Wyandottes

[Katy]

I'm thinking of expanding into wyandottes next spring. Do those of you who have them or have had them have any hints or suggestions? I know they handle cold temps well, so that makes me a little worried about our summer heat....100+ degrees at times. Right now I basically have barred rocks, cuckoo marans and welsummers.

 

[rosyposyosy]

this is completely unrealated and i hate to change the subject - but can you tell the difference between your cuckoo marans and your barred rocks?

 

[Katy]

Yes, their legs are different colors. Plus the cuckoos' barring is much more "messy" and the barred rocks' barring looks neater. Don't know if that makes sense, but it's the only way I could think to describe it.

 

[speckledhen]

I have three Silver Laced Wyandottes and they do well in heat or cold. They are excellent layers and sweet girls.

 

[devora]

We have a Golden Laced W and she made it thru a summer here just fine. We had many days well over a 100 degrees.

She lays well, too.

And she sure is a purty thang! It's great watching them feather out.

 

[LynnGrigg]

My blue laced reds made it through the 100 degree heat here but I worried about them. I have a 22 week old trio. The roo is huge. One of the hens is large and the other is more like bantam sized. They are not laying yet. They came from McMurray.
Just make sure they have some shade and available water.

 

[Katy]

Thanks everyone......sounds like if I give them the same care I give the rest of my chickens they should be ok.

Lynn....are your BLRs from McMurray nicely marked and colored?

 

[LynnGrigg]

Quote:
The smaller hen is ok but they are definately not quality colored. I really love the darker blue ones.

Small hen below

Big hen below

Roo below

 

[Katy]

Very pretty. I really like the lacing on the feathers. On one hand I'd like to get some really good stock from a breeder, but then I just want them for my own pleasure, so I think the ones from McMurray will probably do ok. Thanks for the pictures.

Katy

 

[skeeter9]

We have temps over 100 for most of the summer and our SLW does just fine. I do make sure that they have shade and water and they free-range a lot so they can find cool places. If yours won't be free-ranging you might consider running a fan on them during the heat of the day - it really helps.