Light Vs. Dark Blue Wheaten

[Guest]

I have these two blue wheaten cockerels that are two completely different shades of blue.  I\'m going to let them finish getting their adult plumage before I make my decision.  I\'m hoping they grow out some nice blue muffs.  Which shade of blue would be preferred?

Both boys


Light boy: Has nice lacing but is he supposed to have lacing like the solid blues?


Dark Boy: little to no apparent lacing

[Birch Run Farm]

No claims to expertise here but I had a judge tell me one time that a bird I was showing would have placed better if it was a lighter blue with sharp lacing.  

[Guest]

I really like the color of the  lighter blue but he has whitish fluff at the base of his tail which tells me his beard is going to have white in it.  The darker boy has darker fluff.  Guess I\'ll wait it out a little longer.  I have a coop full of boys right now who are as bad as teenage human boys, constantly at the feeder!

[Mike Gilbert]

 I\'m going to let them finish getting their adult plumage before I make my decision.  

Good decision.  I can think of a couple dozen factors more important than the exact shade of blue in a blue wheaten, most of them having to do with breed type, temperament, their ancestry, size, and disease resistance.  Also, the strong and weak points of the hens/pullets they/he will be mated with.  That said, and all else equal, I believe the lighter blue with dark edging/lacing would be preferable in the eyes of most judges.

[Tailfeathers]

Karen, I agree with Mike.  I would give them both time.  The only thing I would add is that I see a lot of red in the lighter one\'s tail and I don\'t see that in the darker one\'s.  

Personally, I don\'t like to see any red in the tails of the males and, after a couple of years, I\'ve finally gotten rid of it in most of my male chicks showing up.  Still have a few that I see with it but I cull them out.  Right now I\'ve got one good Wheaten and one good BW male each and plan to use them for the next few years unless I get something that really tops those two.

I\'m trying to think but I don\'t recall hearing a judge ever comment on light vs dark - although there have never been that many BW males at the shows I\'ve attended.  If I can remember, I\'ll ask the next time I go.  That being said, I would agree with Mike.  I think most judges would prefer the lighter.

God Bless,

[Jean]

There is supposed to be a little bit of orange shafting in sickles of a blue wheaten male.

A wheaten male is supposed to have some reddish shafting in the lesser sickles.

[Tailfeathers]

There is supposed to be a little bit of orange shafting in sickles of a blue wheaten male.

A wheaten male is supposed to have some reddish shafting in the lesser sickles.

Yes, I agree but I was referring to the red on the surface of the feathers.  Not the shaft.  It is my understanding that \"shafting\" is when the color of the feather shaft does not match the rest of the feather\'s color.  Am I mistaken?

Personally, I prefer to have a solid dark blue tail with no orange/red showing in either the W or BW.  Having talked with several other W & BW folks, I thought it was the general consensus that while it is common to see some orange/red markings in the tails of W & BW\'s - both near the shaft and along the outside edge - the solid blue tail is something to breed for.

To me this makes for a much more pleasant bird when viewed but, if I\'m wrong and there is some specific reason for having the blotches of orange/red in the tail, I\'d sure like to know.

God Bless,

[Tailfeathers]

Bumping this up as it\'s been a week and there were no replies so I just wanted to make sure I\'m not mistaken?

God Bless,

[Guest]

Just an update on how these boys are turning out.  My silver hen has an affection with these boys beards.  Overall I think they are REALLY nice looking.



Light chest


Dark Chest


Dark


Light

[Jean]

I think I like the darker one better.  He looks like he has less shafting in the hackles.

But, do me a favor and check their earlobes.  (It may be just the way the birds are standing and the color of their beards.) One of them looks like there may be enamel white in the lobe.

[Guest]

I ran out checked them over with a fine tooth comb.  The darker boy does have better hackles and red earlobes.  Jean, you have an awesome eye!  The light guy has red earlobes but the center (about the size of a small pea) has a blueish white patch.  That\'s a deal breaker or him right.    I really liked his coloration...the light blue is simply stunning!!  Bummer.

[Tailfeathers]

I think the darker one does have cleaner hackles.  He also seems to have a cleaner tail.  

The white sounds like it is more of a pale fleshy color which is ok.  As long as it doesn\'t have an \"enamel\" look to it.  Eventually, you\'ll want the nice dark full red colored earlobes but it may not be a deal killer now.

If you like him better, why not breed both to the same females.  Mark one line, say #1, and the other #2.  And then see how the progeny turns out.  

God Bless,

Royce

[bantamhill]

IMO I would do as Royce has suggested and breed from both at some point. I have found that a little white in the earlobes tends to indicated better egg shell color.

Michael

[Guest]

Thanks for the advise.  Like you suggested, I think I will create two lines and see what pans out.  Interesting about the ear and egg color link.  

Now I need to consider what hens to put with them.  I have a single BW hen, she is light blue. I\'m thinking she should go with the darker boy.

Has anyone else got this range in blue color or am I just \"special\"?  

[Mike Gilbert]

It\'s very common.    It can be very difficult to get rid of that dark hackle striping in the males.  It\'s not that hard to change the shade of blue.  I do agree both males could be used, but be sure to toe-punch or otherwise identify permanently which chicks come out of which male.