22/03/2020
SELECTING OUR KEEPERS
It's that time of year again when our efforts from breeding last spring are starting to come to fruition. It's now the pullets are starting to "bloom" and we can tell whether our breeding matchups were a success.
A lot of people ask me for their advise on "what birds they should keep." This is what I do when selecting my own birds and I have had great success in yearly improvement.
First and foremost type is paramount. I cannot stress this enough. In a pen of similar aged pullets, look for the one that stands out. She will be the most mature, taller, and standing proud. She will most likely be the oldest and at the top of the pecking order. She will generally always be one of your best.
Wyandottes are a heavy breed. They should have weight and substance to them when picked up. A good pullet will feel heavier than the others, and her breast will feel full and fleshy.
First I check the head to make sure eye colour is correct and there is no ingrown leader or trace of white in the ear lobes.
I then look at her legs and feet. Toes should be nice and straight and shanks round and yellow.
I then pull out each wing and check the flights. There should be 10 primary feathers and an axial. If there is a gap between the primaries and secondaries that's very obvious, it may be a split wing and the bird should be discarded as a breeder or showbird and moved to the layer pen. If there are less than 10 main flights check first for new baby feathers growing out before discounting the bird.
I like to see the wing flights of my birds jet black one side and white the other. No mottling or smudging. I am rather ruthless about this point, however I am exhibiting birds at the highest level in the country and there is no margin for anything less than perfection. It can be hard to achieve, so aim for it but don't discount an otherwise excellent bird on this account only.
Next I check the neck hackles. They should be nicely laced all the way around, not daggered or spangled on the tips. They should show a clear and definitive stripe of black with a white centre, laced in white all the way around, not running black out through the tip.
This also is very hard to achieve, so aim for improvement.
Run your hands through the feathers on the back and check the lacing forms a complete circle around each feather. Incomplete lacing or spangling in not acceptable for a show or breeding bird.
The fluff or undercolour of the bird should be "slate grey." Not light grey, not white, not blue. Slate grey. The darker than better. Check close to her skin over the whole bird. A bird with correct undercolour will generally have lovely jet black rather than grey lacing to match.
Check the lacing on the birds wing bays. There should be 2 rows of clearly defined large laced feathers. The larger the better. This is a sure sign of a well bred bird.
Poor lacing here is one of first areas to break down and is usually reflected elsewhere on the bird.
If your pullet passes these basic checks with flying colours she's in the keeper pen for now. Give her a bit of special attention and extra good quality food and in a month watch her bloom.
Good luck everyone. I hope this simple guide has made selecting your laced pullets a little easier.
