GLW Hen is mostly black

[Cottage Gal]

I have a GLW pullet that is mostly black with just a highlighting of gold. Is this the typical coloration or unusual for the breed? She is my only GLW hen and I might consider breeding her one day. Will her coloring change, as she is about 12 weeks now.


The boys have much more golden colors and even some rusty-red coming through:

 

[donrae]

It's just a variation you'll see in hatchery birds. My hatchery glw have been pretty nicely marked, but for hatchery barred Rocks I've got birds all over the place--some decently crisp, some very muddy. If you're just wanting to propagate your own birds she's fine. If you're wanting to breed SOP or show birds, you won't want her in your breeding program.

 

[englishcockers]

I agree, but she's also very young, her markings will likely improve with her adult feathers.... in my experience

 

[Cottage Gal]

I have no interest in showing, but would like to breed some GLW in the future for my own flock, and possibly selling some locally if there is interest. Due to an error at the hatchery, I only received the one GLW female, so now I'm trying to plan ahead, whether to order more from another hatchery, try to find some locally or start a breeding program next year. Thanks for your input.

 

[Cottage Gal]

I wanted to update this thread. She has gotten much more golden feathering as she is starting to mature a bit, and is really a lovely hen. I'm posting this to encourage anyone with a similarly feathered GLW pullet; I'm learning that the feather patterns do seem to change as they get older.