BLRW analysis

[McSpin]

This is my first group of BLRWs. I'm getting some variation in pattern and wondering if anyone familiar with their development can tell me which are keepers.

They are 4 1/2 weeks old at this point.

This is a blace lace showing lots of red.

This is a black lace showing little red.

This is a silver lace.

This is a blue lace.

The ones showing the largest variation are the black lace. At this stage, what should I be looking for? Thanks for looking.

Steve

 

[Krys109uk]

I'm afraid some of your birds have a bit work needing to be done on their lacing & colour. You might want to head in the general direction of Katy's bird in this thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=177855&p=3

 

[Year of the Rooster]

I don't know much about Wyandottes... but I do know that that is NOT a Silver Laced Wyandotte. It is most likely a Splash Laced or a Buff/Red Laced? Splash can happen when you cross two BLRW together.

This is a Silver Laced Wyandotte.

 

[McSpin]

As the title said, they are BLRW. I should have said splash laced red wyandottes.

Quote:

 

[nivtup]

Wait.

You really need to wait until they get adult plumage.

What you are seeing now at 4 weeks is going to change.

 

[McSpin]

Since my birds are less than 5 weeks old, I didn't know how much they'd change. I know on some varieites, it's a great amount - others, not so much.

I read the thread you linked to, but I'm not able to figure out what you're referring to. Maybe you could just tell me exactly what I should be looking for. What about the lacing and color is incorrect? Thanks,


Quote:

 

[Krys109uk]

Katy posted a picture of one of her BLRW in that thread. You might want to select birds looking closest to hers.
IMO your birds lack some of the genes necessary for the nicest lacing.... look about two thirds of the way down this page of Kaz's genetics website.
http://chickengenetics.edelras.nl/
This describes the genes necessary for good lacing & demonstrates the effect of the presence of certain alleles.

Also, to be precise, the ground colour of your birds looks rather gold; it looks as if they could be lacking the mahogany gene necessary for good red ground colour. This will not change when they are adult. Compare ground colour of your birds to the BLRW in the pictures on that thread. You will see those birds are darker....that is the effect of a gene called mahogany.

Regarding lacing on young birds......omewhere on BYC someone recently posted some pics of some young SLWs which looked like nice birds (I think again it might have been Katy's birds.... or maybe Miss Turbo's)...... when looking at young stock it could be useful to compare lacing with those birds when looking for guidelines.

I hope this helps....good luck.

 

[Katy]

Thanks Krys for the compliment.

I agree that young birds can change over time, but the basics have to be there from the beginning. The base color and lacing isn't going to change when they get their adult plumage.

Yes the SLW you referred to are my birds, but I can't take the credit for their nice shape and lacing. I hatched them from Backwoods Poultry eggs. They and some from the Turbos are hopefully going to be my start at some great SLWs.

 

[McSpin]

Okay, the red isn't great. Of course, what I see, the camera takes, and your screens shows, can be significantly different. In person, I would say the color is much closer to mahogany than gold. However, I'm sure all could be redder.

What I was hoping to find out with this thread, was which of these birds, should I work with and which are of no value for producing decent BLRWs. I've seen many photos of adult BLRWs and know what people are trying to produce. What I don't know, is how to get there. For instance, is the black lace in the 2nd photo down of no value or would it make a good choice crossed to one of the others?

I understand that body type plays a big role in this breed, but at this time I will look to cull out the ones that are of no value because of color, lacing, etc. I'm going to keep the most useful of what I have, I just need help determining which ones they are. Thanks,