Blue Laced Red
Wyandottes
A Brief History
The Wyandotte breed was brought into the American Poultry Association “APA” in 1883 with the Silver Laced Wyandotte and today there are 9 varieties with the Blue Lace Red Wyandotte being worked on to be accepted into the standard! While there are many different opinions, the Blue Laced Red in order to be accepted into the Wyandotte APA Standard will have to match the same lacing patterns as the other Laced Wyandotte varieties. Meaning opposite lacing in the hackle for the female and opposite lacing in the hackle and saddle for the male. This is the direction we are pursuing with our line of BLRs.
If you are just getting started with this breed variety, it poses a unique challenge because it involves a Dilution Gene; Blue. This gene didn’t just appear in the breed and was brought in by crossing out to the Andalusian breed. Hence the BLRW community is very concerned with bird type or the conformation of the birds, but this Blue Gene takes the Black Lacing to Blue Lacing with one copy, and with two copies of the gene it expresses a Splash Lacing. The Blue Lacing is the only Color in this Variety that should be judged at APA shows, to further out acceptance into the APA. Also, when this variety was recreated, crossing out to another breed takes many generations to get the birds perfect again but still retain the influence or gene you originally crossed out for. For instance, some faults in the Andalusian cross that show up from time to time are, single comb, Andalusian darker lacing, and a white ear. All of these traits when seen in the BLRW are selected against. There is also a lot of mystery behind how the first Wyandottes were created (Silver Laced Wyandotte) some will say Seabrights and some will say Cochins but it was never truly documented, and both America and England were working on the breed at the same time, to develop that lacing that everyone loves.
​
As you dive deeper into this variety there are a bunch of “ins and outs” that you will learn. The Most Important is Not All Breeders Are Breeding to Standard. This includes body type and color. I was sucked into this because I just wanted to have one! Well, later on those hens were sold as plain jane regular layer hens not to represent the breed standard. So make sure you do some research to find out what you should be looking for and if possible request to see the breeders. Biosecurity is Important in the Poultry Industry today, but almost everyone can take a video on their smartphone and share it for transparency.
BLRW @ Cross B
2025 will be my 9th year of breeding Quality BLRW lines, and our Flock has come a long ways! We are extremely proud of the direction we are going and progress our line has made. We started with some good birds, but made some mistakes in the beginning and the flock is just now becoming uniform and consistent and getting closer and closer to the proposed standard! There will ALWAYS be room for improvement though. The improvement can be as small as the shape of the lacing on a feather, but we will always continue to strive to perfect our lines just a little bit more.
​
A lot of people, put a lot of value in certain names in BLRW community, I am not one of those people. My BLRW are my line, the Cross B Hens N Heifers line. We will not bring in outside blood into this flock. It is great if you were able to find birds from a breeder with a big name, some even consider our line a big name, which I am flattered by but do not deserve. There is a lot of benefit of getting quality birds, and credit should go to those breeders. But in my opinion, even if you get my birds and breed them together, once you decide you are going to breed this male to this female, they are no longer my birds that you are creating, as your eye put the breeding stock together to achieve a particular outcome. Also, if you bought birds from me, I am more than happy to help you in any way I can with your breeding. Since our line is a closed flock, after these years of working on our line, our breeding program will create offspring that are Uniform, Consistent, and Repeatable. Does this mean, I never get a bad one? Of course I do and every breeder does. Selection is Key.
​
My Cull List typically ranks as follows but exceptions are made when I can complement that bird or breed up.
1 Health & Vigor
2 Type as to Breed Standard
3 Color Accuracy
4 Feather Shafting
5 Lacing Consistency
6 Temperament
7 Comb Shape
8 Tail Shape
9 Hackles and Saddle Feather Lacing
10 Split Breast
​
There are a few traits that show up that will ALWAYS be Culled against even if everything else is Perfect on the individual.
Wry Tail
Single Comb​
Feather Stubs
White Ear
​
And the list becomes more petty or particular from there. We are always in search of the Perfect Bird.
My culls list or absolute cull list can make for some awesome breeder birds for other BLRW or Project Colors for another Breed. So do not discredit the Beauty of Each Individual.
Make sure you check out the pictures of our BLRWs throughout our years of breeding on our fb page and see the progress we have made!
The Current Breeding Plan for BLRWs
>> In 2023 & 2024 I had planned on running through all of the BLR Breeding Stock and test mating them against a Single Comb bird of another breed, to test for the Recessive Single Comb Gene. This didn't happen. I do plan on doing this eventually, but the Chicken Office will have to get insulated and electricity hooked up to it before this can happen. As I will need to hatch chicks in the winter and do not need temperatures fluctuating in an uninsulated shed.
​
>> When this happens: If a bird is determined to have the single comb gene, they may be kept in the program depending on their total package or they may be offered to the waiting list. This will be determined as time goes. Eventually, the Goal will be to have No Single Comb Genetics in my flock.
​
>> In 2024 One Family Line really stood out as a whole, the Red Family, with Hen #133 as the head of the family. This family had influence in Pen 2, Pen 4 & Pen 5 for 2024.
Also, Pen 6, who came from the Wyandotte Hen Pen of 2023, made a statement in 2024. This was the only single mated pen for 2024 and also considered my Project Pen, because of its hackles on both individuals. This pen was also on the small size. We will be evaluating their offspring and making a separate line from this particular line.
