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Wyandotte

The Wyandotte originated in the U.S. in the 1870's. Wyandottes were made in Massachusetts,...
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General Information

Breed Purpose
Dual Purpose
Comb
Rose
Broodiness
Frequent
Climate Tolerance
Cold
Egg Productivity
Medium
Egg Size
Large
Egg Color
Brown
Breed Temperament
Friendly, easily handled, calm, bears confinement well, quiet and docile
Breed Colors/Varieties
Golden laced, silver laced, colubian, buff, partrige, silver penciled, blue, and blue laced red
Breed Size
Large Fowl
APA/ABA Class
American
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The Wyandotte aka American Sebright, were developed in the United states in the 1870’s, in and around the New York area. The first color developed was the Silver Laced variety and they were originally called American Sebrights. The name was changed to Wyandotte (after the indigenous Wyandot people), when they were admitted into the APA in 1883. They were exported to Europe around the same time.

Wyandottes are a calm breed in general and have very nice temperaments. They are good with people and generally get along well in a mixed flock. They are decent foragers, though they do not tend to wander far and are not good flyers. They are extremely cold hardy. The hens are good layers of light brown eggs, good winter layers, will set, and are good mothers. The cockerels make a good table bird. Today they are an extremely popular dual purpose breed and very popular among small flock owners looking for a colorful winter layer.

They have a flat rose comb and bright red face. Today they come in many feather colors and patterns, with over thirty found in Europe, the beautiful Blue Laced Red and Silver Laced are probably the two most popular colors in general. They are very popular as exhibition birds. Many breeds have been used to produce the Wyandotte we know today, including Brahma, Cochin, Hamburg, and Plymouth Rocks. They are also found in bantam size.

It was removed from The Livestock Conservancy's Priority list in 2016 and is no longer considered endangered.

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Wyandotte egg

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Wyandotte chick

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Wyandotte juvenile

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Wyandotte rooster and hens

For more info on Wyandottes and their owners' and breeders' experiences, see our breed discussion here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-wyandotte.1135563/
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Latest reviews

DuckSoup
Nicest bully you'll ever meet
Pros: Cold weather tolerant; extremely friendly toward people; good looks; good egg production.
Cons: Bully each other; strong pecking order; can get noisy.
Beautiful birds. They tend to bully one another, but are extremely friendly toward people. They are plump birds with lots of feathering and have done great in cold weather (Montana). They can get a bit noisy, but are generally quiet. Not as intelligent, good at foraging, or egg production that Dominques were.
Purchase Date
07/2024
Fluster Cluck Acres
Fiesty, fun, & noisy
Pros: spunky personality
they keep maturing cockerels in line
healthy
intelligent
eggs have a pinkish bloom
Cons: hens are noisy
they can be bullies to more submissive birds
hard to handle
cute fluffy bums get messy
This review is based off of my 5 Wyandottes compared to other breeds that I have had more than one of (Barnevelders, Marans, Orpingtons, Hybrids, RIRs, & Bielefelders). There does seem to be some variance amongst color varieties. My silver & gold laced birds are most similiar in personality. My blue laced red had some commonalities with them, but my lavender has NOTHING in common with the other 4.

My wyandottes are spunky birds who are always around seeing what you're up to. They are personable, inquisitive, and enjoy being around people. However, they are harder to touch/handle than other breeds.

The hens are LOUD when they are displeased with something (another hen in the nest box or getting fed nonpreffered treats). They make a distinct sound that is different from other breeds I've had. Even the mix-breed offspring of my SLWs make this noise. I find it amusing, but in a residential setting it might be problematic. Interestingly, there egg song is not that loud. It's mostly just when they're complaining.

They are a dominate breed and don't back down in a fight. They can be bullies and are less tolerant of submissive or easily victimized birds (young birds, birds in recovery, molting, etc...). They are a good flock fit if you don't have any particularly "needy" birds in your flock. They also really keep young cockerels in line. They do not put up with hormone driven antics and will defend the other hens from these cockerels. In these situations I find the wyandotte hens to be more protective of the flock than the mature roosters.

My Wynadottes have not had health problems compared to my other breeds. I also believe they are more intelligent than my other breeds. They are intuitive and seem to figure things out that the other birds can't. They are resilient and adaptable birds. Their personalities are so strong that I see it come through in mixed breed birds that are only 1/2 and 1/4 wyandotte.

Lastly, I find the eggs of wyandotte (and mixes) to have the richest yolks. I don't know if this is a breed thing or an indication that they're better foragers, but their yolks are delicous.

