The Wyandotte Thread

[ultasol]

I like the color on the splash as well. Now, is it just how she is standing or is her tail angle poor?

I know they are still a work in progress, but the tail looks narrow and set low to my novice eye.

 

[cpartist]

As a newbie to this breed, I'm enjoying this discussion and learning a lot from
this thread. Thanks everyone for your input. I was not prepared for how LARGE
these are turning out. Mine are only 7 months old, so I'll not present full views,
as I know they are slow to mature...good golly, by the time they are 18 months
old, the ground will shake when they walk! People ask me if they are on the menu
for Thanksgiving

.

Anyway, I have some tail shots...they seem open, but have the curly inside feathers?
(Legs are proper color IRF).

All I know is I bust out laughing everytime they "moon" me

.

 

[Mrs. Turbo]

 

[turbo]

It does seem like this is turning into a "who has the better bird thing", so I will back off.

And you are right, neither of us has won the SLW in the Nationals...East or West....

You should listen to Tony and Dan....they know good wyandottes...


Jerry

 

[slybird353]

CPARTIST those are nice tails. The curly feathers that you refer to are just fluff. Who did you get those birds from? From what I can tell they look nice. Also please note that this post has nothing to do with silver laced or any variety but rather the breed as a whole. ALL Wyandottes follow the same standard.

I hope that most are finding this post education rather than a who has a better bird. That is not my intent. Having “the better birds” or winning this or that will not speak to my character nor will it advance my odds of seeing the creator of these birds when I pass.
Jesse

 

[kathyinmo]

I have been following along, and have found it all very educational. I believe the participants have done a fine job keeping things appropriate and not bashing. I thank you all for the education.

 

[turbo]

Please don't mind the snipes. I am greatly enjoying the discussion of wyandotte type. The tail feathers is one thing both Tony Albritton and Daniel Jerome pointed out to me when I attended the Spring 2009 Stevenson show to pick the brains of Silkie and Wyandotte exhibitors. Another thing that both Mr. Albritton and Mr Jerome mentioned, although I believe it is a larger problem in bantams than in large fowl, is keeping the fluff on the bottom line of the bird from covering,.. hrm... I can't think of the correct term, but the fluffy lower leg of the bird... the shank? But not the unfeathered lower portion.

__edited to remove an extra "s", darn typo!__

You don't want the hen to have so much fluff that you cant see the "Platoons" she is wearing..LOL. You want to see the lacing-feathering on the top part of her legs, so you want birds that dont have too much fluff and that have really short legs...

Jerry​

 

[turbo]

My comments:
Ummm…. They are at separate ends of the bird. One has little to do with the other. I have some wide birds with small heads and vice versa. The two are separate.

The head and the tail maybe at different ends, but if you cull for good width on the heads the tails will take care of itself. In my experience good width of head gives you good width all the way through the body to the tail.


Jerry​

 

[turbo]

Also, is the curling inward of the tail (ie closed teepee) what is referred to in bantam wyandottes as a "bunny tail" or is that when the tail is very wide and very fluffy reminiscent of a cochin tail?

(question for both Sly and the Foleys)

A bunny tail is round and looks well.....like the tail on a bunny rabbit or cochin.

If you use wyandotte cock birds with good stiff tail feathers and nice open tails it helps to eliminate the tail problems, also the feathers in a wyandotte can actually get too soft which gives that bunny tail look and too much fluff, so I try to use a male that has tight feathering...which also gets rid of some of the fluff on the next generation.

The solid colored wyandottes have much softer feathers than the laced birds, but always go with the birds that have the widest feathers in the breeding pen...

Now this is all based on my experience and I am by no means the "wyandotte expert", there was a really good article on breeding SLW's in the last Wyandotte club newsletter, if you could find it you might find it helpful.

Jerry​

 

[JanieMarie]

Very informative! Thanks! I've been following along picking out the info and discarding the rest!

Plans are in the works for me to go to the Ohio Nationals this year! I'm really excited! Would be fun to put some names and faces together not to mention seeing all the gorgeous wyandottes and picking everyones brains! It's going to come down to $.

Any donations? lol