Columbian Wyandotte or mix with laced?

[Gargoyle]

We just got four young chickens (a rooster and three hens) to replace our previous three Columbian Wyandottes, who were sadly lost to a Raccoon. I hardened the coop, replaced the chicken wire with hardware cloth, and made it into a safe fortress for the new guys.

The farm where we get them raises Columbian Wyandottes, but one hen is a bit different. She has lacing on her back, but not on her chest the way a Silver Laced would be. Could she be a mix, or just a normal variation on Columbian, or something else?

Thanks,

Here is a shot of all four new 'uns, posing for their family portrait.

Everyone else from the farm is like the other three.

 

[Pele]

I just love the Wyandotte body structure, what a big lady!

She looks like a purebred to me, just poor quality feathers. It occasionally happens, and shouldn't interfere with her capacity as a stately Wyandotte lady.

 

[BlazeJester]

She looks a lot like my Meyer hatchery columbian wyandotte.

 

[PeakyBeaky]

They look like "mossy feathers", just a recessive trait and seen a fair amount.

 

[Gargoyle]

Thanks everyone, it looks like she's just mossy, and very sweet. She's the youngest of our newly adopted family. I think the roo is about 5 months old.

 

[Gargoyle]

I just realized, the oldest hen (I sure hope it's a She!) has a non-standard 4 point comb- is this another recessive/cross trait, or did something else sneak into the DNA?

 

[Pele]

Yes she's a hen, and it's pretty much the same situation that you asked about with your other hen. These are not showable birds, and have disqualifications on them (genetic impurities). I would say that the breeder you got them from either isn't interested in showing his line, or he got them from a hatchery and is selling the offspring.

They're pretty birds and perfectly sound Wyandottes, they just arn't show quality. Technically, if you asked a hardcore Wyandotte breeder, they'd say that comb disqualifies her from being called a Wyandotte, but I personally feel that's a bit extreme.

 

[Gargoyle]

Thanks, it's no problem for us, because we aren't interested in showing. In fact, I like the fact that our three new hens are distinct and easy to tell apart.

The farm were we got them is a park/museum set up as a 1930's farm. They give tours for school groups so that the kids can learn about life in that period. (Primrose Farm, St. Charles, IL Park District). They also provide eggs to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, which has had a large baby chick hatchery for at least 50 years- one of their most popular exhibits. The farm then takes some chicks back to raise them; I think some other farms in the area also provide eggs and take chicks, so things can get mixed up. Being a perfect pure breeder wouldn't be in keeping with the historic theme of the farm, so there are no false claims involved.

Here's a nice time lapse hatching video from the Museum of Science and Industry
http://www.msichicago.org/online-science/videos/video-detail/activities/the-hatchery/

 

[Pele]

Quote:
That sounds really lovely! I'm very jealous as we don't have anything like that near us. I'd be haunting that farm all the time, probably even volunteering

I thought something was a bit odd, because your birds have such lovely bodies and carriage, which is something that most commercial hatcheries don't get quite right (they breed for eggs, which lightens the body structure of the bird). I was leaning towards a hobbyist breeder who was after the traditional dual-purpose nature of the breed, not showability.

Beautiful stately birds. You'll love having living decorations in your back yard

 

[Gargoyle]

Quote:
The emphasis of that farm is on historic accuracy and education, not on production.

Here's the site for the farm, although the website doesn't really tell much.
http://www.stcparks.org/Parks/Primrose-Farm-Park.asp
They have a mid-19th century barn, milk house, pump house, hog house, sheep barn, chicken house, farmhouse, community garden plots, demonstration plots and farm discovery trails. Our daughter works there a few days a month, and they have volunteers including high schoolers and 4H youth.