*MY BLRW was less personable than the Silver & Gold. She was only loud when singing her egg song. She was such a bully that she is no longer with us. My lavender wyandotte I'm pretty sure is just a lavendar orpington with a shaved down comb, lol. She's 100% different from the laced varieties.*
Purchase Price
$4-$18 as chicks
Purchase Date
I've gotten a few over the years, 2019-2023.
talkinboutchickens
Pros: very sweet, great personality, fantastic with other chickens
Cons: none
My little hen Vicky was so sweet, she had a special bond with my black sexlink Winnie. They did everything together. Vicky had a lot of personality. She was kinda overweight either that or her legs were just far apart at birth.
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I'm not really sure how many eggs she laid because the color of her eggs were the same color as all the rest of the eggs.
Purchase Price
$4.00 at a local breeder
Purchase Date
March 2019
Read more…

Comments

Honora
I think they get to be fairly big. My pullet here is 1.89 kg but she is not done growing yet.
 
Diannastarr
yes i totally agree, wyandotts are great birds, I have 7 SLW, i was wondering if the color difference made for a difference in temperament, between the 2 colors...? do they get along well...? did you find any difference in temperament...?between your SLW & your CW...? i wanted to get a few Colombians, but wanted to keep the harmony that we have within the SLW group we have now, but i always wanted some Colombians, they are such pretty birds....!!!! take care have a good one Dianna :)
 
jtn42248
Mine get along fine. They were chicks together so that may be why. But I have the two colors of wyandottes, both partridge and barred rocks and blue andausians all together and they have no problems at all. The columbians are beautiful but they do tend to get dirty in the west texas dust. they shake it off pretty well though.
 
Diannastarr
o wow im in Bisbee AZ right next to NM so we are almost neighbors.....lol.. so thanks neighbor...! & wonderful thank you sooo much for your help , sooo next time we get a few more chicks or some fertile eggs if i can find some...? we will be getting some colmbian wyandotts....!!! my goodness I cant wait....!!!! its sooooooooo egg-citing.....lol... take care & thanks again have a good one Dianna :)
 
Turk Raphael
Please don't be too quick to judge your Wyandotte. Her production may jump up to rival your other breeds and she will very likely have a different perspective of the cockerel when he is mature. They are beautiful birds that can produce eggs long after others have cashed in their chips.

Enjoy them!!!

Turk
 
Springermom
I'm hopeful their production will increase and it's good to hear about the longevity. I haven't given up on them, enjoy them as part of my flock and appreciate the input.
 
Pressman
Since you have raised Wyandottes for many years I have a question I need help with. I have Golden Laced, they are 7 months old and have been raised on Purina feed, first crumbles, then pellets, then both free choice. Two weeks ago they quit eating and we are hitting 10 degrees below zero! I can't get them to eat anything in any quantity! They won't touch their pellets or crumbles. They will eat a small amount of scratch which I only got to try because they quit eating. I have tried mixing cottage cheese and yogurt in their crumbles and they just pick at it a little bit. Cooked a pumpkin and oatmeal for them, just picked a bit. I'm desperate! They are losing weight though they are acting completely normal otherwise. The only thing they would eat as much as I would give them are meal worms! And I only used those as a treat. Any ideas would be so appreciated. Everything I read says they have to eat lots of food and water in cold weather to stay warm. Help!
 
Lilorp14
how young are they if they are under a year than it might be mariks (i probably spelled that wrong) disease. if thats not the case and they keep this up then you might have to take them into your garage(if you have one) or house in an emergency to keep them warm.
 
Pressman
They are seven months old and have none of the symptoms of Meriks. I may have figured it out - they refused to eat the poultry grit and I was out of chick grit and the snow had covered up their sand. I dug their sand troughs (used for bathing) out of the snow and refilled them. They were using the sand for grit and they dove in. They ate some spinach, cabbage, scrambled eggs and cottage cheese mixed in their crumbles tonight. I hope they start eating their crumbles and pellets now that they have something in their crop to grind it up.
 
song of joy
Is your review specially on silver-laced wyandottes or have you had other varieties? I had two golden-laced wyandottes that were docile and beautiful, but not particularly good layers. They laid 2 to 4 eggs per week, and stopped laying around 2 years of age. I've heard that silver-laced wyandottes are very good layers, though.
 
jtbass2756
I don't think you can go wrong with wyndotte hens.....when mine began laying,,,she began to be a talker! Two yrs coming up..all 4 in that coop went thru a molt and then the cold weather sat in.....all these hens have dropped their production,
 

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Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
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Views
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Reviews
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Last update
Rating
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