Wyandotte Reviews

We breed and raise a variety of Wyandottes (large fowl and banam) in all colors. They are friendly, even tempered birds that are easy going and well tempered (even the roosters). Great for 4-H and shows. They do go broody, which has been great for our children to learn the process hens go through to have peeps. Ours are not hatchers. They are consistent layers and produce a nice large light to dark brown egg. I'd recommend them to anyone

I got myself 10 Silver Laced Wyandottes from Murray McMurray hatchery years ago with a huge order of many other chicks, and, I was quite excited for these birds, but honestly I was expecting more. They weren't huge and fluffy as I hoped, their lacing wasn't much of "lacing," and what honestly had me disappointed was their personalities. The best is talkative, the worst is just downright unfriendly to both people and other chickens. They love to huddle into their own "gang" of Wyandottes, separate from others, but even bicker among each other. They were very hardy gals and very resistant to whatever came their way. They were good layers, too, but not of big eggs.

Now, these were hatchery Wyandottes though. I'm sure non-hatchery stock as I've heard and seen of in person are much bigger, prettier, friendlier, and actually go broody and supply a decent amount of meat as the breed should.

I bought 12 from a farmer who hatched his own birds from is flock in an incubator. I paid for 12 and he threw in 1. Lost one on day two. They other 12 made it, but 8 of them were cocks. One of the roos was cross-beaked. I ended up with one roster and four hens. I traded and sold the other roosters.  3 of the 4 hens wen broody by month 14 and hatched 4-5 chicks in the cold coop in early spring. The one roo I kept, was low man on the pecking order and I don't know if he ever crows or covers a hen. They are very nice looking and once they start laying, they do it well. No problems in the cold.

I had 2 of these guys, male and female. Male made a good dinner :) and my female golden laced lays quite well even in the winter. I call her my mother hen just because thats what she looks like to me.

I bought Silver Laced Wyandotte fertilized eggs in the mail (from across the country) and hatched myself. They are good egg layers, bear confinement well, winter hardy, and friendly. They are great because they also can be found in several varities (colours) and even in Bantam size. These were my first breed. Still one of my favourites.

I only have one SLW - bought from a breeder. She is stunning to look at, slow to mature, but she sure is breath-taking! I wanted a wyandotte because of their beautiful lacing, but they are extremely hard to find. We do not have hatcheries that ship them, so they must be imported stock and bred here. 

I haven't had any eggs from my girl yet, so that's why I am saying she is slow to mature. 

 The silver laced variety of the wyandotte was developed right here in new york in the late 1800's so I am a little biased I guess.  I also think that the silver laced are probably the prettiest out of all the varieties.  There are 17 varieties (colors) of the Wyandotte although not all of them are recognized.  The GLW was developed in Wisconsin around the same time.  They are friendly and for the most part docile. I would say that this is one of the hardiest chickens when it comes to cold weather.  They lay great through the winter and there rose combs are less likely to be frostbitten.  I would recommend this bird for everyone, beginner or experienced.  You wont be disappointed.

My golden-laced Wyandottes are gorgeous. I got them as pullets of indeterminate age from a craigslist listing. Without truly knowing how old they are, I still feel confident in saying that they were fairly slow to mature. I wonder if the season (late fall, early winter) delayed their maturation. Regardless, one of them has finally started laying and the other, I feel, will not be far behind. They are stunning birds, in my opinion, especially once they get their combs.

I have five SLW and they are all so nice. They are very sweet. Mine love to be around me. They have never pecked me (none of my chickens have) I cannot think of any cons. I am not completly sure who is laying at the moment. I have RIR and Speckled Sussex's and I am getting from 2-4 eggs per day from 10 chickens. In the Summer, though, we were getting 10 eggs a day. So at least in Summer, they are good layers. They are so pretty.

In conclusion, I would recommend these chickens for families, because of their sweet nature and good laying.

Note:

I do not have any roosters, and therefore do not know anything about their temperment

Another Note:

I live in New Jersey, so our Winters are very cold and they may not slow their laying if you live in a warmer climate.

