Blue Laced Red Wyandottes

About Wyandottes

Wyandottes are recognized as a dual-purpose chicken for egg and meat production, and of all the Wyandotte varieties, the Blue Laced Red is one of the most unusual and eye catching, with their fluffy blue-laced, rich-mahogany plumage on a compact, round chicken.

   Blue Laced Red Wyandottes are a medium-sized chicken with adult cocks weighing 8.5 lbs. and adult hens weighing 6.5 lbs.
   Hens lay large creamy-brown eggs, often with white or darker-brown speckles. They begin laying at six or seven months old and lay 200-250 eggs a year.
   Cockerels dress out at around 5 lbs. and are the most flavorful chicken we have tried.
Their low rose combs and abundant, fluffy feathers make these birds very hardy to cold weather.
Blue Laced Red Wyandottes are docile and curious and become quite friendly with human interaction. They are busy foragers. Cocks have particularly good temperaments toward humans and are gentlemen to the hens.

Blue Laced Red Wyandotte hens will go broody if allowed. They are good mothers.
The Blue Laced Red Wyandotte was developed in the late 1800s, and, especially recently, has gained popularity in the United States for its beauty as well as productiveness. Breeders, myself included, are currently working to meet the requirements to have the Blue Laced Red accepted as a variety by the American Poultry Association. I breed my birds according to the A.P.A. Wyandotte shape Standard and the proposed A.P.A. Blue Laced Red Wyandotte color Standard.
There are few quality strains of Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, and unfortunately few people who understand how to maintain the quality once they own a good strain. The strain my original stock came from was recommended to me by an A.P.A./A.B.A. judge. In 2013 I acquired a batch of chicks before the breeder stopped selling them. Since then, each year I run two to eleven breeding pens and raise 100-300 chicks to select the best breeding stock.

First and foremost, I breed my BLR Wyandottes for productivity and vitality to retain the breed's practicability for people interested in an eggs-and-meat farm flock, as well as for those who are interested in breeding and showing. Overall conformation, feather quality, and color are next on the list.
Some of the specific characteristics I breed for are egg production and quality; nice average body size; overall soundness in confirmation and structure; width; roundness; smooth blending; well-spread tails; abundant, soft feathering; wide, glossy feathers; clean, diamond-shaped lacing; deep red (notably in the hackles) and nice slate blue; good eye and leg color; correct combs and wattles; and large, bright eyes. I also touch on personality, though the birds generally have good temperaments--I've never had a mean rooster. Although this strain is one of the better ones, the U.S. Blue Laced Red Wyandottes in general have only recently been intensively refined, and, in my opinion, there are still things in the breed that need

work (comb shape and texture, for instance, could use improvement in most BLRWs I have seen). I breed only with blue- or black-phase birds. My flock has produced only rose-combed chicks, so I can reasonably assume that my birds don't carry genes for other types of combs.
In 2016 an A.P.A. poultry judge (also a breeder of White Wyandottes) who had seen some of my customers' Blue Laced Red Wyandottes in shows and was impressed, visited the farm to see the original flock for himself. He said that my birds were some of the best Blue Laced Reds he had seen.
For answers to questions or more information, go to my Wyandotte FQA page.
See Photo Gallery Below

Wyandottes For Sale

Show Wins by Blue Laced Red Wyandottes Bred at North Star Poultry:
- 2019 Spokane Interstate Fair, Washington, Best in Show, won by black-phase pullet (photo below).
- 2019 Lake County Fair, Montana, 4-H Grand Champion Chicken, won by blue-phase hen (photo below).
- 2016 Ravalli County Fair, Montana, Best of Show, won by black-phase pullet (photo below).
- 2016 Ravalli County Fair, Montana, Reserve Champion American, won by blue-phase cockerel.
If you won with Wyandottes you acquired from me, I would love to add the results to this page!

2016 Ravalli County Fair Best of Show, black-phase Blue Laced Red Wyandotte Pullet, Owned and Shown by Katie Jackson.

2019 Lake County Fair 4-H Grand Champion Chicken, Blue Laced Red Wyandotte Hen "Nelly," Shown by Rosslyn Wilson. Photo Courtesy of Donna Wilson.

2019 Spokane Interstate Fair Best In Show, black-phase Blue Laced Red Wyandotte Pullet, Owned and Shown by Aaron Crummett. Photo Courtesy of Mehra Crummett.

Further Reading About Wyandottes:
~ Feathersite: Wyandottes: The American Breed with an Indian Name and Eurasian Background
~ Foley's Waterfowl: Origin of the Blue Laced Red Wyandotte
~ Oklahoma State University Department of Animal Science: Poultry Breeds, Wyandotte Chickens
~ The Livestock Conservancy: Wyandotte Chicken
~ Wikipedia: Wyandotte chicken

Gallery

2019 Hatched Birds

2019 Spokane Interstate Fair Best In Show, black-phase Blue Laced Red Wyandotte Pullet, Owned and Shown by Aaron Crummett. Photo Courtesy of Mehra Crummett.