Wyandotte

I have had a Silver laced pullet and rooster and have had a golden laced girl. The SL pullet, unfortunatly we didn't have her long because dogs attacked our first flock, she was very quiet but was very beautiful, a great bird for beginners. We also currently have a GL pullet and she is the exact opposite, she is a fiesty girl, one of the triple trouble we call them because they are trouble makers, getting into things, scaring off the poor cats that just want to be their friend etc.but we love her and she is friendly. But the SL rooster we have is agressive...he is only a cockerel but he picks on some of the hens a little too much and has attacked us a few times...but he is a beautiful rooster and protects his flock from danger! So in all, the girls are lovely and a very nice bird to have, great for beginners as well as seasoned chicken keepers and great for show!! But the roosters can be a little aggressive.

Cheap birds and amazing mothers! I have bantams and they are particularity broody and lovely birds!

My experience with Wyandottes started with a silver laced, who was absolutely gorgeous and the smartest chicken I owned. But, as I said above she was not wary enough of predators, and actually went straight up to the dog, who won't kill the chicks but is not completely trusted by me. She laid some beautiful eggs,though.
All of the Wyandotte chicks that I have bought have been very healthy, starting to fly on their first day and crying for attention. A wonderful breed overall.

Overall a great bird, very protective of his hens and is not aggressive. I have two hens and one rooster, and he will sometimes charge me. But only when I pick up one of his hens, and it is not in a aggressive way. He only ever charges when he is defending his hens against a possible threat (that being me).

I love my SLWs one, Whoms name is Gwen, sadly got killed by a hawk last January.But ow I have Raven, and I love her to bits and pices.The only thing is she lays tiny eggs and she is quit flighty.

I have had so many Arucanas throughout my experience with chickens, I have gotten to the point where I can't even recall all of them! The very first one we ever had was Chubby-Cheeks the 1st, the second, Rascal, the third, Chubby-Cheeks the 2nd, the next, Rascal the 2nd, and so on! And guess what? THEY WERE ALL ROOSTERS OR CAUGHT BY RACCOONS OR HAWKS!! ARGH!! Finally, we got one, (named Lucky for reasons you can guess,) and she has been a WONDERFUL hen! Super sweet, lets you hold her like a baby, and lays gorgeous eggs, and her wing pattern is very pretty! This is a great starters breed!

My 4 Gold Laced Wyandottes, (3 pullets, 1 cockerel) have amazing plumage, get along quite well with the other chickens, and although have not started laying eggs yet they are pretty close! Our Wyandotte rooster leans towards the aggressive side and is a bit rude, which is typical for a young cockerel, he sometimes follows after me but has never attacked me. The other 3 pullets used to be very shy and although they didn't panic when I got close they definitely did not like me near them, since they have grown up one of them lets me touch it and the others let me very close without giving any concern. Highly recommend, very beautiful and if kept healthy they will not disappoint.

I have had a variety of wyandottes, and I always will! They are a great duel purpose bird, consistent layers, will go broody, and make excellent mothers. They are intelligent, and quiet, very sweet. I have had problems however, with my blue red laced hens escaping. They come home, unless broody. They lay large amounts of eggs before brooding in my experience. When they have chosen to go broody, they hide their nests VERY well. They are generally predator aware and do well in a variety of climates.

We got five white Wyandottes from an auction. The original owner had kept them in wire cages, so their poor feet were bent and crooked. Not a problem, they could still walk fine, and mostly straightened after a few months in the yard. One I believe had had a broken toe, nearly twisted at a right angle. Excellent layers, nearly every day, although a few regularly had weak-shelled eggs. One of the five dropped an egg yolk inside her body cavity, weakened no matter what I tried, and I eventually had to put her out of her misery. They were extremely calm, but that may have been a result of their IQ. I watched these birds sit out in the yard while the rooster gave a warning call against a hawk. They didn't even move towards shelter. The rest of the flock at the time was Australorps, and they scattered. The Wyandottes would sit in their food dish, took forever (nearly 3 months) learning to go in the coop at night. Two of the five eventually learned to use the roost at night, but the rest either wouldn't or couldn't learn. On top of that, they were dirty. All five of them regularly had dirty bums. It seemed to cake in the feathers no matter how often I cleared it off. I hope they were simply poorly bred or a bad batch, as I would hate to think the whole breed is like that.

