Blue Laced Red Wyandotte THREAD!

[TravisE]

here is one more pic of the first roo. better pic of the rear end. also just wanted to add. the first roo weights 4lbs and the 2nd weights 3. would you still pick the 2nd one? also one of my 3 hens.

 

[delisha]

From these pictures I would choose the second. In 6 weeks I might change my mind....6 weeks after that I might change it back. time for males is needed. sometimes the smallest bird grows up to be the largest.

 

[ki4got]

You should like him better..he is going to be yours..however..

my bird is much better in construction. In 3 months lets compare. Weigh your bird too. This fella is already 5lbs and a baby. He is going to be a tank. You do have a better pullet than I do.

how old is your guy?

the one that ridinshotgun has, was hatched 2nd week of may... we'll be meeting up in September and swapping birds. I promised him a couple sfh chicks for the roo back. since that's what he paid for in the first place LOL... that's what I get for combining hatches and then mixing up chicks.

 

[7acres]

Thank you for taking more pictures..it really helps with assessment. I can only go by pictures and not the bird. I am doing this for education. I am not doing it to criticize the bird or the breeder, sometimes I am blunt and people get offended. It is not my intent and please do not take it that way.

He is young and his lacing will change. I do not like his lacing at this age. I would like to see him in 6 weeks to evaluate if his lacing has improved or not. Right now it is way to immature and shows only baby lacing. Many do not get in proper lacing till mature molt at 9 months or older. For color I see too much orange shafting. That also might change and deepen in 6 more weeks, but i do not think enough. This is not that important and can be improved with the correct hens.

Now for the most important. The body structure. If you look at his over head pictures you see length over width. He looks a little too long, but, not bad, however, it makes his rear look too narrow, with out a concave sweep. The front of his body in the over head picture looks correct. Rounded, flat at the shoulders, perfect. If his rear widens you will be good. You will get the correct 40 degree tail. However if you look at his leg placement they are close together, that is indictive of having a narrow rear. In a few pictures it looks like he is resting on the backs of his feet. Legs need to be a hand widths apart. His comb look good for this age. You might want to double check to make sure he does not have a slight cross beak. It might be mud I see. Keep an eye on it all the same.

All in all I would not cull this bird at this time. He has some nice things about him. He is an improvement over many birds I do see on here. I would not make a decision to use him in a breeding program yet. Be patient and feed him. Give him some good meat proteins and widen this bird for the next 6 weeks. I think he will improve a lot with time. Remember that many males need 18 months. Be patient.

Please post more pictures in September. I would like to know how much he weighs too at that time. At 8 months a solid 7lbs or more is a good goal. At 12 months a solid 8 lbs. Adding meat proteins to young birds diets helps with width and weights.

Very informative. Could you elaborate on meat proteins?

 

[delisha]

Meat proteins..

This is my opinion..and something I am pretty passionate about.

Chickens are omnivores. The feed that is contained in bags is for vegans. Chickens are kept enclosed in fences and not allowed to hunt. They miss vital meat nutrients and muscle building exercises. To get a good specimen and a bird that has a healthy long life they need meat and foraging exercises. It keeps them from depression and boredom.Internal laying issues, and other health concerns. Chickens can be kept in cages, and behind fences and thrive, they can be fed out of a bag and be healthy, for a shorter life. Nothing wrong with that. It is what most back yard chicken keepers must do since they do not have farms. Understanding that type of lifestyle for chickens is the hard part. Most breeds of chickens do not do well in those situations. Choose the right breed and you will be fine.

Meat used to be in feeds. They took it out since many battery chicken farms sell the chicken waste material to feed out cattle. The meat fed to chickens and left in the droppings were responsible for mad cow disease and other health issue to fed out animals. I know it is gross to think about cows eating chicken poop but that is a fact. So no more meat in chicken feed.

I feed my chicks from day one raw chicken liver. I butcher out my chickens on a regular basis. All materials from each chicken is respected and used. Nothing goes to waste. I sell the feathers or use them in the compost refuse pile. I also have a vegan pile. My birds have access to both piles.

Not all of my birds are free ranged. I have some Imported breeds that I am not confident they have the capacity to thrive in the wild. I need a few generations of them to convert them to smarter birds. I have third generation tiny tots ranging outside of the fence now and are doing well. They are with broody mothers and learning how to find foods and understanding that it is dangerous outside of the fence. I worry that predators are going to get them. Time will tell. My imports can't fly as adults. They are too large. I do not have an LGD and to be confident I should have one.

