Chickens Wyandotte belong to the meat and egg direction. The value of this bird is also an attractive decorative plumage. For the standard entered in the official register, more than 15 types of color are characteristic.

A bit of history

The breed received its name in honor of an Indian tribe living in America in the 19th century. Initially, the variety had 3 names:

• American sebrites;
• Colombian
• Excelsior.

Check out such dwarf breeds of chickens as: dwarf leghorn and sebrite.

In 1860, hard work by breeders began to create an improved breed of combined direction. The modern look and productivity of the Wyandotte is the result of painstaking work to combine the best genes of 6 chicken breeds, which included local chickens of the Indian tribe. In 1883, the silver-edged standard Wyandotte was installed.

In 1933, the following were added to the studbook:

• black
• yellow;
• Colombian
• partridge;
• silver black;
• silver-bordered;
• white.

In 1965, yellow-Colombian individuals were obtained, and in 1977, a hybrid with blue plumage. Since 2012, the American Poultry Association has officially recognized only 10 colors, although there are many more. The breed is more common in Europe. In our country, few people are engaged in their breeding because of the high price.

Did you know? In order for the hens to rush, it is not necessary to keep a rooster in the flock. Unfertilized eggs are considered a dietary product and are valued higher.

Description and features of the breed

Birds adapt well to the climatic conditions of the northern regions. Despite its large size, the rounded body of the Wyandots looks compact. The body has an irregular shape: it is longer in length than in height. Red eyes are deeply set on a small head. Mid-sized earlobes and earrings are elongated, smoothly rounded at the bottom. Skin without folds and wrinkles, reddish color with a characteristic shine.

A distinctive feature is the presence of a rounded spike on the scallop following from the nape line. The fluffy cervical collar falls on the shoulders and smoothly passes into the plumage of the body. The upper points of the neck and tail form a graceful lyre-shaped bend. The back is powerful, wide, well muscled. The leg is elongated. The most common species is Wyandotte silver.

Appearance and standard

The standard criteria by which the pedigree of Wyandotch chickens are determined are proposed to be considered in the table:

Appearance	Standard
Head	neat, medium size
Crest	red, erect, tight to the head
Beak	short, lemon or pink
Neck	powerful, shortened, with a lush mane, has a characteristic deflection
Chest	bulging out
Stomach	tightened
Wings	shortened
Tail	medium length, well feathered, located at an angle of 40 °
Paws	powerful, match in color with beak
Plumage and color	silver

Individuals with the following deviations are subject to rejection:

• the absence of a spike on the scallop;
• narrowed trunk and tail;
• too light eyes;
• a white layer of plaque on the earlobes, earrings, crest;
• legs too short;
• discrepancy of color of plumage to the declared.

Character

The Wyandots have a calm disposition. They are completely non-aggressive, do not conflict with other breeds living in the poultry yard. They lead a sedentary lifestyle, which is often the cause of obesity. You can fix the situation with an increase in the percentage of fat in meat by organizing the bird's overall area for walking. The bird quickly gets used to the owner. Willingly goes to hand. Wyandots are not shy. Get along well with geese, ducks and even turkeys.

Learn more about such breeds of chicken meat and egg direction as: Zagorsk salmon, Tsarskoye Selo, Maran, dominant, Australorp, Sussex, Amrox, Welsumer and Lackenfelder.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of the breed:

• high ability to adapt to cold climates;
• high level of productivity;
• undemanding care;
• precocity;
• the ability to settle chickens next to other types of poultry;
• high yield of meat products.

Among the shortcomings are:

• the tendency to lead a sedentary lifestyle, leading to obesity and reducing the quality of products;
• high cost of thoroughbred individuals.

Content Rules

The bird can be kept in large groups or small families. Better to give preference to aviary content. It is worth considering the high growth rates of poultry, equipping cages and chicken coops. In the warm season, the bird feels well and quickly gaining mass on a free range. In winter, it is worth taking care of the warming of the house and organizing a balanced diet.

