Chicken Breed Focus - Wyandotte

[sumi]

The Wyandotte aka American Sebright, were developed in the United states in the 1870’s, in and around the New York area. The first color developed was the Silver Laced variety and they were originally called American Sebrights. The name was changed to Wyandotte (after the indigenous Wyandot people), when they were admitted into the APA in 1883. They were exported to Europe around the same time.

Wyandottes are a calm breed in general and have very nice temperaments. They are good with people and generally get along well in a mixed flock. They are decent foragers, though they do not tend to wander far and are not good flyers. They are extremely cold hardy. The hens are good layers of light brown eggs, good winter layers, will set, and are good mothers. The cockerels make a good table bird. Today they are an extremely popular dual purpose breed and very popular among small flock owners looking for a colorful winter layer.

They have a flat rose comb and bright red face. Today they come in many feather colors and patterns, with over thirty found in Europe, the beautiful Blue Laced Red and Silver Laced are probably the two most popular colors in general. They are very popular as exhibition birds. Many breeds have been used to produce the Wyandotte we know today, including Brahma, Cochin, Hamburg, and Plymouth Rocks. They are also found in bantam size.

It was removed from The Livestock Conservancy's Priority list in 2016 and is no longer considered endangered.

Details:

Breed purpose: Dual
Comb Type: Rose
Broodiness: Occasional, good mothers
Climate Tolerance: Very cold hardy
Weight: 6.5lb hen, 8.5lb rooster
Egg Productivity: Good
Egg Size: Large
Egg Color: Brown



Blue Rooster - Pic by @ggarratt



Buff chicks - Pic by @Bleenie



Gold Laced - Pic by @dajen



Silver Laced - Pic by @Kelly G



Splash Laced Red - Pic by @cluckadoodledoo


Pic by @cluckadoodledoo

BYC Breed reviews:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/wyandotte

BYC General breed discussions & FAQ threads:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/279470/the-wyandotte-thread/0_20
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/466415/blue-laced-red-wyandotte-thread/0_20
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/605156/the-silver-laced-wyandotte-thread/0_20


Do you own Wyandottes? Are you a Wyandotte breeder? If so, please reply to this thread with the your thoughts and experiences, including:

· What made you decide to get this breed?
· Do you own them for fun? Breeding? Some other purpose?
· What are your favorite characteristics about this breed?
· Post some pics of your birds; male/female, chicks, eggs, etc!

We have a bunch of other awesome breed-focus threads for you to enjoy. You can see all of them here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-project.975504/

 

[CuzChickens]

Well, I was just looking at the FB page, and wish I had seen this when it was actually active! I am going to post pictures anyway.

Just some random SLW and GLW pics.

 

[heatherlaw]

Anyone have any good photos of the Blue Laced Red variety?

My gals are looking a little shabby becayse they are molting but these are my blue laced reds
Sparrow on the nest

Laura wondering why i didnt bring treats

 

[fangedknight]

It's my first chick season this spring! And when I was originally looking at chickens this breed really stuck out to me. I'm in Southeastern PA so we get nailed pretty bad with snow during the winter if we're not lucky and the hardiness of them really was a must. I also wanted good egg layers. Needless to say when I went through the mypetchicken breed selector, they were one of the first to come up. Of course the fact that they're drop dead gorgeous is a plus. Eventually I do want to show my chickens but I have to wait to see what I get out of this first run and go from there. Right now I only have chicks but they're still super cute! I've got 20 little ones, 2 roos and 18 girls. 10 GLW and 10 SLW so here's the pictures I have


This is my SLW Roo Mississippi!

He's my handsome boy. Our other Roo's name is Hei Hei. We also have Stripe, Speckles (or Specks), and Erza (though I keep forgetting which one she is...). The others still need names.

 

[Doubtmii]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I LOVE Wyandottes! I dont have any but i would love too!

I have 3 and I totally love them, My silver laced is so entertaining and nosey her name is Zenith but I call her Nosey Rosie. She's so darling. I have 2 younger ones they Blue laced Red and they are just the same temperament Nosey, Nosey. I highly recommend them.

 

[happywisguy]

I have a Silver Laced, White, Columbian and Gold Laced Wyandottes! I want one of each variety! Love their heart shaped bodies!

 

[Marianne25]

I have two silver laced. They are great layers, started at around 21 weeks and lay almost every day! I chose them for their winter hardiness and beautiful plumage, along with their egg laying capabilities

They're not overly friendly and are at the top of the pecking order under my rooster Oh and no, they don't wander far at all

 

[cluckcluckhens]

SLW on April 1st of this year.

 

[ChickNanny13]

I LOVE Wynadottes; cuddly & fluffy, sweet & friendly, don't find them very noisy but think it's a individual trait. The bigger of the chicks think it's a parrot, always jumping up on my arm to perch. Hoping they're pullets

 

[dlp40]

I have 7 slw pullets (19-25 weeks old) and 1 slw cockerel (25 weeks old).
I got this breed because I wanted a silver laced egg laying breed to work with and breed. So far I find them to be talkative and generally calm. I wouldn't say( yet) that they are buff Orpington calm but pretty close. I do enjoy the color and can't wait for the adult size to show up.
My rooster crows from 3 am- 8pm it seems like. He will crow if he hears,sees,smells, or thinks about something. I swear if he doesn't hear himself for a minute he thinks he's fell asleep and will jerk around and fluff his feathers then he let's out his mighty crow. Love his size and temperament though. Very respectful guy even with the hormones rushing through him. His dad was a people aggressive bird from adolescents to 2 years old
(not my bird).
All in all I like the breed and can't wait to see how close I can get them to SOP being hatchery/back yard breeder stock. I will be adding to them with some better stock through my journey with them.
Now let's see if I can find a pic or two.

my loud boy at 16 weeks

1 of the girls before I separated my spring hatch.

finally a group shot before the coop rearrangement.