Silver laced Wyandotte so dark

[Catho]

Hello! I am wondering why my Silver laced Wyandotte ladies are so dark. They are 1 year old, maybe it changes later?

 

[SheaLoner]

Hatchery stock?

 

[swamphiker]

Her lacing might not be perfect, but she is still a pretty girl! Where did you get your SLWs? If they are from hatcheries, they tend to breed for egg production/hardiness rather than breed standards. I am not a chicken breeder, but it's my understanding that lacing is one of the more difficult things to breed for.

 

[sybonbon]

Hello! I am wondering why my Silver laced Wyandotte ladies are so dark. They are 1 year old, maybe it changes later?
View attachment 3032567

Wow, they are dark. Sometimes when my birds molt their new feathers look different but I don't know if this will change for you. My SLW is in the middle of a molt right now. I'm looking forward to the end result.

 

[cherrynberry]

Hatchery stock?

Agreed. Poorly bred.

 

[Catho]

Her lacing might not be perfect, but she is still a pretty girl! Where did you get your SLWs? If they are from hatcheries, they tend to breed for egg production/hardiness rather than breed standards. I am not a chicken breeder, but it's my understanding that lacing is one of the more difficult things to breed for.

I picked them all up at a hatchery, I was just wondering. They are pretty and we love them so much no matter which color.

 

[Catho]

Wow, they are dark. Sometimes when my birds molt their new feathers look different but I don't know if this will change for you. My SLW is in the middle of a molt right now. I'm looking forward to the end result.

Maybe the next molt will lighten the color a bit? They molted in December so we will see by the end of the year probably.

 

[sybonbon]

Maybe the next molt will lighten the color a bit? They molted in December so we will see by the end of the year probably.

When mine was young she was very light. She turned out very nicely laced as seen in my member photo. Was yours always very dark?

 

[Poodlemum]

I would assume at this age, she’s not likely to lighten. Mine had thin lacing as juveniles, but we’ll before they started laying had much thicker (or too thick) lacing

 

[Catho]

Thank you for all your input!