First time owner! Any experience with Golden Laced Wyandotte colors?

[chickienewbie88]

This is my first time owning chickens (actually any bird for that matter) and so far Im LOVING it, but ive definitely realized that I dont know NEARLY what I should!! Anyway, i purchased 6 1 day old Golden Laced Wyandotte pullets from Mount Healthy. Now theyre a week old and growing so quickly!! It amazes me how quickly they learn new things.. I spend hours just watching them in the brooder!! Ive noticed, though, that one little girl isnt growing as fast as the others. Shes about half their size. They dont seem to pick on her or anything though. Also, her markings are the same as the others, but she is VERY pale yellow, almost a shimmery silver in color with black. Do you guys think she could possibly a different color of Wyandotte that got mixed in with the Goldens? Have any of you experienced anything similar? I love her just the same of course, but shes so different looking as the days go by that im beginning to wonder! As bad as this sounds, i also have to add that she doesnt seem to be as "bright" as the others either.. I know for sure she came out of the Golden box (my father in law owns a hardware store and he ordered 100 total, i was there when he unpacked them). Thanks for any input you guys have!!!

 

[SJchickens]

Here's the Wikipedia Wyandotte page. It lists all of the recognized types: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyandotte_chicken

I have 4 Wyandottes, 2 Goldens, 2 silvers. They are about a week and a half, and they are just starting to grow into their big girl feathers. Have your chicks begun, too? You could try looking at her's to see if they match the others'. She sounds so interesting! Do you have any pictures of her?

 

[chickienewbie88]

Thanks for the reply!! Ive looked through the colors but i havent seen each color as chicks, and even then its still hard to tell what she may be, i just know she doesnt look like the others! Lol!
Mine are about a week and a half now too.. Most are getting their wing feathers, some just barely and one (the runt) has feathers almost reaching her little butt. That one just started getting tail feathers a day or two ago. I took some pics for ya too so you can see what i mean. Even in the pictures i have the difference isnt shown as well as you can see in real life.. Shes almost a platinum/lavender/silvery color with pale yellow on her head and belly! Its so weird!!

So this is Starlett, shes from the same group, a golden laced wyandotte.. But shes solid black/grey on her body, her feathers are coming in solid, irredescent black, and her belly and spots on her head are yellow.

This is Minnie.. she is the runt and has the most advanced feathers.. you can see her tail feathers coming in here

These are Minnie's wings.. I was actually putting her back in the brooder when she decided to try to fly and left them out.. she LOVES showing off her wings to the others and spends most of her time grooming them

Here we have Goldie, shes the largest and has the best example of the golden color all but 2 of my chicks have

And finally, little Lilly. Shes the smallest now and the "silver" one im confused about. She's getting a little spots of lace on her wings but the color coming in is the same silvery color too!

Lilly and Goldie for comparison

And finally, Lilly, Goldie, and Starlett so you can see how different they are. Like i said, Goldie looks just like the other three (Minnie i pictured earlier, Lacey, and Bumble Bea) but Lilly is silver and Starlett is black/grey.

 

[firstimeflocker]

First off, I must say that I think you made a good choice going with wyandottes as a first time chicken owner. I got a trio last year for my first chickens and they have just been lovely. They're gorgeous birds, very smart, and mine have been excellent layers this year!
Your little Lilly looks like a silver laced to me. As for her being smaller, that happened to one of mine last year! (Oddly enough, it was Nugget who fell behind. Cursed by the name.) I still have no idea what happened. The other chicks didn't bully her, she ate plenty of food, had plenty of heat lamp. But at some point a couple weeks in she stopped growing as fast and her feathering was way behind the other two. She eventually caught up and now to be honest, I can't tell my two gold laced girls apart without some serious studying! As long as her appetite is good and she doesn't act sick, she should eventually catch up and be okay, I would think.

