The Silver Laced Wyandotte Thread

[Wyandotte96]

How long does everybody wait before adding new blood into the flock? I am just wondering because all the chicks from this year will be related same grandfather,grandmothers,father and mothers.
I think I need to add new blood because they are so closely related, I haven't bought birds for 4 years.



thanks,
Corey

 

[dracoe19]

Corey,

I think it wouldn't hurt to add new blood but I would be sure to get birds to compliment your birds qualities. How many birds are you working with? I have heard of some people not introducing new blood for 20 years but you need to keep good track of off spring and have a decent amount of birds to start with versus maybe 1 rooster and 3 hens type thing.

 

[Wyandotte96]

I have 1 rooster 1 cockerel 1 pullet and 4 or 5 older hens with 20 eggs in the incubator. I am wanting to add more birds to my flock while bringing in new blood. I am building another coop to add more birds. I want to breed the new birds and once their offspring is old enough breed the pullets to my males and breed my current flocks offspring(pullets) to the new male. I hope I didn't confuse anybody.

 

[Flowerbh]

Just hatched some SLW chicks. 3 are black and silver colored and 3 are mostly black with some silver lines down the back. According to some of the threads that I have read, do I have 3 males and 3 females?

I am now thinking these are my males???? Lots of gray on back/shoulders.

 

[dracoe19]

I have 1 rooster 1 cockerel 1 pullet and 4 or 5 older hens with 20 eggs in the incubator. I am wanting to add more birds to my flock while bringing in new blood. I am building another coop to add more birds. I want to breed the new birds and once their offspring is old enough breed the pullets to my males and breed my current flocks offspring(pullets) to the new male. I hope I didn't confuse anybody.

Nope I get what you are saying. I think that sounds like a good plan. Is the rooster and cockerel related? Also what blood lines do you have?

 

[dracoe19]

Just hatched some SLW chicks. 3 are black and silver colored and 3 are mostly black with some silver lines down the back. According to some of the threads that I have read, do I have 3 males and 3 females?

I am now thinking these are my males???? Lots of gray on back/shoulders.

Sadly you can't tell the sex of a wyandotte by its color as a chick because it doesn't have a sex-link gene. Wyandottes can be various shades of dark and light at birth. I have had dark males and females before.

 

[Flowerbh]

Sadly you can't tell the sex of a wyandotte by its color as a chick because it doesn't have a sex-link gene. Wyandottes can be various shades of dark and light at birth. I have had dark males and females before.

So why did I just read a whole thread on how people found that those chicks with lots of silver/white/grey on their shoulders and chest at birth tended to become males?

 

[dracoe19]

So why did I just read a whole thread on how people found that those chicks with lots of silver/white/grey on their shoulders and chest at birth tended to become males?

I am just stating from what I know. Wyandottes do not have a sex-linked gene like some barred chickens and the infamous red sex-link or red star. I bred over 100 chicks last year and color made no difference to sex out of the chicks I hatched.

 

[Wyandotte96]

Nope I get what you are saying. I think that sounds like a good plan. Is the rooster and cockerel related? Also what blood lines do you have?

The rooster is the cockerels father. I'm not sure what line they are my grandpa got them for me 4 years ago and never told me the name.

 

[RattlesnakeRidgeWV]

Dracoe19 is correct. Darker and lighter shades mean nothing unless you are talking about a barring gene or sex links. I had dark and light SLW's chicks that were cockerels and pullets. You will know what they are in 4 or 5 weeks when that rose comb turns red and the waddles pop out on the cockerels.
Kurt