The Wyandotte Thread

[cjpines]

Mine don't bite but they aren't very friendly. Tammy does like to fly up and sit on my back when I bend over though.

 

[Alexandra33]

Mine don't bite but they aren't very friendly. Tammy does like to fly up and sit on my back when I bend over though.

How adorable! I have a few chicks that will do that occasionally. My Golden Laced Wyandotte is extremely cuddly, and will crawl into my lap to be stroked and talked to like a cat. She's just plain awesome.

-Alexandra33
-Alexandra33

 

[Lemac]

Two GLW hatched yesterday

 

[Sylvester017]

One word to describe Wyandottes: biters! Has anyone else noticed this interesting quality? Despite this, I love my three lovely girls.

Kiowa, GLW.

Seneca, SLW.

Cheyenne, BLRW.

-Alexandra33

Wyandottes are indeed gorgeous birds which is why I researched them for our flock. MyPetChicken described them as a tendency toward dominance but I have bantams and gentle breeds and didn't want any heavy or assertive breeds in our group. I got 50/50 pro/con feedback from breeders and owners regarding their Wyans and decided Wyans might get too assertive with our flock. Biting and flying onto human backs are a dominant trait and none of our gentles have this tendency. In a normal LF flock these can be endearing traits to owners but not for our gentle and timid breeds.

 

[Alexandra33]

Wyandottes are indeed gorgeous birds which is why I researched them for our flock. MyPetChicken described them as a tendency toward dominance but I have bantams and gentle breeds and didn't want any heavy or assertive breeds in our group. I got 50/50 pro/con feedback from breeders and owners regarding their Wyans and decided Wyans might get too assertive with our flock. Biting and flying onto human backs are a dominant trait and none of our gentles have this tendency. In a normal LF flock these can be endearing traits to owners but not for our gentle and timid breeds.

Very interesting point; I can see how those behaviors are considered dominance. Yes, my Wyandottes are toward the top of the pecking order in our flock, but they aren't actually the most aggressive birds we have. Our birds don't really organize their pecking order, so even the smaller, less assertive breeds (such as a Silver Spangled Hamburg and a Black Sumatra) pick on much larger, dominant birds (Wyandottes and Rocks) occasionally. We seriously need our rooster to grow up to that he can establish control.

My Wyandottes don't fly onto my back, but my GLW does sometimes crawl into my lap to bed down and enjoy some petting; this is what she bites for, actually. I do agree that Wyandottes are not for everybody and are not compatible with certain "little" breeds.

-Alexandra33

 

[NanaKat]

Quote: I have had Wyandottes for more than 10 years and never had a fly-in-your-back Wyandotte. A cross-bred cockerel ended up in a stew pot for making an advance on a little grandson.
The only times I have been pecked by a Wyandotte hen were when I was trying to remove eggs from beneath a broody hen and most breeds will respond in kind.
I have a laying flock that is composed of large fowl Wyandotte, Black sex Link, Red sex link, Cochin, Minorca, Australorp, Buckeye and numerous Bantams including Delaware, Rosecomb, d'Anvers, Serama and OEGB. Most of the time these run together unless I have pulled out breeds for breeding pens.

See if you can pick out the Wyandottes.....I have Black, Blue, White, Birchen and my favorite is the Columbian Wyandoptte

 

[Sylvester017]

I have had Wyandottes for more than 10 years and never had a fly-in-your-back Wyandotte. A cross-bred cockerel ended up in a stew pot for making an advance on a little grandson.
The only times I have been pecked by a Wyandotte hen were when I was trying to remove eggs from beneath a broody hen and most breeds will respond in kind.
I have a laying flock that is composed of large fowl Wyandotte, Black sex Link, Red sex link, Cochin, Minorca, Australorp, Buckeye and numerous Bantams including Delaware, Rosecomb, d'Anvers, Serama and OEGB. Most of the time these run together unless I have pulled out breeds for breeding pens.

See if you can pick out the Wyandottes.....I have Black, Blue, White, Birchen and my favorite is the Columbian Wyandoptte

You have a lot of foraging area for your beautiful flock. When we had 25 acres it was easy to keep a flock of 50 Babcocks and several geese and ducks plus goats, sheep, cow. horse, dogs, cats etc. Unfortunately in our retirement cottage backyard we can have only 5 hens and no roos so it's critical for us to keep our little group very friendly and breed compatible. In a large foraging area groups can break off from each other to keep peace but in a small yard it can get peckish if there are heavier dual purpose breeds. We've found it easier to rehome all the dual purpose which seem to have the most tendency to assertiveness and just kept all our docile timid breeds. No more drama or injiuries.

 

[Sylvester017]

Very interesting point; I can see how those behaviors are considered dominance. Yes, my Wyandottes are toward the top of the pecking order in our flock, but they aren't actually the most aggressive birds we have. Our birds don't really organize their pecking order, so even the smaller, less assertive breeds (such as a Silver Spangled Hamburg and a Black Sumatra) pick on much larger, dominant birds (Wyandottes and Rocks) occasionally. We seriously need our rooster to grow up to that he can establish control.

My Wyandottes don't fly onto my back, but my GLW does sometimes crawl into my lap to bed down and enjoy some petting; this is what she bites for, actually. I do agree that Wyandottes are not for everybody and are not compatible with certain "little" breeds.

-Alexandra33

I briefly considered looking to see if Wyans came in bantam size but then I didn't want to deal with more bantams since they are broodier and it cuts into their production output. I can have only 5 hens and no roos. I already have two bantam Silkies and they wear me out when they go broody so I don't want to add more bantams. I like Silkies because when they do lay eggs the size is pretty big for a bantam egg but their broodiness is a headache - I worry about keeping them healthy, watered, and fed while brooding. I understand Sussex and Faverolles and Brahma are gentle breeds but they are so huge! Too big around my 2-lb Silkies lol! We're keeping our tiny flock 5-lb-&-under and it's been easier on feed and space - 2 Silkies, an Ameraucana, and a Breda. I like the Hamburgs but think they might be too spunky/flighty in a little yard like ours. We don't eat our birds so big birds aren't needed.

 

[NanaKat]

Quote: Yes, we do have a large area for the chickens to range although the furthest from the barn seems to be about 1/4 mile.. We have had birds in the front yard, in the lot in front of the barn where the compost pile is located, in the huge garden, behind the barn in and among the equipment, all the way to the hay storage area east of the barn, south to the first pond about 100 yards from the barn, and out into the west and south pastures with the cows. Free rangers surprise us all the time. We do have a huge hawk that seems to ignore the chickens, but a small chicken hawk has made swoops. Each breed pen, when the season allows, gets to free range with the layer flock. You are correct in the groups can choose their own areas and they seem to go to the same area each day.

 

[NanaKat]

Quote: We have Bantam Delawares that lay an egg almost the size of a large fowl pullet egg. These hens are friendly, gentle and go broody about once a year, and they are talkative. Hens weigh in at 30 ounces, but they act like big girls. For comparison, I included a photo of the Cock who weighs in at 34 ounces. One of my little hens goes to the LF Cochin pen to lay her egg...5 a week.