 

[firstimeflocker]

For reference, here are the two gold laced (huddled together on the right) with the silver laced (in the corner on the left). Hope it helps! I wish I'd taken more pictures last year.

 

[SJchickens]

I'm going to agree with Flocker. Lily looks like a SL that got tossed in with the GLs. How funny! That also probably explains why she is smaller. My GLWs are bigger than my SLWs. I think they mature differently.

 

[azygous]

Yes, you have an "accidental" SLW with Lily. I got my first GLW that way. She was the only chick in a group of eight that had slight tinges of gold in her down.

Be warned that the "lace" patterning is very slow in appearing as they feather. It takes a few months to get the full effect. Until then, you may be entertaining doubts as to their pure pedigree. You need to be patient for their full glory.

 

[jmdarrow]

Here are my flock of babies. I have had them for 10 days and I am a newbie too. If you notice, my silver laced seems bigger than my golden laced. They are the same age. I think it is all Just a fact of life. Some are bigger, some smaller. The silver laced is a spunky bird. Her name is Bea. She was the first to start trying to fly. The golden laced is named Charlotte. She is much more laid back. Likes to keep to herself and isquieter. You will also see my two black Jersey giants. Thelma and Louise. I can't figure out what I am calling the buff orphington yet.

 

[chickienewbie88]

Thank you everyone for your advice.
firsttimeflocker: im so glad i went with the wyandottes too! im a huge animal lover but previously i just didnt have that feeling for birds (we decided to start a coop as a part of homesteading). I figured they would just be birds that lived out back and id feed them and clean their pens so i could have eggs. Now im just enamored with how intelligent they are, and soulful!! I have 9 silkie eggs incubating as well, i just hope theyre as wonderful as these pretty girls have turned out to be!!
SJchickens: yes, she started out the same size but is still about half the size of the others, i was getting worried but im so glad you told me sometimes the silvers are slower than the golds. As bad as this sounds, she doesnt seem to pick things up as quickly as the others too, LOL
azygous: ive read that.. im just so excited to see how beautiful theyre going to be. when little Minnie started showing gold with black "lace" on her wings i almost popped! Lol. Its just incredible to see how far along their feathers develop from day to day. I cant imagine how beautiful theyll be in a week, let alone several!
jmdarrow: what gorgeous little birds you have there!! I have these 6 wyandottes, 5 gold and one silver apparently lol!! Mine are 10 days old today and growing so fast!! I also have 4 silkie and 5 silkie bantams in my incubator. Candling them in 2 days so hopefully theyre all developing well. Thank you for sharing your little flock!!

 

[SJchickens]

Thank you everyone for your advice.
firsttimeflocker: im so glad i went with the wyandottes too! im a huge animal lover but previously i just didnt have that feeling for birds (we decided to start a coop as a part of homesteading). I figured they would just be birds that lived out back and id feed them and clean their pens so i could have eggs. Now im just enamored with how intelligent they are, and soulful!! I have 9 silkie eggs incubating as well, i just hope theyre as wonderful as these pretty girls have turned out to be!!
SJchickens: yes, she started out the same size but is still about half the size of the others, i was getting worried but im so glad you told me sometimes the silvers are slower than the golds. As bad as this sounds, she doesnt seem to pick things up as quickly as the others too, LOL
azygous: ive read that.. im just so excited to see how beautiful theyre going to be. when little Minnie started showing gold with black "lace" on her wings i almost popped! Lol. Its just incredible to see how far along their feathers develop from day to day. I cant imagine how beautiful theyll be in a week, let alone several!
jmdarrow: what gorgeous little birds you have there!! I have these 6 wyandottes, 5 gold and one silver apparently lol!! Mine are 10 days old today and growing so fast!! I also have 4 silkie and 5 silkie bantams in my incubator. Candling them in 2 days so hopefully theyre all developing well. Thank you for sharing your little flock!!

Don't let them know I told you this, but my goldies are a lot smarter than my silvers . Friendlier, too. Enjoy your Wyandottes