This is my absolute favorite breed.  I own Blrw,Slw AND glw.

I love them alll.This breed are gorgous! Good mothers, and hardy in winter.

They lay pretty well but are also a bigger framed birds, so could be for meat to.

cool bird it would be good where i live because its super cold in winter and super hot in the summer coll looking bird too

Our Silver Laced Wyandotte has been the best at flight since she was a chick, making her "flightiness" even more literal.  She has to be coaxed down from a standard-height fence surrounding a portion of our yard and occasionally needs a rescuing from the neighbor's yard; if she had company that liked to join her on the fence she would definitely need watching.  Not the best at being held but her feathering is like nothing else in the flock, and the quality I think varies radically depending upon the breeder.  At 25 weeks, she's beginning to show signs of giving her first egg.

LOVE my GL wyandotte. It was -7 degrees outside and she was the only one of our birds walking around outside the coop (she also lays the biggest eggs out of our chickens!)

I got one blue laced red and two silver laced and they have exceeded expectations.   They have laid all winter in Montana in a coop without supplemental heat or light.   

They are not wicked or mean, but they are not naturally friendly like a brahma.   

Of all my LF birds, people comment on my gold laced wyandotte the most when it comes to beauty.  Whether gold or silver, they're simply lovely birds.  Mine is the least friendly of all my birds, and she can be a bully sometimes toward other (lower) chickens.  Because of this, I've been put off adding any more wyandottes, although I think SLWs are stunning.  She's a strong layer of medium sized light brown eggs, and is the only one of my original flock of LF to ever go broody, although only once so far.  I also have found her to be quite smart, although her intelligence generally hasn't been used for good....lol.  She is a hatchery wyandotte, so maybe that has something to do with her temperament???

Love my girls.

They are friendly, easy to keep, great layers and sweet.

My Golden Laced Wyandottes are very loud and very very very skittish.

even though in my experience wyandottes weren't the best layers nor the best broodies i would still buy them just for the fact that ive never had a pecking problem with them. meaning they have never pecked the new chicks ive added to my flock ever

Love him!

Fluffy is a standout in our flock of 30.  She's beautiful, her eggs are big, and she's so friendly!  She's easy to handle, she'll follow us around and let us pet her, and she loves to come in the house and nest on our laps.  She can sit there for an hour or more without being disturbed.

She's a joy to have!

I have two of these girls, and they are so fun to watch. They're very beautiful and sweet. Mine are still young but there breed will lay nice brown eggs.

I have silver, and gold laced along with Blue laced reds.  They are beutiful birds and I love to see them free ranging.  I see a big differnce in the three lines so I hesitate to judge them.  My gold laced are by far the best foragers and lay the largest eggs out of the three but they are the least friendly also.  My Blue laced seem to get crop problems and are not near as hardy I have lost three this winter and have not lost any other chickens, egg production is fair but there egss are on the smaller size..  My Silver laced are absolutely beutifull, they started laying first and are pretty consistent layers but there egg size is just a little larger then my one Hamburg hen.  I truly believe there is a huge differnce in the many lines of the birds.  My silver laced and Blue laced Roos where just nasty and had to go.  My Gold laced Rooster is about as layed back as I have ever seen not aggressive to chickens or people.

Very beautiful birds, and nice light brown eggs. I had a GL and I have a SL

The breed is lovely, as described on BYC, and what I'd hoped for when I purchased my first non-meat birds.  Whether golden-laced, silver-laced or white, all have been non-aggressive and great parents.  

My Wyandotte's (2 hens) are very sweet and  love contact with us. They like to be held and fussed over. They each give me 1 egg a day..

I bought just one Silver Laced to see what It would look like. The one that I got from Meyer must have not been breed right. Like a colombian rooster got in with the SLW hens. It came out with black dots on the end of the feathers instead of being laced. That one was a super friendly pullet though until I sold her.

