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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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Reactions: Raven1981, Ladybird CA, PioneerChicks and 19 others

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

alibabba
love your review! We have one, she will come a runnin' when we go out, every time! It's delightful. She could easily be trained for tricks if we wanted to, she is that food motivated. Circus Chicken???? LOL
 
Diannastarr
hi hens rule, I totally agree , my silver laced wyandotts I have 7 just a year old the end of may , they are very social and funny little ladies , they entertain us all day, they lay with out stopping all winter, and are easy to train.....lol... mine all come in the kitchen every morning for treats, they are sooo cute....lol...we love having them around & usually I make them pan cakes ....lol...or scrambled eggs in the morning.....lol... they love that , we just ordered more wyandotts from my pet chicken, but Colombian wyandotts this time , they are sooo beautiful , I cant wait for them to arrive .....lol....
 
ceceuu
I love your comment, trouble-free, healthy bird. This is a great summation of my experience with my Golden Laced Wyandotte. She is a low maintenance girl even though she is very beautiful. Visitors to my flock always think she is the prettiest in my mixed flock of 8. She is not one to approach me for attention but tolerates handling. Good layer of large pale beige eggs, some have an almost pink hue. I like having her in my flock.
 
cassie
I have 8 Columbian Wyandotte hens. They are pretty but when I replace them it is going to be with a different breed. This is their second year. They laid fine the first year until they went into a molt. They haven't laid worth a hoot since and it has been long enough that they may be ready to start molting again. Out of eight hens if I get four eggs I am delighted.
 
NaniChicken
Good to hear, i hoped i wasn't a failed parent".. three Silver Lace Wyandotte.. of my 7 girls", they are the grumpiest , assertive, least human friendly .. although my 2 black sexlink are bigger and a week younger.. the "Wyandotte pulled out all , of poor Piggy's" tail-feathers, when they were teens, and now laying.. the Wys go for my Sweet Sussex neck feathers randomly when sharing treats. Good thing Wys are so beautiful.
 
MumsHens
My Mum has two Wyandotte bantams. A silver Laced one which is beautiful but not tame as yet and a bit flighty. then there is Martha Cecilia (pictured) who is a Columbian Wyandotte Bantam. she is a lot friendlier and very cute. My great niece wanted to call her cloud "because she looks like one". Neither of them are laying yet and I suspect they won't until the spring as they are quite young. I love the Wyandotte profile.
 
dfalchek
With backyard flocks, friendliness to people is an important criteria I will not discount. (As is broodiness) I don't fault my SLW for being restless when held, but the observations in the review reflect my own -- a bully in youth, broody as an adult, not the best layer, but beatiful and chatty.
 
MagpieDucks
I have 2 wyandottes. A golden laced and silver laced. I think you should add that they are not the most disease resistant i use to have have 3 silver lace's now i'm down to one!
 
Garjzla
Really? They did that? Man!
My wyandotte hen (black) is the sweetest thing to me and she's not bossy or rude to the other hens. Some chickens are just like that, they're different from the others. On my page there's a picture of her, her name's Lucy, and she's never pulled a feather out of anyone. (Except for one of my roosters, because he would breed with her and that'd make her mad, so she'd pull a feather or two out of him and chase him around, but nothing too bad.)
 
Garjzla
Really? Hmm. Lucy's about a year old (more or less) and she hasn't had any mites, sicknesses, or anything like that. The worst any of my chickens have had is a yeast infection, though it's not really a disease and it was easily gotten rid of in about a week, plus it was my barred rock named Latte.
 
rachelsflock
Lol, maybe mine were just perpetually mad at everybody :) Although it seemed pretty compulsive. Maybe I will try again someday. Did you get yours from a hatchery or a breeder?
 
Garjzla
I got mine from a farm store. She was an adorable chick, she had many white spots, but she ended up being pure black.:) She never had trouble with the others, actually, she was the easiest chick to care for. Never had to clean her behind, not once!
I'll defiantly get more if I have more space.
 
goofychickens
I have a sex link who is like that. But anyway, please try silver laced Wyandotte's.I have one and she is the sweetest little thing. She is beautiful. When all of the other chickens are eating(she is lowest in peck
order) and I am watching she will walk up so close to my legs that her breast touches them and go softly "bauk bauk bauk?". Then I give her some food alone. I did a review for this breed and rated her 4.5 stars.(she's not laying yet)
-Goofy
 
chickenshiha
I have SLW the best that I could wish for low in peck order follows mw everywhere shes the one in the profile pic still 4 months old
 
atief1253
They lay pink eggs? I have a silver wyandotte also and she lays brown eggs. They are pretty
 

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Category
Chicken Breeds
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Views
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Reviews
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Rating
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