Rural Gardening: BLRW Chicks?, 1 by marquisella

marquisella wrote:
We used to use the word "blue" to signify the dark blue birds, and "splash" for the ligher laced birds.

Now, I use dark blue and light blue, because technically, if the lacing is not "blue" then the bird shouldn't be called a blue laced red wyandotte.

The goal in breeding them together is to produce the "medium" blue lacing, which is suppose to be a pigeon type blue and the red should be a brick or mahogany red.

There are so many variations out there, that its going to be quite a while before any approved standard will be reached.

But, the "light blue or splash" birds bred to each other act like the splash in any breed because they always produce the lighter colors.

Eventually when we get that medium color we are working towards, tthat color will be the only ones used for breeding, hopefully they will breed true.

I hope this helps. Yes, you can tell at birth if they are going to be light or dark as that picture that was posted shows. Usually, if they are very light at hatch, then they will probably end up with white lacing, and should not bue used for breeding. I only keep the light blue chicks that have good blue fluff. If its light at hatch, then it will just get lighter.
Its been my experience, that breeding the really dark, or black laced birds ends up with too much orange and should also not be used for breeding.

Here is a photo of one of my dark blue hens with the pigeon blue lacing

Sue
http://www.sterlingcenterfarm.com