Wyandotte chicken

The Wyandotte is an American breed of chicken developed in the 1870s. It was named for the indigenous Wyandot people of North America.[6] The Wyandotte is a dual-purpose breed, kept for its brown eggs and its yellow-skinned meat.[6] It is a popular show bird, and has many color variants.[4] It was originally known as the American Sebright.[1]

"Wyandottes" redirects here. For other uses, see Wyandotte (disambiguation).

Wyandotte
The silver-laced, the original variety of the breed
Conservation statusnot at risk[1]
Other namesAmerican Sebright (before 1883)[1]
Country of originUnited States
Usedual-purpose
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    3.5–4 kg (8–9 lb)[2]
  • Female:
    2.7–3.2 kg (6–7 lb)[2]
Skin coloryellow
Egg colorbrown
Comb typerose
Classification
APAAmerican[3]
EEyes[4]
PCGBsoft feather: heavy[5]

History

The Wyandotte was created in the United States in the 1870s by four people, H. M. Doubleday, John Ray, L. Whittaker and Fred Houdlette.[6] The first type was the silver-laced, which was included in the American Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1883; it was taken to Britain at about the same time.[2]: 311 [3] It had previously been known as the Sebright Cochin or American Sebright.[7]: 46  The origin of the breed is unknown; it is thought derive partly from spangled Hamburgs and dark Brahmas[1] – the Hamburg for the rose comb and the Brahma for the color pattern.[7]: 46 

The gold-laced Wyandotte was produced by breeding silver-laced hens with gold-spangled Hamburg and partridge Cochin cocks, the white Wyandotte was a sport of the silver-laced, and the buff variant came from crossing the silver-laced with buff Cochin stock;[2]: 311  the black variant was also a sport, of both the silver-laced and the gold-laced.[6] The partridge Wyandotte came from crossing the gold-laced with Indian Game, partridge Cochin, gold-pencilled Hamburghs, and a strain called "Winnebago".[6] The Columbian was the result of a chance crossing of white Wyandottes with barred Plymouth Rock birds; it was named for Columbian Exposition and World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois, in 1893.[6][2]: 311  The first Wyandotte bantams were added to the Standard of Perfection in 1933.[3]

In 2015 the Wyandotte was listed as "recovering" by the American Livestock Conservancy;[8] in 2016 it was no longer considered to be in danger and was removed from the priority list.[1] In Germany it is listed in category IV, "alert", on the Rote Liste of the Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen.[9]

Characteristics
Silver-laced chick, three days old
Gold-laced hen

The Wyandotte is a fairly large bird, with weights for adult birds in the range 2.7 to 4 kg (6 to 9 lb).[1] The body is of medium length, broad in the back and with a deep, full and well-rounded breast.[7] It is clean-legged and fairly close-feathered, and has a broad skull with a rose comb.[2]: 311  The skin and shanks are yellow,[6] and the ear-lobes, face and wattles are red.[1]

Silver-laced Wyandotte cocks may occasionally display hen feathering.[10]: 85–86 

In the United States, nine color varieties are recognized by the American Poultry Association: black (1893), blue (1977), buff (1893), Columbian (1905), golden laced (1888), partridge (1893), silver laced (1883), silver penciled (1902) and white (1888).[3] For bantams, the same nine colors are recognized, with the addition of buff Columbian.[3]

In Europe, the Entente Européenne lists thirty colors.[4] The Poultry Club of Great Britain recognizes barred, black, blue, blue-laced, blue partridge, buff, buff-laced, Columbian, gold-laced, partridge, red, silver-laced, silver-pencilled and white.[2]: 312–317 

Use

The Wyandotte is a dual-purpose breed, raised both for eggs and for meat. It matures moderately rapidly, and hens are good layers of large brown eggs.[1] It is a popular show bird, particularly in Germany.[6]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wyandotte (chicken).
  1. Wyandotte Chicken. The Livestock Conservancy. Archived 7 June 2015.
  2. Victoria Roberts (2008). British Poultry Standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 9781405156424.
  3. APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.
  4. Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013). Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.
  5. Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.
  6. Edgar L. Petty (2001). Wyandottes: The American Breed with an Indian Name and Eurasian Background. SPPA Bulletin 6 (4): 4–6. Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities. Accessed August 2014.
  7. [Standard Revision Committee] (1985). The American Standard of Perfection: A Complete Description of All Recognized Breeds and Varieties of Domestic Poultry. Troy, New York: American Poultry Association.
  8. Conservation Priority Poultry Breeds 2015. The Livestock Conservancy. Archived 15 October 2015.
  9. Gemeinsame Liste alter und einheimischer Geflügelrassen in Deutschland der GEH und des BDRG (in German). Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen. Accessed July 2016.
  10. Lewis Stevens (1991). Genetics and Evolution of the Domestic Fowl. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521403177. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511525780.007. (subscription required)
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