​
>> In 2025 We plan on using 7 different pens to continue the current family lines, utilize single mating to establish 2 more family lines, and to work on specific traits for improvement.
​
Breeding Pens will be listed below for 2025 as well as pictures and videos posted on our FB page, once the pens have been selected.
2024 is Coming to a Close &
2025 is Right Around the Corner
Best & Quickest Way
If you are looking to get BLRWs from us at Cross B, is to order fresh hatched chicks or hatching eggs from us. Why is this? Well, my mindset in having these birds is not to hatch them to sell. I am in the market of preserving and improving these breeds, through breeding, raising them up, and selecting the best to breed the following year. So, I typically hatch so many for myself to raise up, and then I am open to selling hatching eggs and hatching some chicks out for sales. But these extra chicks I hatch out if they stay for 4 weeks, they are usually kept to grow out and select from. The only reason individuals leave early is if there are noticeable reasons to cull a specific individual. So get your name in the hat, on the waiting list, to be notified when hatching eggs and chicks are coming available.
Pricing
2024 & 2025 Pricing
Hatching Eggs
11/5/24 Hatching Eggs are No Longer Available for 2024
Availability: This will be solidified when breeding pens are made in 2025, but most likely they will be available in half dozen minimum and 2 dozen maximum.
Eggs will be marked with Breeding Pen and also with Collection Date when purchased for buyers benefit. Every 5 eggs purchased there will be 1 egg given as curtsey.
Hatching eggs will be $6/ egg in 2025.
Cross B has stayed at a lower price of hatching eggs for the majority of our time breeding this stunning birds. In 2025 we have raised the price by $1/ egg. We believe our flock is very consistent and repeatable in quality BLRWs. Our Line has not ironed out the single comb gene, while we do not breed any Single Comb birds or keep them in our flock, it is a recessive gene and so lurks in the genome. So just as I will hatch some chicks that are single comb, if you get hatching eggs, you may as well.
IF you want from a particular pen cost may increase, and only smaller amounts of eggs will be available.
​
You must be on a Waiting List to get a notification on hatching eggs.
Chicks
After we have reached a good number of chicks to raise, we will hatch a number of chicks to sell to the waiting list and to take to our local swap. ANY chicks hatched here on the farm receive a wing band at hatch, as pictured in the photo here. As with the Hatching Eggs, when getting straight run chicks, you will get all colors in the BLRW genome, so Black, Blue, and Splash Laced. When getting BLRW chicks from us, you
WILL NOT receive any single comb chicks, if any hatch with that batch, they will not be sent with your order, unless they are requested. If requested they will be considerably cheaper as well.
2025​
St. Run 0-2 Weeks $10 Each
St. Run 3-4 Weeks $15 Each
St. Run 5-6 Weeks $18 Each
Growouts
Read First! Pullets are not typically available. Usually if they are kept past 6 weeks they will grow out on the ranch until next years breeding selection happens. I do not grow pullets to sell to the public for that purpose. Occasionally these pullets do become available as I see faults that does not allow them to stay in the breeding program.
​
2025
Pullets 7-8 Weeks $20 Each
Pullets 9-12 Weeks $25 Each
Pullets 13-16 Weeks $30 Each
Pullets 17-20 Weeks $35 Each
Pullets 21-24 Weeks $40 Each
Pullets 7-9 Months $ 50 & Up
​
Cockerels, you must contact me and prices will be Equivalent to the above listed pullet prices.
BLRW Project Line!
Potentially Two Different Ways
This is 2024 Pen 6 Breeding Pair. The BEST news is I do believe these 2 are Homozygous for Rose Comb! We did not get a single chick with a single comb from them this year. These 2 were paired together for their outstanding lacing, but specifically for their correct lacing in their hackles. The BLRW community in order to become APA approved HAS to follow the standard of the Laced Wyandottes, which means opposite lacing in Hackles and Saddles. This cockerel is very small though. So the chicks from this offspring could be all over the board on size. We plan on making this strain its own line and slowly integrating it into the other lines. BUT we also may take this line, if the offspring show us, towards a Bantam line!
THE BLRWS
 Hackle Project Hen |  Hackle Project Cock |  Blue Hen |
|---|---|---|
 Black Laced Cock |  Hackle Project |  IMG_4866 |
 IMG_4865 |  606C1CFF-DE37-4C3E-86C9-5B2AD30A20DA |  |
 29C07131-2F5B-4365-9224-55E83430A4ED_1_2 |  07D6BBB2-14FF-4A83-880E-1EF99CC0E08D_1_201_a.jpeg |  8ACC59D6-7097-4ABA-B432-588B5B009E8C.heic |
 439F2A7F-CF1F-4F42-A894-2CC00E2E4FFE.jpeg |  |  |
 8F65FEB0-61F7-4498-8387-4AA6DC374864.jpeg |  16A73A5D-B44D-417F-BEEC-D2E68EB74432_edi |  |
 |  |  20984FE8-B71B-4EE7-9BDF-19A0D8CABDB8_1_2 |
 |  91E6CDAC-7860-466C-A8AC-FAA9E5399142_1_2 |  AAC6E84C-A4AA-4C03-87E5-17F0F2D5CB06_1_2 |