The Silver Laced Wyandotte Thread

[Fancychooklady]

Finally found a SL thread!!!
I only have one SLW in my flock but I have 3 goldens. This little one is by far my favorite.

I've been wanting some for a while, but have never had coop space. This spring a dog got into the coop and wiped out half of the flock. My little sister had a barred rock she had named lily, sadly lily was one that the dog got. She was devastated, especially since she saw it happen. So I took her to TSC and let her pick a chick. We ended up bringing home 2 Easter eggers and her pick the little SLW. She decided to name her Olaf (of course)despite it being not white or male. So now 6 months later Olaf is living happily in our flock, and she layes her first egg 2 weeks ago.

I'll post pics later

Welcome. Sad about your loss. We look forward to your pics.

 

[ziasun2008]

Hi and
I'm afraid to tell yo that that is indeed a cockerel. Apart from the large wattles , the ' pointy ' feathers around the shoulder /hackle are a dead give away.

I was pretty sure he was, not sure what to do with him as we were expecting to only have hens. He is a love and don't really want to give him up, but from what I have read I will have to get at least 2 more hens to keep him happy! Thank you so much!

 

[forgetful]

Wanted to share my pair and hoping to get some feedback. They are coming on 8 months of age. They are far from finished but it never hurts to watch them grow.

( The last photo is a bit older.)

What I want to improve on him:
-More width between the legs. He stands too close together and is a bit knock kneed.
- Tighter wing carriage; the pullet he is paired with keeps her wings where they should be, and should pair well in that aspect
- More vibrant leg color
- Cleaner comb; much better comb than other cockerels from the hatch, but pullet's comb is more uniform.

I'd also like to see a bit more chest since he seems unbalanced at times. I think maturity may help him out. Overall I think he's a good breeder and I should get some nice pullet's from the pair next year, but would love feedback. I like him much more than the pullet:

Her shape just seems all wrong. While her lacing and wing carriage is nice, the cockerel seems like the better bird. I would like to see her lacing extend well into her thigh, and think the cockerel can help with that.

Attributes that both need to work on: cleaner combs, wider stance, and brighter legs.

Looking forward to some feedback!

 

[Fancychooklady]

I was pretty sure he was, not sure what to do with him as we were expecting to only have hens. He is a love and don't really want to give him up, but from what I have read I will have to get at least 2 more hens to keep him happy! Thank you so much!

There is no ' correct ' roo to hen ratio. Your little man will be happy with 4 hens".

 

[sideWing]

Wanted to share my pair and hoping to get some feedback. They are coming on 8 months of age. They are far from finished but it never hurts to watch them grow.








( The last photo is a bit older.)

What I want to improve on him:
-More width between the legs. He stands too close together and is a bit knock kneed.
- Tighter wing carriage; the pullet he is paired with keeps her wings where they should be, and should pair well in that aspect
- More vibrant leg color
- Cleaner comb; much better comb than other cockerels from the hatch, but pullet's comb is more uniform.

I'd also like to see a bit more chest since he seems unbalanced at times. I think maturity may help him out. Overall I think he's a good breeder and I should get some nice pullet's from the pair next year, but would love feedback. I like him much more than the pullet:















Her shape just seems all wrong. While her lacing and wing carriage is nice, the cockerel seems like the better bird. I would like to see her lacing extend well into her thigh, and think the cockerel can help with that.

Attributes that both need to work on: cleaner combs, wider stance, and brighter legs.

Looking forward to some feedback!

Are you working on a pullet line or a cockerel line? These are some of the best SLW I have seen posted in a long time. If you weren't looking for feedback I would just tell you how nice they are and move along. Since you are working on them I will give you my .02.

I think you nailed it with what you are working on, but I think what you are missing is width. They have a great shape from the side, but are less wide and round overall. Breeding them wider will open up the tail at the bottom, widen the stance, and give the bird that overall Wyandotte look you are after. One way to do this is to select the chicks with round heads. Cull out narrow heads and long beaks early on. The more round the chicks head, the more round the bird will be later.






One other thing would be to keep improving besides the coverage of the lacing is to make it thinner. At least if you are working on a pullet line. They say the cock has the most to do with the lacing and the pullet for the type. I think you have a great start on both.

