Wyandotte (chicken)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Wyandotte chicken is a breed of chicken that began in America and spread all over the world.
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[edit] Appearance
The Wyandotte is a medium sized breast with a rose comb and clean legs. The chicken feathers are broad and close fitting. The area around the vent is very fluffy. The legs are yellow.
[edit] Colors
There are eight colours recognised by the APA (American Poultry Association) which are golden laced, silver laced, white, black, buff, columbian, partridge and silver penciled. In bantams there is also buff columbian. However, there are more colours than that which are either recognised by similar organisations in other countries like the PCGB (poultry club of great britain). These colours include blue laced red and buff laced. Overall there are 17 colours.
[edit] Characteristics
The Wyandotte is a breed that suits both free range and confinement in a run. They occasionally go broody. They tend to be quite friendly, and not flighty, and so make good pets for people.
[edit] Utility aspects
The hens (females) will lay around 200 eggs a year with an exceptional hen laying around 240 eggs a year. The eggs are tinted. The hens weigh around 6 pounds and the cocks weigh around 8 1/2 pounds.
[edit] Variations
Silver Laced: The silver laced wyandotte has white feathers with black edges to every feather, an effect called lacing. The tail is black and they should have yellow legs.The silver laced was developed in New York state in the early 1870's and was admitted to the standard in 1883. The silver laced wyandotte was the base for all other colours.
Golden Laced: The golden laced wyandotte is a golden colour with black around the edge of every feather and black tail. Joseph McKeen of Wisconsin was the originator of the Golden Laced Wyandotte. In 1880 he crossed Silver Laced Wyandotte females with a large "Black Red" patterned fowl of unknown origin called the Winnebago. The variety was admitted to the American Standard in 1888.
Blue Laced Red: The blue laced red is a buff/red colour with a blue that looks just like grey around the edge of every feather.
Buff Laced: The buff laced is buff but with white around the edge of the feathers.
White: The white is white all over. The whites are the rarest colour in the UK.
Black: The black is black all over.
Buff: The buff is a buff colour all over. A buff is like a ginger orange colour.
Columbian: Columbian is white, but with a black tail, black wing tips and the neck is mainly black with some white.
Partridge: A red color but with three black stripes, meeting at the middle of the feather and then going outwards at an angle in the hen, and the cock looks like a typical farmyard cock.
Silver Pencilled: Like the partridge, but with a silver undercolour in the hen and the cock is a white colour but with bits of black in there until you reach the tail and the wing, and then it is black.
Blue: The hen is blue all over but the cock is black in some lines you reach the tail and wing and then it is blue on some birds.
Barred: The barred, in both genders, has feathers which have black and white stripes across the width of the feather, all over the body.
Mille Fleur: The mille fleur wyandotte is a dark brown colour with black crecents withwhite spots on the tips.
Buff Columbian: Like the columbian but where the columbian is white, the buff columbian is buff.
Red: The red wyandotte is a dark red/brown all over.
