Blue Laced Red Wyandotte THREAD!

[chickbrad24]

So I have these 2 beautiful BLRW's. I would just like a confirmation of what color these 2 pullets are. I was thinking the lighter one was splash but her blue looks a lot darker then a splash and the darker pullet I was thinking was a dark blue. Can someone just confirm with me the color's of my 2 pullets ?

 

[chickbrad24]

Here is a pic of the lighter pullet i'm not sure why it didn't come up.

 

[Farmer Viola]

Argghh!! Thanks so much for confirming what I was thinking. I'd been looking at pics of boy/girl chicks trying to get a handle on the situation but the comb and wattles sure seemed large and bright. Not having any other chicks his age for comparison has made it difficult in figuring out, too.

Sadly, I can't keep roo's where I am so will begin to look for a home for him. Hate to see him go as he was our very first hatched-on-the-premises chick. My hens came to us as chicks. Oh, well, will just do this again the next time Momma hen gets broody. At least I now know she's a good mom. Thanks!

Lol, sorry! My BLRW males don't crow until about 16-18 weeks old. You theoretically have until about 4 months old before you *have* to find him a home.

So ordered 9 chicks and of course got 7 roos and 2 hens. They hatched 2nd week of April. I have been trying to sell them on craigslist and other places but no takers...which leaves me with one option, and it is a tasty one.

When is the right time to butcher the roos? I dont want them to get to mature where it could damage the meat but I want them big enough to have a quality amount of meat to make their death worth it...plus they are eating alot of feed right now which is getting expensive. Im just not sure what age is the best to butcher, especially for Wyandottes,

Im planning on keeping my 2 best roos for the winter and the other 5 must go.

thanks for any input.
-Matt

Alright so I'm still very green, but I also had this same question recently and this is what I found. hopefully someone with experience will chime in too

I think 22-24 weeks is ideal... Around 18 is okay too, but there is significantly less meat on the bones before 20 weeks. My 20-22 week olds finished at 4-4.5lbs dressed which is pretty decent to me. If I could do it again, I would try to get them all to 24.

If you click on the "Chicken Dinner" photo gallery in my signature, the carcasses are all Wyandottes except for one (Faverolles). In the first photo, compare the length of their legs. the shorter legged chicken is the Fav, the others are Wyandottes. Fav was 23 weeks, Wy's were 20 weeks. There are also photos of me parting out one of the Wyandotte carcasses, the breasts are modest (to be expected) and the legs are pretty big.

the last 3 photos are of the faverolles, he was 3 weeks older than the wy's, slightly larger. very tender breast meat, could have been a cornishX for how nice and soft the texture was.

I followed advice from DMRippy on how to cook it. I first rested the meat (not frozen) for 3 days in a salt/sugar brine inside the cooler. Then, I used slow & low cooking methods and I was NOT disappointed. The meat was tender, flavorful, and not at all 'ruined' by a few months of crowing. I made coq au vin with one, and I slow roasted another (180F for 3hrs then 30min on 400 to brown the skin, cooked in a glass dish with 1cup of water in the bottom. buttered the skin, seasoned with herbs and lemon). I stewed a couple of the smaller cockerels for shredded taco meat. The remaining birds are in my freezer. Overall, I was very happy with how they came out!

here is an article about traditional meat classifications (fryer, broiler, roaster, fowl) their ages, and cooking methods: http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf

edit: also fed 22% protein for the last ~2 months of life, didn't make other dietary changes, allowed them to free range, only restricted movement for the last 24hrs. this is just what I did, not the ONLY or the BEST way!

edit2: I don't know how (where) to cut off the neck. I'm good at the leg and wing joints, but where do you do the neck?!

 

[Kahfia]

I have this 4 week old chick. I was told it is a BLRW. Any thoughts? Possible gender guess? I'm hoping it's a girl. Thanks!

 

[specsussex]

I have this 4 week old chick. I was told it is a BLRW. Any thoughts? Possible gender guess? I'm hoping it's a girl. Thanks!

Yes, she looks like a blue BLRW. Congratulations!

 

[Kahfia]

Specsussex thank you. You said she, hope that's right! She is very pretty. I bought hatching eggs, supposed to be silkie long story, so I was very surprised when this one hatched. My good luck I guess! Can't wait to see what it looks like when grown.

 

[rainydayzjmb]

Here are my "girls". ... Wishful thinking

 

[jeremyhodges]

These are two pictures of my 5 week old BLRW from Meyer Hatchery. For a while I thought she was looking like she was going to be black laced, but now the feathers are looking a bit blue in some areas. I thought I'd see what people with more experience with this breed thought her coloration was going to turn out like? Thanks for any opinions!

 

[vladsko]

My flock having a lazy afternoon.

 

[vladsko]

Sophie is the sweetest, she's hanging out with me.