Cackle hatchery Show-type Silver laced Wyandotte?

[KAGs waterfowl]

Does anyone know if the Exhibition line silver laced Wyandotte’s from cackle hatchery are any good? I saw they said they have foley in their line.
Thanks!

 

[DarJones]

I don't know re Cackle's claims, but I do know a good bit about Jerry Foley's line of Silver Laced Wyandottes. I would suggest instead of getting chicks from Cackle, put the money into buying a dozen chicks straight from Jerry Foley. You can find him at foleyswaterfowl.com

First, understand that any breeder is going to have some genetic quirks in his birds. Foley is no exception. He has some very good looking SLW's from which about 10% are typically excellent and about 1 in 100 will win at a large show. This is par for the course with most breeders readily stating that about 10% of their highly selected birds are show grade.

I used Foley's SLW's as repeat backcross parents in my blue egg laying Silver Laced Wyandottes. In doing so, I found a boat load of recessives that are normally hidden behind the major traits (Silver, Pattern, Columbian, Melanotic, pouffy tail). One that is difficult to get rid of is a comb modifier. Silver Laced Wyandottes should be Rose comb which means they have to have a gene for straight comb on chromosome 1 plus the inversion for rose comb on chromosome 7. Foley's birds carry a second variant that causes inverted walnut comb. I think this gene is on chromosome 1 and may replace the straight comb gene that is normally present but do not have breeding proof of this. The result of this gene is that Foley's roosters have flat rose combs caused by the inverted walnut plus rose comb inversion on chromosome 7. It is an issue where judges pay close attention to comb type. This is not a negative for pullets as the extra gene just makes their comb a tad smaller. Look very closely at the picture on Cackle's page and then look at Jerry Foley's pictures and compare them with a standard rose comb male. You should be able to see the differences.

There is one other cautionary gene which is a variant of slow feathering. Foley's birds tend to produce a lot of chicks that lose their fuzz and are half naked until adult feathers grow in. While I don't like this gene overall, it has the advantage of producing beautiful lacing on adults.

Other than the above, Foley's birds carry recessives for half a dozen feather variants that don't normally show up as they are covered by dominant genes. So long as you breed to birds that carry the same dominant genes, you won't see them.

Please note that I am NOT dissing Jerry's birds. They are exceptional, but like all breeding lines, you have to understand their genetics.

 

[KAGs waterfowl]

Good to know. Blue egg laying Wyandotte’s? That sounds interesting. Do you sell birds? Thank you for the information.

 

[Mosey2003]

I respect that Cackle is trying to do more with some higher quality birds. If you couldn't get birds from Mr. Foley I would certainly try Cackle's. I'd order 100 of them if they could hatch those numbers, that should give you enough to glean about 10 breeding prospects off.

 

[Cedius]

I don't know re Cackle's claims, but I do know a good bit about Jerry Foley's line of Silver Laced Wyandottes. I would suggest instead of getting chicks from Cackle, put the money into buying a dozen chicks straight from Jerry Foley. You can find him at foleyswaterfowl.com

First, understand that any breeder is going to have some genetic quirks in his birds. Foley is no exception. He has some very good looking SLW's from which about 10% are typically excellent and about 1 in 100 will win at a large show. This is par for the course with most breeders readily stating that about 10% of their highly selected birds are show grade.

I used Foley's SLW's as repeat backcross parents in my blue egg laying Silver Laced Wyandottes. In doing so, I found a boat load of recessives that are normally hidden behind the major traits (Silver, Pattern, Columbian, Melanotic, pouffy tail). One that is difficult to get rid of is a comb modifier. Silver Laced Wyandottes should be Rose comb which means they have to have a gene for straight comb on chromosome 1 plus the inversion for rose comb on chromosome 7. Foley's birds carry a second variant that causes inverted walnut comb. I think this gene is on chromosome 1 and may replace the straight comb gene that is normally present but do not have breeding proof of this. The result of this gene is that Foley's roosters have flat rose combs caused by the inverted walnut plus rose comb inversion on chromosome 7. It is an issue where judges pay close attention to comb type. This is not a negative for pullets as the extra gene just makes their comb a tad smaller. Look very closely at the picture on Cackle's page and then look at Jerry Foley's pictures and compare them with a standard rose comb male. You should be able to see the differences.

There is one other cautionary gene which is a variant of slow feathering. Foley's birds tend to produce a lot of chicks that lose their fuzz and are half naked until adult feathers grow in. While I don't like this gene overall, it has the advantage of producing beautiful lacing on adults.

Other than the above, Foley's birds carry recessives for half a dozen feather variants that don't normally show up as they are covered by dominant genes. So long as you breed to birds that carry the same dominant genes, you won't see them.

Please note that I am NOT dissing Jerry's birds. They are exceptional, but like all breeding lines, you have to understand their genetics.

I know this is an old thread, but was foley able to completely breed the single comb out? Is that possible?

If not, does anyone know how often foleys or cackle, or other high quality SL in general throw single comb chicks?

 

[KAGs waterfowl]

To my knowledge- yes.
The single combed gene is recessive, so it can show up in many lines of Wyandottes. However if you have a single combed Wyandotte hen, it’s not always a horrible thing… if you are wanting to use a rooster, but are unsure if he is homozygous rose combed, you can breed him to that single comb hen, if any of their progeny come out with single combs, you know he is a carrier of the single comb and not always the best choice for a breeder.

I have purchased “Foley line” BLR Wyandottes that never threw single combs, but have also purchased from a different breeder who carried Foley’s birds and saw one single combed cockerel out of several hundred chicks.

My guess would be getting almost any birds of a high standard breeder will result in low, or no single combed chicks.

 

[Cedius]

To my knowledge- yes.
The single combed gene is recessive, so it can show up in many lines of Wyandottes. However if you have a single combed Wyandotte hen, it’s not always a horrible thing… if you are wanting to use a rooster, but are unsure if he is homozygous rose combed, you can breed him to that single comb hen, if any of their progeny come out with single combs, you know he is a carrier of the single comb and not always the best choice for a breeder.

I have purchased “Foley line” BLR Wyandottes that never threw single combs, but have also purchased from a different breeder who carried Foley’s birds and saw one single combed cockerel out of several hundred chicks.

My guess would be getting almost any birds of a high standard breeder will result in low, or no single combed chicks.

So if the single comb was bred out, does that mean the fertilization rates for those higher quality Wyandottes are low? I’ve spoken to a breeder that states to stay away from anyone claiming to not have single combs in their line, as the fertilization rate is abysmal. I’m just trying to get started with a heritage line and work on them as best I can.

 

[KAGs waterfowl]

Not normally,
I had a group of silver laced Wyandotte from a Foley influenced line, all had single combs and hatch rates stayed at a constant 85%+, which was far better than my Brahmas, and even Australorps.

 

[KAGs waterfowl]

*Rose combs, they all had Rose combs lol.

 

[Cedius]

*Rose combs, they all had Rose combs lol.

Did you ever get any of the Cackle exhibition line?