I bought one colombian also and she came out with perfect markings but was so shy that I sold her also.

have 3 eggs in the incubator so hopefully in 3 weeks I have some wyandottes. 2 blue laced red eggs and 1 silver laced

After reading the reviews of others, I have to say that of all my hatchery chicks, she was the most friendly and docile. She also reveled in her role as the flock guardian. She would chase any cats that strayed into the yard, and was always on the alert for hawks and the neighborhood fox.  She was the only one who dependably layed an egg every day, despite the cold and the short daylight hours. I would highly recommend this breed to anyone.  BTW - I purchased my day-old chicks from Meyer's Hatchery in Polk, Ohio via mypetchicken.com. They have a great selection of rare and common breeds and can send as few as 3 chicks. 

She's a healthy bird, fat and sassy. Only a moderate layer, we get about three eggs a week from her, medium sized and light brown.

Not too friendly, she does not like people and is the only hen who won't come running and begging for treats

I picked up 2 Silver-laced Wyandottes in January, just because I love their markings! I was plesantly surprised to find out that they are also lovely birds. Gorgeous markings? Yes! But also, calm and friendly. Mine are at the bottom of the pecking order and still finding their way in my coop. I was worried that I was going to lose a hen yesterday as she off her feed, but she seems much better today. At are 25 weeks old and have not yet started laying. Hopefully soon!

This bird is a wonderful bird and they can be a little peckish some times.Good for residental becoause they do not make a lot of noise.I live in CXolorado and it can be realy dry and cold out here but the can with stand it and dont mind to much.I recomend that you should get it.

Standoffish with humans, but gets along with other hens. Usually lays smaller eggs, but sometimes double yolk. Very pretty.

These are great birds. Mine are very friendly and love to crawl up on my lap for a good petting. They are good with my young children too. 

I've only had 4 Wyandotte chickens and love(d) every one of them. My fattest hen right now is Girtrude my Silver Laced Wyandotte. She's big and bossy and is 2nd in the pecking order. She gives me 5 eggs a week and is always at the back door ready for some broccoli or some spaghetti noodles. She was broody when she arrived and hopefully she will again soon! This breed is on my top 15 favorites list :)

I also have 2 BLRW chicks who are just beautiful :)

We purchased two of these babies last year as our annual spring chicks; unfortunately lost one over the summer to a racoon, but the little runty one has grown up and made us proud with her first eggs this month!

great birds i have four and they are amazing!

My 4 silver laced Wyandottes are beautiful birds, who hang together, and definitely rule the roost. In fact, I think they even rule the rooster. I don't think they lay as many eggs as reliably as the red hens, and I am not raising them for meat, but they are a nice addition to the mix that we have now, just finishing up our first year with chickens. The current flock is 1 ornery mostly white rooster, 4 SLWs, 2 red mixes, 3 blue copper marans mixed with RIR, and the new babies are 3 RIRs and 2 Ameraucana/Araucana. So far, the Wyandottes win the beauty contest.

In this photo, Big Mama is claiming her role at the top of the pecking order on the day we introduced a roo who was only a month younger than she was.

Boy did I luck out!  I ordered 25 assorted pullets from Mt Healthy Hatchery mthealthy.com last spring.  My order by chance contained 5 GLW.  I have a noninsulated coop and my hens are free range.  I lost two of my girls to predation but the other three are real tresures.  "Gimpy" my 10 yo daughter's favorite, had a run in with an oppossum that she survived with a broken leg that we mended.  All of my hens are well feathered and beautiful!!!  I am hoping at least one of them goes broody this spring, since I have heard they are excellent mothers! 

I just purchased a Silver Laced Wyandotte pullet(: I'm not sure about the pros and cons yet but hear a lot of good things about this breed. I can't wait for my Wyandotte to grow up and lay eggs! (:

Our wyandottes have been solid, hardy birds, and good layers, despite their spicy temperament which I have grown to admire.  They use their tenacity to forage vigorously working hard.  They are stubborn when it comes to handling, but they always make up for it in the nest box.  I will always have a wyandotte in my flock.  Their plumage is also beautiful, and we have had no trouble through the winter.  They are proud birds.  We work and play with all of our birds, and I do not necessarily find them to be antisocial.  They are always near and do not mind being in close proximity, but prefer not to be petted/touched.

