The Wyandotte Thread

[WyandotteTX]

Well the Rare Varieties Book was a small paperback book put together by Wyandotte Bantam Club members about 15 years ago. When I first joined the club you could buy it for about 10 dollars. Its a good book of articles old and new about just the rarer Wyandotte varieties and how you go about creating some of them and how you go about improving them. It covers the varieties of Golden Laced, Silver Laced, Silver Pencilled, Blue, Blue Laced Gold, White Laced Red, Violet Laced, Dun, Dun Partridge, Columbian, Buff Columbian, Birchen, Brown Red, Red and Black Breasted Red. Oh yes and Red Pyle also.
It is interesting reading about genetics within Wyandottes. They might still be available from the Wyandotte Breeders Association.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Lol Ultasol, so many people hear 'Washington' and automatically think of the wet side. On the east side of the cascades it is dry then like around Spokane its dryland forest.

The book sounds interesting, might have to contact them and see if I can get it.

 

[ultasol]

Dun would be my color choice if it came in LF. Otherwise, whites or SLW please!

 

[greathorse]

This is likely a post that should be on the hatching thread but since we have Wyandotte experts here I will ask and hope it is not too far off topic.

I have a pair of SLW Hatchmates that are laying good now and the fertilty is good as well. She has been laying for about 6 weeks and eggs are very consistent in size and shape, but they are still quite small. I like this pair a lot and would sure like to set these eggs, and frankly I will, but just wondering from those that have more experience if I will run into hatch issues with these smaller eggs?

I have been having these thing for breakfast for some time now and the fertilty is near 100%.

What do you think? Eggs by the way are right at 13/4 oz. right now.

 

[cedar post]

Quote:
I was wondering the same thing a month ago. Someone told me it was alright to hatch them and now I have them in the bator. I was wondering if I will get a smaller less viable chick. Guess I will find out. Mike

 

[Katy]

I've hatched a lot of pullet eggs and had good luck with them. The chicks are a little smaller, but catch up quickly.

 

[JanieMarie]

I'm wondering how all you experienced wyandotte breeders go about using single comb birds. I have heard such conflicting thoughts on this. I've always heard the rose comb is associated with infertility but have no experience in this. I keep a single comb hen just because and just in case. But I've also heard not to use the single combs in your breeding pens and I've heard that its OK too. Very confusing. Anyone have experience that can shed some light on this subject?

 

[KyBlue]

FYI

Here's an interesting Wyandotte standard and breed book from the past.


Go to google books and search: The Wyandotte standard and breed book: a complete description of all ... By Harold Alvah Nourse

 

[WyandotteTX]

Janie, in my personal experience I never used single comb birds in the breeding pen. If you keep them around you will just create more of them. One of the very experienced wyandotte breeders I got my start from told me to never keep a bird around that had any fault. He had created his own line of Silver Pencilled wyandotte bantams by crossing Partridge Wyandottes with Silver Pencilled Rocks. He said originally would hatch 150 birds each year from those matings and then cull down to two trios to breed from the next year. His best advice he ever game me was that a breeder needed two things to improve their birds, "You need a sharp eye and a sharp ax." Of course that was said tongue in cheek but there is a vein of truth in the statement. He was an exceptional man named James Harris, he was a Professor of Agriculture at the University of Georgia and died suddenly about 10 years ago. Was such an interesting man to talk to about chickens. Anyway, sorry for waxing nostalgic there. Hope the info helps you out some.

 

[WyandotteTX]

And thank you Kyblue for finding that, very interesting reading. Love to read something new about Wyandottes.
I have forgotten to mention in my previous post also that in the Rare Varieties book I have there is an very long article written by a breeder many years ago who had created a Silver Spangled Wyandotte LF by crossing White Wyandottes and Silver Spangled Hamburgs. If I remember correctly he stated it took him close to ten years to create a bird that he would call Silver Spangled.