Silver Laced Wyandotte sexing

[flgardengirl]

My 3 SLW look like that too. I think it is because they are hatchery birds (got them from the feedstore just for egg laying). Mine are supposed to be pullets. I think all 3 are boys grrr because thier combs are really red and becoming prominent and they are also getting wattles. They are only 4 weeks old. It kinda ticks me off that we pay extra for the pullets and so many of them this year are turning out to be roos. I know the odds though but this year I am getting quite a few roos in the 'pullets' mix. Way more than the 10%. I am wondering if some of the stores are doing this on purpose to boost sales $ with the slow economy.

 

[cherylcohen]

oh let's hope not.

Anyone else want to confirm Rosie is a Rocky?

 

[CelticMoon1]

So I've had this year's first wyandottes hatch 2 weeks ago, and wing sexed them as day-olds. There turned out to be a difference so I assume it does hold true. I know someone tried to wing sex a different breed but all chicks looked similar, and they ended up with both sexes - so when there actually is a difference chances are they can be wing sexed right? Anyway I've kept 2 that were female according to wing feathers, the rest are sold. Time will show if they really are sexable by wing feathers

(guess I'll know in 4 weeks' time).

I have chicks due on tuesday as well, plus a clutch later in July so I'll be banding and taking notes!

 

[Omani]

After reading this entire post, I have a question. Do all silver laced wyandottes have rose combs? Is it unusual to have one third to one half of the chicks develop stand up combs? These are my first and I got them at my first auction. Also, how much variation in pattern should there be? A couple are still nearly all black at about 6 weeks. Others have a great deal of white on them.
Just wondering.

 

[cherylcohen]

IS IT POSSIBLE??

After Rosie turned out to be Rocky I decided to try again. None of my SLW eggs hatched so I bought 2 from Meyer Hatchery.

They are 5 weeks old...can it be they are BOTH boys or do they just develop that way???

The one on the left grew much faster than the other so far

 

[macmama]

I don't know... I have 5 SLW chicks of the same age, and one looks like yours-- much less comb than my obvious roos, and much more than my obvious pullets.

It's been a couple more weeks... can you tell gender on yours now?

 

[Tiss]

If I had to guess just by the one picture, I'd say left is a girl, right is a boy.

 

[emjay]

I agree with Tiss, left pullet, right roo.

 

[CelticMoon1]

Quote:
There are a number of Wyandottes out there that either have single combs or that carry the recessive gene for single comb, but have rose comb themselves. Sounds like you got hatchery stock Wyandottes, they tend to yield a higher number of single combed offspring and deviate from the APA standard otherwise in color and body shape. They will tend to be leaner than a show quality bird, and lack the roundness that is desired. They can also have very different pattern from what they should, from being almost all black to speckled white.

As for rose comb/single comb there are discussions as some people insist single combs in the gene pool increases fertility. I have not had any single combs pop up in my stock, nor do I intend to introduce any. I've incubated several clutches of eggs using 3 different roos, all eggs candled and fertile. Some folks even argue that a Wyandotte with single comb is not a Wyandotte, as it does not meet the standard.

Obtaining and maintaining "perfect" coloring in a laced bird is a lot of work, even starting with top breeder birds. At hatcheries they breed for quantity rather than quality, which will result in a lot of deviation from the standard, as the hard work of culling that the top breeders do is left out of their breeding programme. If you want to compare check out mrs turbo's or katy's birds in the official wyandotte thread! They're gorgeous!

Please note that these comments are in relation to the STANDARD, I'm not trying to demean your birds in any way. It's just the way it usually is; people want to try wyandottes, then order hatchery birds and are disappointed with how they look... Hatchery or breeder birds is a choice of preference, personally I prefer breeder birds for looks, and though mine are breeder stock, they are not nearly as nice as Katy's and mrs turbo's.

Oh, and another thing I've noticed with mine is the roos tend to be whiter across their shoulders than the pullets from early on.

 

[cherylcohen]

thanks

LOL I tried hatchery breeder stock eggs and none hatched

so I got crazy and bought two from meyer. I REALLY wanted them...next time I'll try to have patience.....yeah right!