Reviews by RuralVirginia

We have had 8 Silver-Laced Wyandottes as part of our flock. These birds are very attractive, good at handling both hot and cold conditions, and pretty good layers! These were some of the birds we originally chose to make up our first flock (half Barred Rock and half Silver-Laced Wyandotte). They were/are great birds, but there is something peculiar I would like to mention in case anyone is considering "free-ranging" them. These birds are a prime selection for predators (mostly dogs)! Out of the 33 chickens we've owned in the past few years, we have lost 8 Silver-Laced Wyandottes to predators, and those 8 have been our only losses to predators. We had 7 Barred Rocks (same age, similar size, and similar coloration) and 1 Black Australorp out with the Wyandottes during the "massacre", but our other birds were smart enough to get back in their coop, fly into small shrubs, hide-out in our garage etc, except for the Wyandottes! I have one remaining Wyandotte from the "massacre" that I still allow to free range with the flock in the evening, but I just thought it would be worth it to mention that these birds seem to get picked on by predators more than any other breed I've owned. To end on a positive note, these birds our a very good breed, but my recommendation for new flock owners or people trying to expand their flock is that they should be extra cautious when free ranging.

I'm hesitant to write this review and speak for the whole breed, but Jemima, our Black Australorp, has been amazing! She was the first of our chickens to start laying, and the last to stop during the winter. One thing I noticed, but since we only have one it might just be the individual personality, is that she is shy and doesn't appreciate being pet or picked up. This isn't really a problem to me, but I thought I should just get it out there in case it's an issue to someone else. We actually didn't order her (she came as an extra with some Barred Rocks from a hatchery), but I'm glad they sent her and will definitely order more in the future.

Right from the start these birds were the friendliest. As chicks they were the only breed that would run towards your hand. All four of them have distinct personalities and physical appearances. They all lay very well too! One of the cons of this breed, that I've experienced, is that they often go broody. We own Barred Rocks, Wyandottes, Australorps, and Easter Eggers, but the only birds that ever were broody were the Orpingtons. In fact we have one Orpington, (Pam), that is almost perpetually broody. For some folks this might be a good thing, but for us it's not because we don't even have a rooster! One of the other problems I've had is that they aren't very heat tolerant. We have very hot and humid Virginia summers (sometimes upwards off 100 degrees) so we need good heat tolerant birds. Unfortunately we expected the Orpingtons to handle the heat as well as our Barred Rocks, but they didn't and we lost our biggest Orpington (Bertha). Now we have invested in a sprinkler cooling fan that works wonders, but heat is definitely something you should consider before buying an Orpington. Overall they are a great breed, but having a broody streak and a lack of natural heat tolerance they would not be my first breed recommendation to new or existing flock owners. To end on a higher note, my favorite birds in terms of personalities are definitely the Orpingtons!

These birds have been the easiest I've ever raised! They lay large brown eggs almost every day and are friendly and docile. When we had encounters with predators, strangely enough we never lost a Plymouth Barred Rock, even though they had an equal ratio with another breed that was taken out all except for one. I would recommend this breed especially to first-time poultry owners, but is a great bird all around if your not looking for anything too exotic.