BLRW question.

[Tarzan31]

To start, with the bird in question, there is no crowing or attempts at sex while I am spending time in their pen. However, I have seen a few leg kicks and plucking of a feather here and there. I am not sure if that is a trait of only roo's or if hen's use that in their little battle for thier spot in the "chain of command". Those two things say roo to me but I am just a few years into raising chickens on a limited scale so I really have no idea.







Different waddles, tail feather stance, coloring, and temperament. However I still have my suspicions that the 2 BLRW's are roo's. I don't have the space to segregate the hen in question to see if I get an egg.

 

[Tarzan31]

Pictures aren't great but the best I could get for now. If I can get an extra set of hands I can hold them to get better pictures.
I am hoping there are a few BLRW experts around that can tell from the supplied photographs.

 

[lomine]

You definitely have two roosters. They have male coloring, curved tail feathers, pointy hackle feathers, and pointy saddle feathers. Those are the feathers on the neck and at the base of the tale. They also have large combs and wattles.

Compare them to the hen in the foreground of the last picture. You can see the difference in feather pattern. Her lacing is very even and all over her body. Her feathers are round at the tips. And her tail it shorter and straight.

 

[Tarzan31]

Thanks for the info!
Is it safe to assume that regardless of variation of Wyandotte they should have similar combs, waddles, and body shape?
Can hen's have a bump on their leg where the roo's grow spurs? I spent some extra time my birds today and a Colombian rock of mine has a bump where I would assume the spur grows. I will not be a happy camper with all of these roo's.
I suspected just 2 of my 15 from the February batch and so far I have had 4.

 

[keesmom]

The 2 birds in question are cockerels, and are a mixed color. They are not blue laced reds.

As for the bumps where spurs grow, pullets have them also. You could also post a picture of that one to be sure.

 

[lomine]

Yes all wyandottes should have the same body shape, combs and wattles. The difference will only be in coloring.

Hens can also grow spurs. My young BLRW pullet has the little nubs on her legs. I am 100% shure she is a she.

 

[Tarzan31]

There was another roo that had better blue color but he was MASSIVE and attacked me (which I didn't quite mind because I have had predators in the past) but since he was aggressive and had a lot of meat to offer he ended up in the freezer. I was a little unhappy when I saw that these two had the SLW coloring on the chest.
I just want pretty birds. Show quality isn't a concern and I do like these birds color but since there aren't any female BLRW's it doesn't make sense to keep them around. I am hoping to find some local pullets and a roo at a decent price which can be as tough as getting them straight run.
I will post a picture of the Colombian rock if I can get one tomorrow!

 

[keesmom]

There was another roo that had better blue color but he was MASSIVE and attacked me (which I didn't quite mind because I have had predators in the past) but since he was aggressive and had a lot of meat to offer he ended up in the freezer. I was a little unhappy when I saw that these two had the SLW coloring on the chest.
I just want pretty birds. Show quality isn't a concern and I do like these birds color but since there aren't any female BLRW's it doesn't make sense to keep them around. I am hoping to find some local pullets and a roo at a decent price which can be as tough as getting them straight run.
I will post a picture of the Colombian rock if I can get one tomorrow!

Neither of the cockerels you have are blue laced reds, or even black or splash laced reds. They are silver laced mixes. If your aggressive male had as much silver as these 2 then he was a mix also, blue or no blue.

If you want to breed true BLRW you won't want to use either of those males. A blue/black/splash laced red should be RED, not silver. Like this, from someone else here on BYC (a splash laced red but you get the idea).

However if you just want a pretty mix of backyard birds there's nothing wrong with using them if you like how they look. I am sure they will produce a variety of colors with those hens.

If the Columbian Rock is the same one that's in your already posted images, it's a pullet. Pullets have spur buds also, and it isn't unheard of for hens to have spurs. We have 3 Buttercup hens that have spurs.

 

[Tarzan31]

The Colombian in the back of the last picture is the one in question. The comb is very large and also the bump on the leg.(I'll get that picture tomorrow). I do think it is a hen but got all flustered when all the pullet blrw's I hoped for turned out to not be hens nor nice blrw's.

 

[drumstick diva]

agree with keesmom both are cockerels