Very happy! 2 Silver Laced, 2 Golden Laced and 6 BLRW

They're so pretty! Mine is a silver laced- she lights up the flock! I got her as an adult, but her previous owner also spoiled her, and so she is super freindly. I would say Wyanodottes aren't naturally lap chickens like brahama's or silkies, but if you give them alot of attention and treats they're just as freindly as one!

I absolutely love having Wyandottes in our ever growing flock.  They have such beautiful colors and mine have all been very docile.  I have had Silver Laced, Golden Laced, and Blue Laced Red so far. Mine are very big birds and they lay about every other day.  I would highly recommend them !

I don't have a lot of experience with the wyandotte breed, and all of my girls are hatchery stock, but I do love my wyandottes, and will be getting more some day.

I currently have two blue laced red wyandottes, and they are sweet as pie. They are not as in-your-lap as my orpingtons. They are more of a regal look but don't touch kind of personality (except if you have treats, THEN you can touch all you want!). A bit independant, and definately food motivated! They will come "help" me with the gardening though!

Just like my other girls, they come running when I call them, and they will come sit on my knee should the mood take them. They are lovely eye candy, and very darling. Big, round, heavy birds who are a wonderful addition to any flock :) They forage pretty well for a dual purpose too!

Oh! And they go broody!

....at least mine do! ^.^ I haven't let her try to hatch eggs yet...I want to see how dedicated she is first. Maybe next time she goes broody, I will give her a shot!

I love my Wyandottes. Very pretty and friendly birds. Hope to get some eggs soon!

This are by far my favorite for plumage... I have a silver and a golden laced.  they are also very good at getting away from the predators around our house... can't touch all of them.

Amazing color variation. Great egg layer. All around great birds.

reliable layer year round beautiful to look at.  The lacing is striking

just bought two from a tractor supply store and they are four days old so far so good can't wait to see what happens

My Silver Laced Wyandotte is perhaps the most beautiful bird in my flock (though I think they are all lovely in their own way).  That said, she isn't as friendly as all of my friends' SLW's.  She doesn't peck any more, though when we got her (she was about five months old), she was quite peckish.  I don't think she was raised with a lot of human attention, though, because now that we spend time with them every day, she is much more tolerant of human attention!

She was the last to start laying--I felt like it took her forever!!  Of the four pullets we started with late last summer (an ISA Brown, a Black Australorp, a SLW, and a Barred Rock), she was the last to start laying---by months.  She didn't start until December, layed a week of pullet eggs, and then quit when the flock was attacked by a neighbor dog.  She didn't lay another egg until the middle of March.  Now she lays nearly every day.

She has the best self preservation instinct of all the birds...she flies right up into the nearest tree and then hops up to the tip-top of the tree until the danger (in our case a dog who lives across the street) leaves the vicinity.

This is my first time for chickens and have to have one of the these. This one is the most bossy and I have a very uneducated feeling she's a he. It's too soon to tell at 4 weeks... I think. Mine is the most outgoing of my four.

Our golden laced Wyandottes are our favorite birds.  One of them is highest in the pecking order and she follows us around everywhere and loves to cuddle.  Hand raised them from chicks, but as "teenagers" they started getting shy.  This is quickly corrected by picking them up every day after they start laying and doing the "stompy dance".  Then they warm right up to you again.  But that is my only complaint.  The eggs are awesome.  Beautiful, smooth, big and round and perfect for dying at easter!  They make the cutest little sounds - "Baw-baw-baw-baw."  (As compared with our RIR's which practically scream!)

I really like this breed for my particular area. They lay well year round. My girls laid all through winter (we get into the low single digits here) without supplemental lighting, and did not experience any frostbite to their pea combs. They didn't appear to mind the chilly temps in the least. Their temperaments are very social, we are fortunate enough that ours get to cruise the property daily and when we are outside they follow us everywhere and stick their noses in what ever business we are attending to. They are dominate birds with the other animals on the property. The cats run when the girls head in their direction and our dog (a Pit none the less) seems to embrace his position within the flock as lower than the chickens and is appreciative when the girls share their table scraps with him. Another great bonus with these chickens is the wide array of colors that they come in. I started out with just five Silver Laced and five Golden Laced. I ordered some Blue Laced Reds this year and am excited to see what those will turn out to be as they can actually be any one of three different colors Blue, Black or Splash. This is just a small sampling of all the colors available though. I did try to introduce a couple of full grown Welsummers this spring and the 'dottes were not very hospitable and still aren't a month later, so the Wellsummers will be finding a good home else where. Overall good duel purpose breed that will give you eggs, look great as yard art, and entertain you with their curiosity and antics.

