Hatchery or Breeder?

as easy as Gold vrs. Red

Trying to decide on which way to go? For all intensive purposes, if you just want to have some of the most colorful and beautiful birds in poultry today, than either the big commercial hatcheries, or even most of the smaller hatcheries/breeders will do just fine. It seems that the few serious American breeders that are working with the blue laced red Wyandottes are still looking to improve on refining the color (mainly the red), lacing, combs and overall type, and have yet to offer them on mass to the American buying public. All’s one would have to do is to understand the brief history of the blue laced red Wyandottes in the United States . It seems that greed and the dollar have had a negative influence on the blr variety. As best we know, a gentleman name Lowell Barber was one of, if not the first to import blr eggs from England before international restrictions made it illegal to do so. Others imported from Canada , but all in all the blrs were very few in number. The first hatchery to mass produce them was Mckinney & Govero, who out crossed the blrs to the golden laced wyandottes to put more birds on the ground faster. The vast majority of blrs in America today are from that line. Murray McMurray has since bought the Mckinney line of blrs. The resulting problem of out crossing to the golden laced birds, is a lack of red, and more of what’s been described as a brassy color has taken it’s place amongst the feathers. Unfortunately, the blrs that most of us desire have a delicate genetic balance when it comes to the red color. Enhancing and modifying genes, that are so critical in producing the rich mahogany bay (red) are very easily replaced by the dominate gold gene. There are however, a couple of individual breeders who either have blr stock that has not been out crossed, or who are working on returning the variety to it’s former splendor. A smaller breeder will take years, spending thousands of dollars, and raising several hundred chicks each year to adulthood, just to see a pair make up the next generation. If you want correctly colored and typed blrs, do your research. Check the various online poultry groups, and ask a lot of questions. The members will know who has the best birds.

 

 Two such groups are

 http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/PoultryImprovementProject/

 

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/BlueLacedRedWyandottes/?yguid=300415765

 

 

These pictures below are an excellent example of the differences between hatcheries, and what a few breeders have.

This is an actual hatchery blr rooster and hens. They were purchased from Mckinney & Govero in June 2004. As McKinney was closing their business, they sold their blue laced red line of Wyandottes to Murray McMurray Hatchery. These birds have no out crossing as best we know, and lineage from an importation from England (via Canada ) and Lowell Barbers stock. This rooster is courtesy of Phyllis Eide, hen from Austin and Daltin Paul

 

 

 

 

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