The Silver Laced Wyandotte Thread

[Scotty from BI]

Hi all, I am new to chicken keeping. I decided on Silver and gold laced Wyandottes after seeing all the beautiful pictures of the Silvers with their perfect lacing and round bodies. I didn't care that they started laying later than most other breeds or didn't have as big an egg or were not as productive as some breeds. I didn't know that there was such a difference in breeder vs hatchery birds. I ordered from a local feed store which gets it's birds from Privett Hatchery in New Mexico. So my SLW's are like so many others I have seen here. Kind of a mix of white and black feathers with little or poor lacing, such as a white sliver running down the center of the feather or several all white feathers next to all black feathers. They are very healthy, active and not very round birds. They are currently 8 weeks old. Also, despite having handled them gently and frequently and hand feeding them worms and other treats, they are sort of flighty and stand offish. They will come to me but refuse to let me touch them or pick them up. I have read that they will possibly loose their rather disappointing feathers at first and then second molt and begin to show more lacing the breed is known for. I have six silver, six golden and five blue laced. The golden and blue laced look pretty good and while not show quality, they are very symmetrically laced.

So here are some questions I hope some of you might be able to address or maybe you have the same concerns. Do SLW's typically mature and develop lacing later than the other variants of Wyandottes? If so, when do they usually show their final adult colors? Since they are probably some sort of hybrid or just poorly bred birds and not show quality, might I expect more and/or larger eggs?

 

[forgetful]

Hey there Scotty. I will dig through my photos to share with you some comparisons of lacing on the same birds as they mature. The lacing does change from first feathers to end result, but you will typically be able to tell very easily what you end up with. As for eggs, the lay rate and size of eggs will vary among each line, no matter the quality really, so it is possible for you to have a frequent layer of large eggs. My production silver laced lay rather well for me.

 

[forgetful]

These photos go in backwards order, but they are all of the same group of birds at varying ages. After your bird goes through her 1st adult molt, typically around a year old or a bit later, you have what you have and it isn't going to change. They go through several juvenile molts as they grow, which is where you see the most change in feather color and shape.






























You can see how the lacing was thicker and darker as juveniles, and how it thinned and rounded more as they grew. This is directly in relation to the size of their feathers. The cockerels were displaying their gender specific coloring early on, around 2 months I believe. By the way, the very last and youngest photo was around 2 weeks old. It is of a little cockerel, and shows how early this particular line is able to be sexed.

 

[kekstrom]

These photos go in backwards order, but they are all of the same group of birds at varying ages. After your bird goes through her 1st adult molt, typically around a year old or a bit later, you have what you have and it isn't going to change. They go through several juvenile molts as they grow, which is where you see the most change in feather color and shape. You can see how the lacing was thicker and darker as juveniles, and how it thinned and rounded more as they grew. This is directly in relation to the size of their feathers. The cockerels were displaying their gender specific coloring early on, around 2 months I believe. By the way, the very last and youngest photo was around 2 weeks old. It is of a little cockerel, and shows how early this particular line is able to be sexed.

Beautiful! Mine is 4 weeks old and just starting to show the little sliver of white in her wings. Also- do SLW pullets get a pinker comb compared to other breeds, such as EE, BR, or BO? I am still thinking she is a pullet but I have noticed that her comb is pink and the others are more cream.

 

[forgetful]

Beautiful! Mine is 4 weeks old and just starting to show the little sliver of white in her wings.

Also- do SLW pullets get a pinker comb compared to other breeds, such as EE, BR, or BO? I am still thinking she is a pullet but I have noticed that her comb is pink and the others are more cream.

It will depend on the line you get your chicks from. You also can not compare her comb growth to the growth of other breeds. You really have to have birds from the same breed and hatch to be able to distinguish.
The second to last photo is of a pullet, and the one above it is of a pullet and cockerel. They are all around 2/3 weeks old. In the third photo from the top, you can see how pink the pullet's comb is. I do believe my particular line gets rather pink for having rose combs and not yet reaching point of lay.

 

[kekstrom]

Here is a pic I just took of Lacey...

You can notice the obvious color...

But here is the obvious small comb in a profile view of her...

 

[Scotty from BI]

Here are pictures of two of my 9 week old Silver Laced Wyandottes. Will they ever become laced or will they just look like they do now as adult hens, (assuming they are hens)? They are part of a group of 6 sexed baby SLWs I purchased from a feed store (Privett Hatchery)

 

[forgetful]

Kekstrom, your chick still looks female to me. That sort of dark dusty coloration towards the end of her comb near her beak is what many of my pullets have, and I have yet to see it on my males. It goes away with maturation, but I find it very useful in aiding me with sexing them at a young age.

Scotty, all of those birds look very much like males. Could you get some head shots of them? I say they look like males because of the distinct color blocking you can see on their backs. They have the dark hackles, light back, and dark saddles characteristic of a young cockerel. It also looks like the bird in the second photo has rather large wattles for their age/size.

 

[forgetful]

I forgot the original reason I came online today. I took a few photos of the birds out in the yard and wanted to share

 

[seolari]

Here is a pic I just took of Lacey...

You can notice the obvious color...

But here is the obvious small comb in a profile view of her...

That is a pullet. Mine had exactly the same comb and it turned out to be a pullet.

if you zoom in on that chick on the right( my Goldie )you could see the comb is very similar. The other two the Silver lace and the Australorp turned out be cockerels.