Golden Laced Wyandotte Thread!

[Lepomis]

The first chicks I bought were a pair of GLW pullets from the local feed store. I lost one to dog next door, but the remaining hen has turned out to be awesome. She is fairly quiet and gets along well with the others. I wouldn't say she is super friendly, but will tolerate being held once she is caught.










Her first egg:




Last week:

 

[poltroon]

Cottage Gal, it's hard to know how old they will be when they start to fight. It will be longer if there are no females with them. You can probably get to six months fine, and after that you're kind of on borrowed time, but it could be many months of borrowed time.

If you are going to breed, I would not keep the runty one as your only breeder. In chickens, especially large fowl, you are looking for birds that develop quickly and large. You want your hatches to be trouble free with all the chicks being lively and active and sturdy - raising one runt is rewarding; raising 25 runts is very much not.

You want these birds to have a very round and deep profile, and to be very wide from the top. Basically, you want them to do an impersonation of a sphere with legs. Remember that even if we are selecting them for shape and plumage, the original purpose of these birds is to produce eggs and meat, and a slow grower is an expensive bird to raise.

It's hard to see from the overhead picture of young birds if they'll be breeding quality or not. I have some concerns about the color, but there are many changes of feathers in that first year, so maybe they're just in an awkward phase.

 

[Cottage Gal]

Yes, I see what you mean. Taking care of Pee Wee as a chick was kinda stressful. I kept expecting him to die in the night. I wouldn't want to have a whole batch like that, my nerves couldn't take it. So I guess I should keep my biggest one? He isn't the most aggressive, but he does stand up to the others, making him (I think) the dominant male.

 

[Gingersnap722]

Is he a young bird? He doesn't (yet?) show the Wyandotte type I'd look for if he's a cock, but if he's a cockerel, he's got nice lacing and good wing carriage, so he might grow into his body better. The young ones often look like this.

That said, good GLW males are not easy to come by, and he might be worth using once on really typey females to get a better male, worst case.

He was about 5 months old when those pics were taken. Here he is now at 7 months old.

 

[kdolly87]

Can anyone tell me if this is a wyandotte? I was told it was but it was a cull and doesn't look like my other gold laced wyandotte chick. And her wing tips curl up at the ends.

 

[hosspak]

Can anyone tell me if this is a wyandotte? I was told it was but it was a cull and doesn't look like my other gold laced wyandotte chick. And her wing tips curl up at the ends.

Uhh, it's hard to tell at this point due to it's age and pic.

 

[kdolly87]

Uhh, it's hard to tell at this point due to it's age and pic.

Yeah I thought maybe it was too soon. She just moves so much! Makes pictures a difficult task. These were the best out of 20 or so pics lol

 

[hosspak]

Yeah I thought maybe it was too soon. She just moves so much! Makes pictures a difficult task. These were the best out of 20 or so pics lol

Only 20 pics???? lol

 

[kdolly87]

Only 20 pics???? lol

It was late and I got frustrated!! Haha!

 

[hosspak]

A new thread for So Cal...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/945003/wyandotte-raisers-in-southern-california