The Wyandotte Thread

[ridemcowgirl]

Awww why does everyone have to hate on all the single comb girls? You know most good breeders will breed a single comb roo into their lines if they are having the infamous fertility issues which are carried on the gene for the rose comb. Yes, I know, I know, I speak blasphemy, but it works and the likelihood of having a single comb after a few generations is pretty low. Its ok to breed your girls you just can't show them.

 

[3520]

anyone else

heres my beautiful silver laced wyandotte,Pebbles.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

I can't get any eggs out of my Wyandotte hen. She is a year old, layed for two weeks then went broody. Iv'e been fighting her broodiness on and off now for months and she doesn't lay in between bouts of broodiness. She is a Blue Wyandotte, and I was told they were good layers. Wish I had gotten moor EE's , what great birds they are.

 

[eggolio]

My golden laced Wyandotte pullet, will be a hen next January
Last in the pecking order

 

[NanaKat]

I can't get any eggs out of my Wyandotte hen. She is a year old, layed for two weeks then went broody. Iv'e been fighting her broodiness on and off now for months and she doesn't lay in between bouts of broodiness. She is a Blue Wyandotte, and I was told they were good layers. Wish I had gotten moor EE's , what great birds they are.

Since she isn't laying now, give her either a few eggs or a few golf balls. Let her sit on them until the eggs hatch or she gives up. Then she will begin laying again.
Some girls just have to nest.

 

[ridemcowgirl]

I can't get any eggs out of my Wyandotte hen. She is a year old, layed for two weeks then went broody. Iv'e been fighting her broodiness on and off now for months and she doesn't lay in between bouts of broodiness. She is a Blue Wyandotte, and I was told they were good layers. Wish I had gotten moor EE's , what great birds they are.

You can also find a cool spot on the grass and lay her down or put her in a new pen as soon as she acts broody. It will normally snap them out of it. And don't let her set on eggs for any period of time because she will want to hatch them and won't give you any eggs. She might be a good hen to use if you decide to hatch out some eggs at some point.

 

[Catandherchicks]

heres my beautiful silver laced wyandotte,Pebbles.

Pretty. Looks like a lavender.

 

[Catandherchicks]

My golden laced Wyandotte pullet, will be a hen next January
Last in the pecking order

Pretty. How is she laying?

 

[dfr1973]

Awww why does everyone have to hate on all the single comb girls? You know most good breeders will breed a single comb roo into their lines if they are having the infamous fertility issues which are carried on the gene for the rose comb. Yes, I know, I know, I speak blasphemy, but it works and the likelihood of having a single comb after a few generations is pretty low. Its ok to breed your girls you just can't show them.

I've not yet heard of a "good breeder" who's used a SC rooster, although I do know the that the Foleys of KY specifically advise against the temptation of using one. ("Murphy's Law states your best cockerel will have a single comb." Happened to my March hatch!)

I won't say you "speak blasphemy," but I will question whether you understand the mechanics of an autosomal recessive gene. I am only breeding from RC birds, and am still getting SC chicks, though I could not tell you how far back a SC bird was used. Simple autosomal (fancy word for "not a sex-linked trait") recessives can lurk for generations, and Wyandotte breeding books and articles I've found going back a century talk about the occasional SC chick, and cautioning not to use one for breeding. The specific example is a book published in 1917, "The Wyandotte Breeding and Standard."

Since I have trouble distinguishing "tone" in posting, I will state that I am not trying to bust your chops, or be snippy, just responding to your post to clarify the "hate on all the single comb girls" charge. No hating here, as they can still lay and peck and provide amusement/enjoyment. I just would not use one for breeding *Wyandottes*. That said, I did keep a SC cockerel the other year, and used him for a meat bird project because of his excellent body structure, but he was being bred to Ideal's Red Broiler pullets/hens, and there was no confusion on the chicks. I ran into the lady who bought my Meaties project this week at TSC, and she still loves her big beautiful rooster. She even likes the erect SC over the RC cull GLW pullets she bought with him, but she is under no illusions about what she has (I printed out a list of all the birds when I brought them up to sell).

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Breeders do not use single combs in their breedings. There is no reason to. The kind of fertility issues associated with rose combs should not be impactful in a breeding program of private scale. It was a concern on a larger scale. It is not "hating on" chickens to breed properly and promote/improve the breed. If one is going to take a moralistic approach, it's probably best to say that breeding from a bird with a disqualification, such as a "Wyandotte" with a single comb, which of course is not a Wyandotte, is "hating on" the breed because they are weakening the line needless and promoting improper practice, but moralistic stances are wasted energy. The reality is that SOP disqualifications are such because they open up a can of works that is hard to fix.

I would certainly recommend first learning the ropes and becoming a "good breeder" before trying to work one's way around the system. Remember that few ever set out to become a breeder, which is much more than just hatching eggs, and many who do fail. My observation has been that most who fail in their attempt to become a breeder do so by not first conforming to the rules of the game. They're always quick with an excuse or explication for their actions, but in the end it is the cause of their failure.