I bought SLW, but WHAT did I get?

[Baymule]

I'm back....Anconas have white earlobes.........goes to play ear Dr with chicks..........Can't tell........

is that ear lobe really white, or light pink?? dunno. Both single comb and rose comb are accepted by the APA. That's good, cause both combs are represented by 7 chicks.

OK, these are either pretty Anconas or still really ugly SLW's.

Or mutts.

 

[Baymule]

I'm back....Anconas have white earlobes.........goes to play ear Dr with chicks..........Can't tell........

is that ear lobe really white, or light pink?? dunno. Both single comb and rose comb are accepted by the APA. That's good, cause both combs are represented by 7 chicks.

OK, these are either pretty Anconas or still really ugly SLW's.

Or mutts.

 

[Ralph Moyer]

Yes, indeed they really are silver laced wyandottes. They are unattractive, but this is the age where all adolecents are unattractive anyway. They will look a bit better once they're adults.

x2 ,Give them time and a lot of room to grow.

 

[Amy PT]

Hazel then (far right)

Hazel in between

Hazel last month (sledding on flat ground) Hard to see, but much nicer in her feathering.

Give them time. They'll get more attractive and SLW looking.

 

[lmattke]

I also got an chick from the SLW bin at a Tractor Supply Store this spring. She is turning out to have a lot of black on her, and has white rimmed feathers on her breast instead of black lacing. I have heard that hatchery SLWs are rather poor quality these days.
This girl is appreciated and loved regardless. It would be nice if her coloring evens out as she grows up, but either way, she is a friendly lap chicken who runs to greet me when I come to the run.
She's now about 9 weeks old. Here are some pictures:

 

[ccshambhala]

You def do NOT have Anconas! I'd give them some time. I have a silver laced polish roo and I thought for sure he was a terrible example - someone told me they take awhile to develop the color - and sure enough he's got lovely lacing now!

 

[grammaC]

My SLWs are a year and a half old. Their feathers look right, although they pick at themselves terribly, and they lay well I think...(or else the RIRs are covering for them.) However, I've wondered if the hatchery pulled a sly one on me...a few of their combs are roses, but more are pointy and floppy? Can that be with a true SLW?

 

[popsicle]

My SLWs are a year and a half old. Their feathers look right, although they pick at themselves terribly, and they lay well I think...(or else the RIRs are covering for them.) However, I've wondered if the hatchery pulled a sly one on me...a few of their combs are roses, but more are pointy and floppy? Can that be with a true SLW?

Post a picture here or start your own "what breed" thread. It's not uncommon to have a straight comb pop up in hatchery stock, but "more" is a bit concerning.

 

[BoiseChik]

Here is my little SLW, "Lacey". I bought her off of Craigslist, and was told she came from a hatchery. I am currently hoping its a pullet, not a rooster. We'll see. 7 weeks old now

 

[Baymule]

Well my girls have grown up and they really ARE Silver Laced Wyandottes. And yes, there was a rooster in the bunch, I gave him to the friend that bought the chicks to start with. She wound up with pullets and she lives in the country where she can have roosters. Here they are, in the back yard. The rooster is on the far left. He cared for his girls and they ran to him, clustered around him and depended on him for their safety. I hated to give him up, but no crowing here! They are definitely hatchery stock, one is too black, one has a lot of white, half have a rose comb, half have a regular comb. But they are pretty to me.

They look so pretty, mixed in with the Black Sex Links, Red Sex Links and the RIR's, like flowers in the yard. The dark one has started to lay, little tiny eggs, so cute. I sure would have never believed those ugly, scraggly, looking chicks would ever look this good! The next chickens I get will be some Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, I found a breeder only a couple of hours away and she will have some pullets in a couple of months!