New Blue Laced Red Wyandotte Flock

[NYREDS]

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That's how it's done & it's definately a labour of love. You have to be able & willing to cull ruthlessly. Type is of foremost importance. The old saying goes "you build the barn before you paint it". For a non white bird 10 points is for condition, 37 for colour & 63 for type. A perfectly coloured, poorly typed bird can't go far.

 

[turbo]

Yup...its the only way I know to get a better BLRW..there just isnt a short cut out there that works..trust me, I have tried them all in the past.

Here are a few tips that I can pass on to others who are trying to raise and improve their BLRW..and hopefully help you out...I certainly dont know it all, but I do have some experience when it comes to raising BLRW.

1) when the chicks are growing out, look at the wing feathers...keep the ones with the widest feathers..wyandottes need wide soft feathering...I normally cull the ones with thin wing feathers. Laced wyandottes have harder feathers than solid colored wyandottes, that is why it is so hard to get a good tail on a laced wyandotte, having breeders with wide soft feathers is going to help you.

2) as chicks you can start comparing how thick or wide the heads are, keep the ones with the widest heads..wyandottes should have wide round heads. Also look at how long the beaks are...short beaks are best, wyandotte roosters should have a somewhat fierce look to them..

3) keep an eye on how fast they are feathering out...the chicks that take forever to feather out carry the slow feathering gene, slow feathering means better lacing. Dont get to hung up on mossy feathering on the young birds, everything from a wet spring to laying eggs while feathering out can cause a laced wyandotte to have mossy feathers..but if you have a 2 year old hen with mossy feathers, then I would not use her for breeding.

4) try to use the BLRW pullets and cockerels that show a good deep red on the hackles...good red on the neck is the key to having good mahogany red through out the bird. Also keep an eye on the lacing on the hackles of the hens....that is really hard to keep on the BLRW hens...so if you have some splash hens with sold white or blue necks...DONT use them. I am not going to get into a big in depth thing about if you should or if you shouldnt use a splash in your breeding program...I have strong feelings about the subject..but so does everyone else. I will tell you that in my experience if you use a black on a splash you will get blue...but that blue color is going to be all over the range of blue, the only way you are going to get a good consistent blue is breeding blue to blue, and then using a good typed black every 3 yrs or so to darken that blue. I still get birds with light color or brassy color and I have been culling that out for 5 years..granted I dont get nearly as often now as I did in the beginning.

5) And most important of all...the tail...make sure it is nice and open in the back. If you are looking at the back of the bird, the tail should look like a TeePee..like the logo the Wyandotte club uses. Now the Germans say it should look like a horseshoe...but we are not breeding to the German Standard...we call horseshoe shaped tails from the back..bunny tails. Also you should have nice short back...you should be able to place a golf ball right on the back and it would fit right there between the neck and tail.

This is enough to look for in the beginning and always remember this...every year I always mark what I think will be my best BLRW rooster....and every year at the end of the grow out season that rooster ends up being my 3rd or 4th best rooster...so be patient when growing them out, wyandottes take about 2 yrs to fully grow out.

I could go on and on and even write a book about raising BLRW...but I have to go to work in the morning..The BLRW are beautiful bird and worth all the effort....

Jerry Foley

 

[WyandotteTX]

Great stuff Jerry! Very interesting reading to say the least. I dont have alot of experience with either Bantam or LF BLR's so its always nice to learn something new. Thanks!
You probably should write a book or at least an in depth article about your experiences with the BLR. I would think alot of people would love to read it!

 

[kelseygirl707]

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Wow, I am glad you posted this. I only have 4 BLRW chicks, and I am not planning on breeding, just really wanted the breed for my backyard flock. But I was concerned because one of mine is feathering extremely slowly, so I was thinking maybe it was a roo, as they feather slowly with some breeds, but I am happy to know I can expect some good lacing from this baby.

 

[DragonEggs]

Wow, That was some really useful information! Definitly helpful when I get my first birds.

Edited to Add: I agree you should write a handbook or at least a good length article on the subject. You have an excellent standpoint.

 

[wingman2008]

thanks turbo

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Wonderful information. Thank you!

 

[JanieMarie]

Thanks so much for the info from a voice of experience! I seriously don't think anyone would object if you went on and on................ and on.............!

 

[McSpin]

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katy, that is a great looking hen. The best lacing I've seen on a BLRW.

 

[dak]

Sorry for the newbie question.... but what is "mossy" feathering???