House conditions and facilities

The maintenance of the Wyandotes involves first of all the arrangement of a full-fledged house. Equip cages taking into account the permissible density of 10 heads per square meter. m. If you do not want the bird to feed fat, it is better to equip the aviary attached to the chicken coop, and keep the bird on the floor. The house consists of 2 rooms:

• barn;
• aviary.

From the shed to the aviary, make an exit in the form of a hole 40x40 cm in size, with a hole. It is enough to fence the walking area with a mesh netting 1.8 m high. In the front door of the shed, arrange a similar passage. The size of the barn is determined from the density of settlement of 5 animals per square m

Equip the room with an elementary ventilation system, eliminate drafts. The optimum temperature in the house is +12 ... + 18 ° C. In winter, chickens suffer from a lack of light. Additional lighting must be connected at the end of the molt.

Important! Egg production and the body's resistance to infections in chickens depends on lighting. The increase in productivity is facilitated by an artificial increase in daylight hours up to 12 hours.

The clay floor can be left without bedding. If the house is too cold, the thickness of the straw bed should be at least 40 cm. At a height of 1 m from the floor, attach wooden perches for laying hens. Place soft hay, straw, shavings inside the boxes. At a height of 60, 80, 100 cm, equip the stems. Arrange them stepwise so that individuals sitting on the upper striae do not smear with droppings of those located below. The length of the perch depends on the number of individuals in the chicken coop. There are 20 cm per chicken.

Care

Once a week you need to clean the house:

• treatment of drinkers and feeders with non-aggressive detergents;
• in nests change the litter;
• feces are removed from the enclosure.

Be sure to install several boxes of sand, gravel and a shell rock in the house. With the help of ash and sand, the bird cleans its feathers, which helps to increase immunity and prevents the spread of pests. The main enemy of hens is dampness. In winter, the top layer of the litter should be changed as necessary. Full replacement is carried out 2 times a year.

Chicken coop disinfection is carried out 2 times a year, in the presence of infected chickens - 3-4. To eliminate all microbes, the walls are worked out with a blowtorch, washed with a weak solution of chlorine or 1% solution of copper sulfate.

Important! A complete replacement of the litter in the winter will lead to a decrease in indoor air temperature. Sawdust, straw lying on the floor, interacting with the waste products of chickens, prey and give off heat, providing natural heating. The litter cleaned in the spring is used as fertilizer on a personal plot.

Moult and egg laying break

Seasonal molting at the Wyandottes takes place in October-November and March-April. During this period, the laying hens become lethargic, practically do not rush. This is a natural physiological process allowing the bird to:

• restore your productivity;
• gather strength;
• change the plumage before the start of the season.

At the end of molting, the hens give full egg production throughout the winter, subject to additional exposure. Artificial molting is practiced in some farms in order to improve the quality of egg products and adjust the timing of hatching to their needs. The techniques are quite aggressive and reduce the life of chickens.

Walking patio

The enclosure for walking is placed on the leeward side to protect the bird from the draft. You should take care of a quality foundation. This will reduce the risk of predatory animals entering the chicken coop by digging. Walking yard equipped with feeders and drinking bowls. Be sure to make a canopy that protects against natural disasters. If one wall is constructed of wood, boxes for layers are placed on it.

Feeding troughs and drinking bowls

It is better to equip hanging feeders and drinking bowls with a drip type of distribution. This will eliminate the problem of the spread of feed and contamination of its feces. When installing drinking bowls and feeders, consider the growth of the bird. You need to position them no higher than the back of the chicken.

Read more about how to make a car drinker and a bunker feeder for chickens with your own hands.

Well-proven bunker feeders. They are intended for dry feed. Such feeders significantly save time, because the feed, as necessary, is poured into compartments for feeding. Equip feeders and drinking bowls on the opposite side of the roosts.

