Blue Laced Red Wyandotte THREAD!

[wyandodo]

I have three bantam BLR pullets, all three have good lacing, and decent to good type, but have different shades of red. One actually is very yellow-y orange.

Anyway, I have 4 roosters.

The two with the best type have the worst lacing. The two with the best color and lacing have horrid type and are also too large for a bantam. All have decent to good combs, so not a determining factor.

The question, who would you breed to?

Easy choice, the roosters with good type.
Lacing is something you can improve easier than type if you ask me.

 

[Alaskan]

The only wish is his tail were a little wider. He did take a 1st at our local fair

I like him, a good shade of red.

Easy choice, the roosters with good type.
Lacing is something you can improve easier than type if you ask me.

Thanks for the input. It is greatly appreciated.

 

[abserbean]

Have you checked the saddle feathers? Round means girl and pointy means boy, but you probably already knew that...lol

I did check, no obvious mature feathers in the saddle area yet. This chick is all fuzz in the butt/tail area! Very fluffy, but it's only six weeks. I think the next couple of weeks will be telling, but I have had one from this breed trick me into believing it was a roo before, so I will wait it out. My other two BLRW hens are dark blue and black, so I hope this one is a girl, but leaning rooster for now.

 

[hosspak]

I did check, no obvious mature feathers in the saddle area yet. This chick is all fuzz in the butt/tail area! Very fluffy, but it's only six weeks. I think the next couple of weeks will be telling, but I have had one from this breed trick me into believing it was a roo before, so I will wait it out. My other two BLRW hens are dark blue and black, so I hope this one is a girl, but leaning rooster for now.

The woman I got mine from showed me feathers at the base of the neck of both boys and girls at six weeks. Even that young the feathers were very different...Fingers crossed for a girl!

 

[DonumDei]

Hey all,

I'm new to BYC and new to BLRs. I've done a pretty good bit of research so I have a pretty good idea of the rights and wrongs. I settled up and got a pair that are a little off on color but i think the type is decent. In the end I won't be upset b/c my kids (4yr and 2yr) love chickens. however, my six month old doesn't really seem to care

Any suggestions on fixing brassiness?


wanted to show his coppery hue

She's a little hunched over in my hand

In the quarantine pen

Also, they're about 6-7months old.

Look forward to hearing from y'all

Pat

 

[Staciaw755]

At 5-6 months is it normal for a growing cockerel to be on the thin side? I have a BLRW cockerel I have had about a month and just noticed he seems pretty skinny. I can see his little hip bones when looking at his butt. He seems ok and I have been making sure he gets time to eat without all the other pushy girls moving him from his food. Anything I should do?

 

[hosspak]

At 5-6 months is it normal for a growing cockerel to be on the thin side? I have a BLRW cockerel I have had about a month and just noticed he seems pretty skinny. I can see his little hip bones when looking at his butt. He seems ok and I have been making sure he gets time to eat without all the other pushy girls moving him from his food. Anything I should do?

I think the roos grow faster than the girls AND their skin. lol My rooster hit a growth spurt and thinned out a little, at the same time he spent a lot of energy chasing the girls.... You know how teens are! You can up the crude fat % in his diet if you are really concerned or give him game cock mix and feed him separately. Unless you see other ill effects I wouldn't worry much! Post some good pics and others will chip in some advice...

 

[Junibutt]

Hey all,

I'm new to BYC and new to BLRs. I've done a pretty good bit of research so I have a pretty good idea of the rights and wrongs. I settled up and got a pair that are a little off on color but i think the type is decent. In the end I won't be upset b/c my kids (4yr and 2yr) love chickens. however, my six month old doesn't really seem to care

Any suggestions on fixing brassiness?


wanted to show his coppery hue

She's a little hunched over in my hand

In the quarantine pen

Also, they're about 6-7months old.

Look forward to hearing from y'all

Pat

Welcome to BYC! I am not an expert but will give it my best shot. Brassiness could be due to different reasons either, genetic or environmental. Environmental could be several dietary factors or too much exposure to the sun. If you cut down on the corn (and some other factors which I don't know about) in the diet and wait for their molt to see what feathers they come back with, you will have a better idea whether its environmental or genetic and take it from there. What geographical area are you located in? If its too hot or sunny where you are, you may want to provide them with lots of shade.

Hopefully some other experts will chime in and can give you better advice.

 

[wyandodo]

Hey all,

I'm new to BYC and new to BLRs. I've done a pretty good bit of research so I have a pretty good idea of the rights and wrongs. I settled up and got a pair that are a little off on color but i think the type is decent. In the end I won't be upset b/c my kids (4yr and 2yr) love chickens. however, my six month old doesn't really seem to care

Any suggestions on fixing brassiness?


wanted to show his coppery hue

She's a little hunched over in my hand

In the quarantine pen

Also, they're about 6-7months old.

Look forward to hearing from y'all

Pat

I'll give you my thoughts concerning the hen :
- good mahogany red colored
- the feathers in the neck should be darker
- good lacing on the wings
- great that the lacing continues until the tail and towards the legs
- color of the legs looks great too
- the head is too "pointed" , the head of a Wyandotte should be small and round
- as far as I can see she has a good comb

Cockerel :
- too much different types of red
- he doesn't seem to have much lacing in the wings, chest looks ok
- good leg color
- same remark concerning the head : too "pointed"
- looks like he has a good comb too
- good position of the legs


From these pictures it's difficult to give an opinion about the tail of the hen, the tail of the rooster isn't ready yet. Looks like he needs 2-3 more months to mature.
They both look wide enough to get that good type on them. The rooster will probably end up with a more impressive chest.

The pointy heads aren't necessarily a genetic thing.
It's possible that they were for a long time too close to their heat source when they were chicks.

The brassiness can be because of the sun, as @Junibutt pointed out earlier.

These are most certainly good starting animals!
You can expect good offspring and improve every year

 

[DonumDei]

@wyandodo Thanks for the feedback! I knew I wasn't buying prime birds, I really just wanted something to get me started!

I do agree with you regarding the cockerel's coloring. He isn't quite as dark as the hen (think we're going to call her Sheila ) and he does have about 3 different shades of Red. He ranges from a light Mahogany, to copper, and plain red. His wing lacing is poor as well, because it is a little washed out and is only on the bottom part of the feather.

@Junibutt I'm out of NC. However, I don't think it is the sun because the previous owner had them cooped up under some trees. It very well may have been diet though. He said that he basically fed them scratch with corn mixed in or something and I think that a heavy corn diet does affect coloring. I know it affects yolk and skin (i think) i do not know about feathers though. I have them on a much better diet at my place so we shall see what i'm working with after the molt!

Thanks again for your feedback!

Pat