After painstakingly researching every breed of chicken out there, I came to the conclusion that the Wyandotte is the chicken breed that has it all.

Good egg layers? Excellent

Enough meat on their bones? Definitely

Gentle and friendly? Yes they are

Cold weather hardy? One of the best

Pleasing to the eye? Every bit of breathtakingly gorgeous

Of course, every one of these characteristics are more important than the next. Sometimes all I care about is the stunningly beautiful plumage, but to be able to have the best of both worlds as far as production (eggs & meat), plus the added bonus of being able to show my love and affection to these sweethearts? They are so tolerant that they will fall asleep on my knees while I watch TV.

It took me years before I finally purchased my own flock. This is because I was looking to get a specific mix all at the same time; Blue Laced Reds, Golden Laced, and Silver Laced. My patience has payed off, because now I'm watching my beautiful birds grow and develop.

I recommend this breed to everyone!

I have raised Wyandotte Large Fowl and Bantam Wyandottes for a few decades now and have to say they are my favorite breed.  The beautiful curves of the Wyandotte accentuate the many color varieties that exist.  The oldest and most beautiful are the Silver Laced and there is good stock to be found from many breeders around the country.

I am currently only raising the LF Buffs and I really do enjoy them greatly.  They are very large birds with the females laying a medium sized lightly tinted egg.  I am also raising Silver Pencilled Wyandotte bantams for my 17th year.  They are a work in progress but are getting better each year.

Wyandottes are a great American Breed and a great addition to any flock.  

I do have to say there is a great difference between breeder/exhibition Wyandottes and those that come from hatcheries.  While they are great birds that lay very well, hatchery birds do not exhibit many of the qualities of true Wyandottes......mainly there size,shap and gentle disposition.  Hatchery males tend to be very aggressive as well.

Hope this is helpful information to all.

WyandotteTX / John

I bought 3 SLW's from a local farm store, they were supposed to be pullets but unfortunately only one turned out to be a pullet, so the roo's found another home.

So now I have 1 SLW, and 5 GLW's. I love these girls, and I love their coloring. They are just all around great chickens, and beautiful birds to boot! Looking forward to getting some BLRW's soon.

My slw's are only about 2 weeks old now.  They are cute little round fluff balls still.  Starting to get their wing feathers and tail feathers now.  Round little bodies.  They fall asleep standing up, then flop over....funny. 

I have five 1- year old Silver laced Wyandottes that I purchased from Cackley Hatchery.  They don't quite look like what a typical SLW should look like, but I'm truly not an expert.  All of mine have some brown on their tale and are more white than I expected.  The eggs that they lay are a very pale brown, to the point of almost looking white against my other brown eggs. Also, they don't lay a very big egg.. on the weight scale they are considered small to medium.

I sell all my extra eggs, but don't include these because they are so much smaller than my other eggs (barred rock, rhode island red, buff orpington). 

This our first year raising chickens & these gals are our least favorite of the bunch.  They definitely add a splash of variety within all the reds though.  They aren't aggressive, but friendly either & they're the hardest ones to get back into the coop after spending the day outside.  Fast little buggers!

Great with the kids,great egg layer even in Montana's cold winters.  They love getting free range time and have some of the best personalities I have seen.  Ours are Columbian Wyandottes.

I have raised the Silver laced, Golden laced, Blue laced reds, White, and Columbians and these in my opinion are at the top of the most beautiful production birds. Very human friendly, curious and great layers of large brown eggs. Very cold hardy and dependable layer.

I cannot say enough good things about these birds!