7 Week Old Chicks

The chicks are growing well and it appears that I have 12 cockerels and 14 pullets.  The lacing on some of the cockerels is looking good, however I am not as impressed with the pullets.  I hope that within the next month, their lacing will improve.  I am also disappointed in some of the coloration on the chicks, as it is not consistent.  I am looking for a mahogany red color, not golden red.  From what I have read, what their base color (the red and blue) is now is what it will be.  Some of the chicks have some brassiness beginning to develop in their hackles (neck feathers), which is undesirable as well. I will pick the best of what I have and build from there.  My little flock will be a work in progress. :)

These are a few of the pullets I plan to keep, and the cockerels I will be keeping an eye on for my breeding flock.

This Splash pullet, Pearl, I was not going to keep, however she continues to seek my company.  Today she flew up on my lap and made herself comfortable.  Since she is so sweet, I believe I will keep her and breed her to a Black Laced Red - a splash and black will produce 100% blue.

Side view of Pearl.

# 1, Splash cockerel

Blue Laced Red cockerel

Blue Laced Red pullet

Top view of the same pullet.

Another Blue Laced Red pullet.

My favorite Splash cockerel, left, and a Blue Laced Red cockerel.

A different view of the same Splash cockerel from above photo.

Chicks at 4 and 5 weeks

Well, the chicks are getting big and are now looking like chickens instead of cute little chicks. 

 I contacted one of the breeders in a panic because I thought that I had eleven Blue Laced Red (remember that there are three different colors of Blue Laced Red Wyandottes - Blue, Black, and Splash)chicks and discovered that nine of them appeared to be cockerels! The other nine appeared to be Black Laced Red, which I didn't want.  He shared with me that it is difficult at this age to tell the sex of the chicks, and suggested that I wait till they are at least eight weeks of age.  However, some of them I had absolutely no doubt that they were cockerels as evidenced by their large pink combs and wattles.

He also informed me that the chicks that I think are blue are actually splash chicks, and the chicks that I think are black will probably be the blue that I desire on my chicks.  Upon further research, I discovered that he was correct.  The "black" chicks are actually a dark blue and can easily be mistaken as black when they start feathering out.

These chicks are 3 days old. The chicks on the ends appear to be black laced red chicks, but turned out to be Blue Laced Reds, and the chick in the middle that I thought would be a blue laced red, is actually a splash.

This is a 5 week old Splash cockerel, #1.

Another 5 week old Splash chick.

A 5 week old Blue Laced Red pullet that appeared would be a Black Laced Red a few weeks ago.

Another 5 week old Dark Blue Laced Red.

Blue Laced Red Wyandotte Chicks

Three day old Blue Laced Red Wyandotte chicks

This is my first batch of Blue Laced Red Wyandotte chicks! I purchased 15 one day old straight run (males and females) chicks from Blue Poultry (very nice and helpful people).  They were shipped out of Missouri on May 10 and arrived at my post office on May 12.  I had no losses during shipping, and the breeder had three small cups taped in the corners filled with a type of gelled food.  Some of the chicks appeared to have splayed legs, which was a result of the shipping because they straightened on their own within a day or two. 

 I want to share a little bit of information about the Wyandotte breed.  Wyandottes are an American breed that originated in the early 1870's with the Silver Laced variety being the first. This dual purpose breed lays good sized brown eggs, and come in a variety of colors and patterns.  Their rose combs and hardiness make them suitable for cold weather.  Wyandottes are a slow maturing breed, as they mature around 18 months, and begin laying eggs at 7-9 months.  Hens weigh around 5-6 lbs and roosters 7-9 lbs.

I am becoming educated about this breed by reading the forums from respected BLRW breeders on Backyard Chickens (at backyardchickens.com). Other sites that have been educational is the Wyandotte Breeders of America (wyandottebreedersofamerica.net), bluelacedred.com, and feathersite.com, which has excellent pictures of the different varieties.

 BLRW are a fairly new variety that have yet to be recognized by the APA (American Poultry Association) .  They come in three types of colors: black laced, blue laced, and splash.  The black laced can be mistaken for the Gold Laced Wyandotte, but it is not, it is a different variety.  The blue color comes in different shades of dark to medium blue and the splash is a light blue to white. 

The red in the feathers should be a mahogany bay color, not gold.  Some chickens may have good mahogany color on their body, but are brassy on their hackles (neck feathers).  This is undesirable.

Well, I hope this was informative.  Check out the sites above for further information.  :)