I hope this helps a little to understand why I make my choices. I have been raising chickens for 35 years, and my methods are old fashioned. When I joined BYC it was the very first time I heard of chickens in the house. I never in my wildest dreams thought people would bring a chicken in the house. I brooded my first batch of chicks this last winter...in the house....lol .....First and last.

Feed your chickens meat. Let them out when you can. Give them activities to let them be chickens.

My birds compost piles and ranges

 

[delisha]

Quote: He was hatched May 2nd. That makes him 12 weeks.

 

[PeakyBeaky]

Mine love mice-and they are really good at catching them! Since we can't free range(due to hawks) ours get table scraps-the LOVE ham. I just don't feed them chicken.

Meat proteins..

This is my opinion..and something I am pretty passionate about.

Chickens are omnivores. The feed that is contained in bags is for vegans. Chickens are kept enclosed in fences and not allowed to hunt. They miss vital meat nutrients and muscle building exercises. To get a good specimen and a bird that has a healthy long life they need meat and foraging exercises. It keeps them from depression and boredom.Internal laying issues, and other health concerns. Chickens can be kept in cages, and behind fences and thrive, they can be fed out of a bag and be healthy, for a shorter life. Nothing wrong with that. It is what most back yard chicken keepers must do since they do not have farms. Understanding that type of lifestyle for chickens is the hard part. Most breeds of chickens do not do well in those situations. Choose the right breed and you will be fine.

Meat used to be in feeds. They took it out since many battery chicken farms sell the chicken waste material to feed out cattle. The meat fed to chickens and left in the droppings were responsible for mad cow disease and other health issue to fed out animals. I know it is gross to think about cows eating chicken poop but that is a fact. So no more meat in chicken feed.

I feed my chicks from day one raw chicken liver. I butcher out my chickens on a regular basis. All materials from each chicken is respected and used. Nothing goes to waste. I sell the feathers or use them in the compost refuse pile. I also have a vegan pile. My birds have access to both piles.

Not all of my birds are free ranged. I have some Imported breeds that I am not confident they have the capacity to thrive in the wild. I need a few generations of them to convert them to smarter birds. I have third generation tiny tots ranging outside of the fence now and are doing well. They are with broody mothers and learning how to find foods and understanding that it is dangerous outside of the fence. I worry that predators are going to get them. Time will tell. My imports can't fly as adults. They are too large. I do not have an LGD and to be confident I should have one.

I hope this helps a little to understand why I make my choices. I have been raising chickens for 35 years, and my methods are old fashioned. When I joined BYC it was the very first time I heard of chickens in the house. I never in my wildest dreams thought people would bring a chicken in the house. I brooded my first batch of chicks this last winter...in the house....lol .....First and last.

Feed your chickens meat. Let them out when you can. Give them activities to let them be chickens.

My birds compost piles and ranges

 

[7acres]

Thanks delisha and peakybeaky. Again, very interesting. I would like to ask your opinion about something else. I have looked at this on several places. I have access to manures from a horse stable. From fresh to very composted. What is your opinion about putting this in the run for the chickens to forage in. Some think it is disgusting, but on farms they have access to it. Others object because of the medications horses take and is placed in the feed. What do you think?

 

[PeakyBeaky]

When we had a small flock, they free ranged. We do have horses and a compose/manure pile that the roosters would always find. They loved the earthworms/bugs from the pile. Not sure how it would be just putting it in their runs-I sometimes put hay in runs to give them something to scratch at, but try to keep it as clean as possible.

Thanks delisha and peakybeaky. Again, very interesting. I would like to ask your opinion about something else. I have looked at this on several places. I have access to manures from a horse stable. From fresh to very composted. What is your opinion about putting this in the run for the chickens to forage in. Some think it is disgusting, but on farms they have access to it. Others object because of the medications horses take and is placed in the feed. What do you think?

 

[delisha]

Thanks delisha and peakybeaky. Again, very interesting. I would like to ask your opinion about something else. I have looked at this on several places. I have access to manures from a horse stable. From fresh to very composted. What is your opinion about putting this in the run for the chickens to forage in. Some think it is disgusting, but on farms they have access to it. Others object because of the medications horses take and is placed in the feed. What do you think?

Any thing in the runs is good for the birds to pick threw. It does several things. Exercise, and meat. DL in runs is a biologic food grounds for healthy microbes to grow. You can't bag that. It is nature at its best. If I had to keep the birds in a run, the run would be my compost pile. I would also use electro net and move them around in small paddocks filled with herbs, kelp, kale and grasses. The reduction cost in feed would pay for the electro net in the first year. The safety of the net would shave off years of stress and worry.