The Wyandotte is a breed of chicken originating in the United States. The first examples of the breed appeared in 1870s. Wyandottes are a docile, dual-purpose breed kept for both eggs (Wyandottes are brown egg layers) and meat. They also appear in a wide variety of color patterns, and are popular show birds.

Appearance

The Wyandotte is a medium sized breast with a rose comb and clean legs. The chicken feathers are broad and loosely fitting. The area around the vent is very fluffy. The legs are yellow, although some silver laced may have grey.

Colors

There are eight colors recognized 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, black breasted red, blue red, lemon blue, barred,brown red, and birchen that are recognized by the American Bantam Association. However, there are more colors than that which are either recognised by similar organisations in other countries like the PCGB (Poultry Club of Great Britain). These colors include blue laced red and buff laced. Overall there are 17 colors.

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. They are also very vocal, uttering soft clucks on a regular basis.

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 brown or tinted. The hens weigh around 6 pounds and the cocks weigh around 8 1/2 pounds. The hens also make great setters. It is sometimes difficult for natural insemination to occur, due to the number and thickness of feathers in the tail area. For the same reason, they are prone to accumulation of feces on vent-area feathers that needs to be regularly washed off, or the vent could become clogged.

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 1870s and was admitted to the standard in 1883. The silver laced wyandotte was the base for all other colors.

Golden Laced:The golden laced wyandotte is a golden color 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 color 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 color in the UK.

Black:The black is black all over.

Buff:The buff is a buff color all over. A buff is like a ginger orange color.

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 undercolor in the hen and the cock is a white color but with bits of black in there until the tail and the wing which are black.

Blue:The hen is blue all over but the cock is black with the tail and wing 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 color with black crescents with white spots on the tips.

Buff Columbian:Like the Columbian except buff.

Red:The red wyandotte is a dark red/brown all over.

See also

• Mike the Headless Chicken, who was a White Wyandotte rooster

External links

• Feathersite's Wyandotte Page
• ChickenCrossing.Org's Golden Laced Wyandotte Age Progression Photos
• Wyandotte photos, video and information