Adult chicken diet

The Wyandots eat everything, but the owner must ensure that the food is balanced and nutritious. Given the possibility of obesity in this breed, the amount of cereals, especially corn, is reduced in the diet. Once a day, chickens are given moist mixes consisting of boiled potatoes, fresh grass and milk. Wet foods that are not eaten at a time should be disposed of immediately.

Before going to bed, chickens are given dry grain. It is digested for a long time and provides a feeling of satiety. The bird loves to feast on bread. Its introduction into the diet is permissible in wet mashrooms or in dry form every 2 weeks. In the warm season, the diet is supplemented with melons and fresh grass.

Did you know? If you press the chicken’s head to the ground and draw a line in front of its beak, it will fall into a trance lasting from 10 seconds. up to 30 minutes This is due to the genetic feature of the bird pretending to be dead when danger is detected.

Breeding young

The breeding of Wyandotte has its own nuances. Inbreeding negatively affects the quality indicators of production and survival of young animals. In this regard, it is necessary to maintain the maternal and paternal line separately. Due to hybridization, calculating color transfer is genetically difficult. Breeding chickens is best done naturally, because it is difficult to get quality material for incubation.

Chicken eggs

The brood hen is selected according to its behavioral reactions, indicating its readiness to hatch:

• klusha long kvokchet;
• spends most of the time in the nest;
• plucks fluff and feathers, placing them in a nest.

Having chosen a hen, start organizing a nest. Place it in a secluded place. The optimal size of the nest is 55x35 cm. Put soft hay in it, and the chicken will finish the rest by itself.

Important! If there are 2 or more brood hens on the same area, they need to be planted away from each other, otherwise they will begin to conflict, which will lead to poor incubation and reduce hatchability.

For hatching, medium-sized eggs are taken. Before laying, do not store biomaterial for more than 3 days. 13–15 pieces are placed in the nest for the Viandotam. eggs. Check all biomaterial for damage. Inspect under the ovoscope. Discard eggs containing an air chamber on the blunt side of the egg. Material that contains a bloody clot or blotches of unknown origin is not suitable.

Lay testicles when the chicken is outside the nest, for example, went out to eat. In the process of hatching, the biomaterial is no longer reported, because after hatching the chickens, the brood hen will leave the nest. The hens are kept at a temperature of +15 ... + 20 ° C and relative humidity of 70–75%. Make sure that the chicken fully eats and leaves the nest for no more than 20 minutes.

Combined feed, carbohydrate food, represented by root crops and grass, is introduced into the chicken diet. If the hen does not return to the nest after 20 minutes, bring it yourself. While the chicken is eating, inspect the nest, clean it of dirt, and remove crushed eggs. The process of incubation takes 19-22 days. Chickens do not appear at the same time. As hatching, the chicks are taken and allowed to their mother only after vaccination.

Vaccination of young animals

Unactivated chickens can become carriers of infection. The vaccination schedule is as follows:

1. Immunization of parents from mycoplasmosis 100–120 days before hatching begins.
2. The first 24 hours are infectious bronchitis, Marek’s disease.
3. 7 days - Newcastle disease.

Important! In case of unstable epidemiological situation in the growing region, additional vaccines are introduced and the schedule of disinfection of the house becomes more frequent. The breed of chickens Wyandotte is one of the most productive. Refers to the meat-egg direction. It has high growth rates and good productivity. The breed is popular in Europe, in our country it is not used for industrial purposes, amateur farmers are engaged in its breeding.

Care and feeding of chickens

Chickens are vulnerable during the first 10 days of life. All this time they are kept in a box on a soft warm cloth litter, which is changed as necessary. The optimum temperature from the 1st to the 5th day of life is 30 ° C, then it is gradually reduced to 20 ° C.

The first 2-3 weeks young animals are fed boiled eggs, cottage cheese. Gradually introduced millet, and then feed. A month later, they transfer to premixes corresponding to age.