Great looking birds though. I would have asked you to sell me eggs if I hadn't purchased SLW last fall. I went through a couple dozen bad birds before that. My cockbird has the same lower wing carriage as yours. I'm working on it.

Pic is a little out of form because he's walking, but you get the idea. Notice the thin lacing that carries on to the offspring from the cockbird.

 

[forgetful]

Exactly the feedback I was looking for. I'm working towards a pullet line, and at the moment it looks like I will be breeding daughters back to the cockerel. I feel he has good consistency in width going from front to back, but could definitely be wider over all. I appreciate the advice on a wider bird contributing to a wider stance. I'm wondering if maturity will help him at all or if that will be something to pick for in the next generation. I had another pullet that was much better looking than the current one, but predators have good taste in birds.

I really like the example you gave of your cockbird and his lacing. I'd love to see that type of improvement from this pair's chicks. I also appreciate the tip for round heads. I won't be able to hatch out hundreds to cull from, but I will have about 20 that I can hopefully narrow down to 1 or 2 better females and possibly a cockerel with improved wing carriage if I get lucky.

What do you think about lengths of backs? I believe the cockerel's is a little shorter than desired, and the pullet's about where it should be?

 

[Fancychooklady]

Exactly the feedback I was looking for. I'm working towards a pullet line, and at the moment it looks like I will be breeding daughters back to the cockerel. I feel he has good consistency in width going from front to back, but could definitely be wider over all. I appreciate the advice on a wider bird contributing to a wider stance. I'm wondering if maturity will help him at all or if that will be something to pick for in the next generation. I had another pullet that was much better looking than the current one, but predators have good taste in birds.

I really like the example you gave of your cockbird and his lacing. I'd love to see that type of improvement from this pair's chicks. I also appreciate the tip for round heads. I won't be able to hatch out hundreds to cull from, but I will have about 20 that I can hopefully narrow down to 1 or 2 better females and possibly a cockerel with improved wing carriage if I get lucky.

What do you think about lengths of backs? I believe the cockerel's is a little shorter than desired, and the pullet's about where it should be?

You are off to good start with your birds. I've always bred my lighter coloured Roos to the darker hens to achieve nice crisp lacing. And visa versa . Wyandotte are slow to grow out and your birds have lots of potential.

 

[sideWing]

Exactly the feedback I was looking for. I'm working towards a pullet line, and at the moment it looks like I will be breeding daughters back to the cockerel. I feel he has good consistency in width going from front to back, but could definitely be wider over all. I appreciate the advice on a wider bird contributing to a wider stance. I'm wondering if maturity will help him at all or if that will be something to pick for in the next generation. I had another pullet that was much better looking than the current one, but predators have good taste in birds.

I really like the example you gave of your cockbird and his lacing. I'd love to see that type of improvement from this pair's chicks. I also appreciate the tip for round heads. I won't be able to hatch out hundreds to cull from, but I will have about 20 that I can hopefully narrow down to 1 or 2 better females and possibly a cockerel with improved wing carriage if I get lucky.

What do you think about lengths of backs? I believe the cockerel's is a little shorter than desired, and the pullet's about where it should be?

As far as maturity goes, the birds I posted pics of are 8 months old if that helps. Wyandottes will get wider and do not fully mature until 18 months, but you are shooting for a show winning bird at 7-8 months.

If you are trying to pick a show winning bird out of your flock, or looking for one with better genetics, just ask a predator.

Sorry to hear that.

You don't want a V back, but a nice round Wyandotte should have a short back. Foley says it should be just long enough to put a golf ball on. I guess that makes it about 1 inch?

Have you ever seen the this free old APA book? https://archive.org/details/cu31924003096413

I have been meaning to get a new SOP book, but I haven't yet. That old book talks about the history of SLW and I found it fascinating. Jerry Foley also has a BLR breeding Ebook that is $10 and short, but will save you hundreds in feed by helping you cull early. Most of the stuff is applicable to SLW.

 

[forgetful]

Yes I love the old APA book. I bought a copy of the standard two years ago and absolutely can not find it anymore. I heard there will be a new addition coming, so I guess I will hold out until then. I'm very tempted to get the foley book.

I also reference these two photos

 

[abbevilleoz]

Hazel, my very old SLW hen. I think she about nine years old.