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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

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
A
Least favorite of my small flock
Pros: Decent enough layer
Cons: Prone to lay outside nest box (dropped from roost or in run)
Strong membrane makes cracking eggs messy
Not particularly friendly (esp. compared to Golden Comet)
Two of our six chickens - our first batch, now reduced to five by a sudden death - are silver-laced Wyandottes. I much prefer our Golden Comets and our Olive Egger. The Wyandottes are “OK” but I only use their eggs when I don’t care about unbroken yolks as they’re likely to break getting the egg out of the shell. I’m also getting tired of checking the run to make sure I didn’t miss an egg there. When we replenish our flock we’ll be getting something else.
darkbaysfordays
Pros: Beautiful, bold, friendly, good egg layers.
Cons: Don't necessarily blend in with their environment very well.
Wyandottes are a perfect size and have a great disposition. They are friendly and lay a good amount of eggs.
Purchase Price
$3.95
Purchase Date
April 17, 2020
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Comments

Dmontgomery
We have a very large flock of between 80-100 birds total. Fortunately we have only 5 Silver Laced Wyandottes. They have been by far the least friendly breed we’ve ever raised. They are the only ones who will actively harass mother hens with young chicks. Even our guineas respect broody mommas with young chicks, but the Wyandottes seem to go out of their way to actually chase chicks away from food. They don’t just give them a gentle peck on the head like most hens do, they will pursue them violently until the mother hen can rescue the chicks. In watching their interactions with the other adult birds, it appears they are pretty low on the pecking order, so I assume they feel the need to dominate somebody, and the chicks are the only ones they can physically handle. Although they are good layers, I wish we had never got them.
 
sassypants123
My little Fritta Bobitta is a SLW. She stays close to the flock and loves to cuddle. When she gets distracted by a bug or something and the others wander too far from her, she will put on a great show of catching up with the rest of the girls.
 
Ribh
P1110367 (2)

P1110367 (2)

Wyandotte bantam.
I have Wyandotte bantam. Very calm, docile bird easily handled. Not flighty @ all. Happy to stay in the large coop run but equally happy in the large open run. Despite her size fits in well with my standard birds
 
MichelleT
I have only one Wyandotte (GL) in a mixed flock.
PROS:
*Great layer (at 14 months old) - lays 5-6 eggs/week
*Beautiful!
*Good eye for danger (I have 7 adults and 4 pullets and she is one of the first to sound the alarm at any perceived or real danger)

CONS:
*Loud. We have no problem with this, actually, but if you have close neighbors it could be an issue. She does her song when she lays, when someone else lays (and then she gets the whole flock going), when she wants to lay but someone is in "her" box, etc. You get my point.
*Stand-off-ish: Again, I have no issue with this - I didn't expect lap pets with chickens, but she isn't particularly bonded to any of us like the others are.
*Bully: this is my only issue with her. Our 4 pullets are 10 and 12 weeks old and she is the only one that seeks to cause them terror. The others (6 breeds in all) either leave the youngsters alone or give them a peck if they're in the way, but that's it. She goes out of her way to chase and peck them. I'm working on keeping her busy with other things so she doesn't notice them as much.

WOULD I GET ANOTHER WYANDOTTE:
Probably not. I like my other breeds better.
 
B
I have a Silver Laced Wyandotte and a Blue Wyandotte. My Blue (Dorothy) is the sweetest thing in the world. She runs to greet me before any other pullets every morning and she won't go up to roost at night without a nighttime cuddle first. My Silver Laced Wyandotte (Sophia) was the first of my flock to start laying, around 21 weeks. She prefers not to be petted and handled, if she can help it. My Buff Orpington is far more aloof. I had a Blue Laced Red that turned out to be a rooster. Sweet with humans, rough with the pullets, so I had to give him away. Sophia was his favorite, and now that he's gone, she's warming up to me more. I love my Wyandottes and will be going back for more Wyandotte chicks in the spring.
 
HamletAndEggs
I agree with MichelleT. I have two Wyandotte hens (Silver-Laced and Columbian) and while they are beautiful, good layers and no problem for us as their keepers, they are both bullies in the coop and run. Of course someone has to be at the top of the pecking order, but they are dominant enough that I have to make accommodations for routine tasks/chores.For example, if I want to give the flock a fresh produce treat I need to put out at least 3 “stations” (I use hanging baskets) because if I just put out two, each of these girls will each commandeer one for themselves and peck the others away. I’ve even added a small wall feeder INSIDE the coop so that the Faverolles and other lower-ranking birds can eat in peace. I don’t dislike them, but prefer many other breeds. Dominiques, Speckled Sussexes, and Welsummers are at the top of my list currently.
 
Possum chicken farm
HamletAndEggs said:
I agree with MichelleT. I have two Wyandotte hens (Silver-Laced and Columbian) and while they are beautiful, good layers and no problem for us as their keepers, they are both bullies in the coop and run. Of course someone has to be at the top of the pecking order, but they are dominant enough that I have to make accommodations for routine tasks/chores.For example, if I want to give the flock a fresh produce treat I need to put out at least 3 “stations” (I use hanging baskets) because if I just put out two, each of these girls will each commandeer one for themselves and peck the others away. I’ve even added a small wall feeder INSIDE the coop so that the Faverolles and other lower-ranking birds can eat in peace. I don’t dislike them, but prefer many other breeds. Dominiques, Speckled Sussexes, and Welsummers are at the top of my list currently.
Click to expand...
My silver Wyandotte is also a bully. I call her the "mean girl." LOL
 
Carol McLaine
I have a gold laced wyandotte chick that is a little over a month old now. It is started to grow wattles. Is this a breed where that could happen to a pullet that young, or do I need to change her name and start preparing for another roo?
 

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Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
Super Admin
Views
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Watchers
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Comments
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Reviews
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Last update
Rating
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