideas? My EE started laying Sept. 4th and they are the same age.

 

[Sunflower3628ac]

Hmmm...don't think I will get eggs then until spring. Thank you.

 

[cleopatra]

I hope Vicki's right and she starts laying for winter, but her wattles have been nice and red for months now. One of my older girls has gone into molt already and has stopped laying, so I sure could use her.

 

[delisha]

I never add light.
I hatch so I always have pullets over the winter and I have winter layers. I usually get the same amount of eggs all year round with out the addition of lights. Some do not lay as often, but, the new girls make up for the lack of the older hens taking a break. I let them take the breaks they need. It is important for the body to go threw moults with out additional stress of laying. In spring I butcher out my older hens who do not lay over the winter and don't start laying by February. That way I am breeding for egg production and vigor in my lines. I do not keep roosters in breeding pens that are over 3 unless they have proven fertility all year round. I do not winter the roosters who lack 100% fertility. I want to breed that in my lines. I presently have 4 pullets not yet laying and 4 that just started laying. I have 4 hens that will lay all winter and they are around 4. I also have several that are a year old. I also have a few other new breeds that this is the second winter and we will have to see how it goes. I might have to adjust my normal routines since they placed well at the poultry shows this year. It is a vacillating process to breed construction over production. If any one has any opinions and experience I welcome other ideas.

I am housing two dozen chicks this winter and I will see how the growth is effected. I tried it last year for the first time and I was not disappointed in size, just the additional work and expense involved was a pain. I am on my last hatch for the year and will put the incubator away. I am not doing the New Year hatch out like last year..but will have eggs for others.

 

[jdoane]

I never add light.
I hatch so I always have pullets over the winter and I have winter layers. I usually get the same amount of eggs all year round with out the addition of lights. Some do not lay as often, but, the new girls make up for the lack of the older hens taking a break. I let them take the breaks they need. It is important for the body to go threw moults with out additional stress of laying. In spring I butcher out my older hens who do not lay over the winter and don't start laying by February. That way I am breeding for egg production and vigor in my lines. I do not keep roosters in breeding pens that are over 3 unless they have proven fertility all year round. I do not winter the roosters who lack 100% fertility. I want to breed that in my lines. I presently have 4 pullets not yet laying and 4 that just started laying. I have 4 hens that will lay all winter and they are around 4. I also have several that are a year old. I also have a few other new breeds that this is the second winter and we will have to see how it goes. I might have to adjust my normal routines since they placed well at the poultry shows this year. It is a vacillating process to breed construction over production. If any one has any opinions and experience I welcome other ideas.

I am housing two dozen chicks this winter and I will see how the growth is effected. I tried it last year for the first time and I was not disappointed in size, just the additional work and expense involved was a pain. I am on my last hatch for the year and will put the incubator away. I am not doing the New Year hatch out like last year..but will have eggs for others.

Thanks for posting this. Very timely for me. My SLW is 6 months and laying great (hatchery bird). But she's currently in quarantine so has light earlier and later than nature is providing. Once I mover her out with the other birds she won't have that. So I was trying to figure it out. My original plan was not to light. I think I'll stick with that!

 

[Scott H]

Heritage breeds lay later and lay longer Hatchery birds lay earlier and shorter I did not get all the shots I need...but i sure did better than last time..I love the size and tents on these girls. Beautiful wide hard tail feathers

Good job on the pictures! Nice looking birds too. Our Partridge and BLRB have been laying since July. The Partridge even went broody for over a month and is back laying again. When she was broody her comb reverted back to pink, and was the same color as our SL's comb. It is now back to a deep red. SL comb is still pink. All came from the same breeder. So Vicki, do you think the SL's are just slower than the other color variations?

 

[PeakyBeaky]

We didn't used to use lights(last season was our first year)-but our SL need it. We hatch all year also-so egg numbers matter alot. We too, do not keep roosters that don't prove their value-doesn't matter the age.

Whatever work for you

 

[delisha]

Quote:
I think they are larger and tend to take more time. My SLW are a good 2 lbs heavier than my BLRW. The SLW have been around much longer so they have been worked on and improved since 1890 or so. I think the girls are 9lbs already and they are still baby's.