The Wyandotte Thread

[gladahmae]

IMO to keep good blues, breed splash to black. you'll get 100% blues and can judge whether they've got decent lacing (not lacing like the gold and silver laced, but a darker edge around a blue feather.
here's a pic of a blue cochin that shows the blues 'lacing' pretty well. not my bird, taken off the cochin thread, posted by Chickenlovin on the 6th... sorry it's so small, that's the only size posted.

this is my own blue cochin pullet, started off thinking she was black but she's developing the blue as she moults out too.
you can see the dark edging on her as well.

Yep. I understand that the blues are supposed to have the darker edge, and how the splits work for BBS genetics......it's just that the only BLACK hen I've got on my property is an Australorp.

Maybe I just need to save up and buy some chicks from Becky this fall or next spring. I'm SURE DH would be happy to build me ANOTHER coop for ANOTHER project.

He's already freaking out that I put 6 eggs out of the refrigerator under one of my broodys that I'm pretty sure are from my SLW and GLW. But since the dogs took out all of my BLRW cockerels (and several other layer pullets) I now have coop space for another project. And you can bet your buns that I'm going to be getting more BLRW shipped before the snow flies.

 

[PeakyBeaky]

We don't use splash to black for breeding since the blue can vary too much.

 

[WyandotteTX]

If a line is bred too closely the fertility will drop considerably after a few generations. I have gotten fertility from my BLRW cockerels as early as 5 months.

Not necessarily true. Old breeders have been line breeding for generations. It is how specific strains of birds have been created and bred in the last 150 years. Line breeding and in-breeding are a part of raising birds, just depends on how you do it as to how effective the offspring might be.
There are a couple of old texts that are pretty helpful about how to utilize effective in-breeding.
Just think about the symantics of it all. All chickens within a breed or variety can most likely trace their origin back to a very small handful of parents that were created or imported how ever many years ago.

 

[delisha]

Quote: I agree with both statements and they say about the same, just differently worded. Both are correct IMHO.

35 years ago I bred the same birds with out outside blood for many years. I just bred differently than I do now. I do not bred birds that have fertility issues. If I get new stock in and they have issues, they are pot bound. I do not trim unless the rooster is old and has some issues with contact because of age. If hatching becomes an issue, the results is than culling at that time. I was quick to cull in the beginning and never kept a male over a few years old, so I had no idea if they were good producers as they aged. Now I keep my hens until production slows way down.(3 eggs a week) The ones that produce for many years are the ones I reproduce for as long as possible. Those 5 year old hens and 4 year old roosters that are strong producers have the most chicks on the ground, because they are suposed to be chickens, lay eggs and produce meat (If you have dual purpose).
If you produce a line of birds that have poor production early in there life, and keep producing that line and inbreeding and cross breeding, that is what you are going to get. Fertility problems.

I like both statements made.

 

[mstrawn3]

I guess what I'm saying is that if you continually bred brother to sister year after year it would lead to a dead end...

 

[ki4got]

We don't use splash to black for breeding since the blue can vary too much.

IMO you do this and keep the best blues cull the rest then you have something to work with.

 

[DMRippy]

I am inclined to believe it is a Silver laced wyandotte issue. I don't have any issues with BLRW. I have a SLW Roo that was 18 MONTHS old when I got him not one single chick ever from him. my other slw roos are fertile some and then not. I just rotate them in and out to get chicks.

I have some new blood growing out. I got chick from someone that had nice birds and had NO FERTILITY ISSUES. well God knew i needed a good fertile roo so all 12 are ROOS LOL. slow feathering and looking good!

I have not read all those studies but i do think it might've really specific lines they are using. I have never heard of fertility problems in RC RIR or Domiquers. or even in BLRW......I can't think of any other rose comb breeds.

 

[delisha]

I am inclined to believe it is a Silver laced wyandotte issue. I don't have any issues with BLRW. I have a SLW Roo that was 18 MONTHS old when I got him not one single chick ever from him. my other slw roos are fertile some and then not. I just rotate them in and out to get chicks.

I have some new blood growing out. I got chick from someone that had nice birds and had NO FERTILITY ISSUES. well God knew i needed a good fertile roo so all 12 are ROOS LOL. slow feathering and looking good!

I have not read all those studies but i do think it might've really specific lines they are using. I have never heard of fertility problems in RC RIR or Domiquers. or even in BLRW......I can't think of any other rose comb breeds.

12 roos?

oh my..this is my year for roos too, but not that ..um.good.

 

[DMRippy]

not one pullet in the bunch. I have 4 BLRW and they are roos too and I have 7/5 Roos in another breed in that same pen. good thing I got rid of the 15 sex link roos....but still a sea of roos in that one pen. I think I will keep the special roos with the pullets and move the vast majority outside to grow out this week . just a scary thing to look in that pen.

 

[delisha]

not one pullet in the bunch. I have 4 BLRW and they are roos too and I have 7/5 Roos in another breed in that same pen. good thing I got rid of the 15 sex link roos....but still a sea of roos in that one pen. I think I will keep the special roos with the pullets and move the vast majority outside to grow out this week . just a scary thing to look in that pen.

I would be a bit scared too. My first batch of BLRW this year were really heavy with roo's. I think I had 7 out of 12 and thought that was awful. My last batch this year I have 5 out of 8. Boy crazy. i butchered out all the males from the first batch. I am keeping 3 males with this last batch. They are really nice. I actually have two more that are nice, but can't keep them all. Next year will be the pullet year.