Out of the breeds I've tried (nearly 20), these guys have it all. While another breed might beat them in a certain area, when it comes to considering all factors, these claim the prize.

I love the laced colors! And this is the only breed that offers laced birds without leg feathers and special top knots. I also love their round, chunky shape and smaller tail. I don't care for the rose comb- I prefer a small single comb- but I can put up with that because of all their great features. It's wonderful that the hens beat the roosters for good looks!

Temperament has been excellent in all my birds. They are not flighty, but they are watchful, which is good when you have predators like I do. They are quick to recognize the hand that feeds them, LOL, and can become friendly if that is what you want. Smart- for a chicken- they can figure out situations quickly.

They excel at egg-laying, though for sheer numbers they are outclassed by a few other breeds. The eggs are good sized, and laid consistently. I have a Silver Laced hen who lays two days, then takes a day off; her only exception was a short period for molting. She's over two years old now and still just as consistent as ever. Some hens will go broody, and others won't. That seems more dependent on individual hens, though my Gold Laced tend toward being broody more than my Silver Laced.

Wyandottes are good at foraging. My chickens love taking off in the mornings for any succulent grasses they can find; but they are also dependable, staying close to the barnyard, and leading the flock back to the coop at night.

Meat quality is excellent, tender and lots of it. I can butcher my cockerels at 5 mths and still have a good amount of meat. Hens are also heavy birds, providing a good meat portion.

So this is my bird of choice. Everyone should have some of these all-purpose sweethearts in their flock for multiple reasons. However, I do want to say that there are slight differences between the types (colors) of Wyandottes and their qualities. I've worked with the Gold and Silver laced so far, and those are what I base this review on. I also think it is important that people understand that hatchery stock and breeder quality stock are vastly different. Hatchery stock tend to vary a great deal in looks and temperament, so always remember that when getting your birds.

I have a BLRW. She is a great layer! She lays large light brown eggs. She is friendly and quiet.

I loved our two sweet natured Silver Laced Wyandottes, I got them from a breeder and she begged me to keep them together, as they were sisters. Of course, I did, and both were enchanting as they would 'talk" to each other, and to us, in their distinctive way, "baaaaawwwkkk???". Always sounded like they were asking a question! However, one of them, " Sally", went broody when she was still a pullet, and hatched one chick, which she abandoned upon hatch. She's the only hen I have ever had that did that. She also did not live long. Frigg, our other one, broke my heart when she got sick a couple of years later and I could not save her. She never went broody at all. Sally's chick, Lil Orphan Annie, is a mixed breed, she has survived well so far and has all of the nice Wyandotte qualities; nice temperament. Of all three though, none seemed to lay as well as I expected. I would like to get more, but am a little hesitant, because, as I said, they did not seem to be very resistant to illness, although they were quite tolerant to cold.

We got into BLRW strictly based on looks, and they don't disappoint in that aspect. They are simply stunning when preening or walking across the yard. Fat, fluffy, elegant birds whose colors and patterns can't be beat. We recently had one go broody and she has been the sweetest, most dedicated mother you could imagine. I just love her.
They do lose a few stars in the practicality department. You see, they aren't really the best layers. From our breeding pens(4 hens in each) we only get an egg or two a day, sometimes no eggs at all, and these are pullets(9 months old). They also eat a TON. They are also a bit of a challenge to breed(maybe it's all the fluffiness) and need to have their feathers trimmed for-ahem-easier access. We raised our dottes in the outdoors and they were taught/expected to forage from the start, but they won't. They would much rather hang around the gate all day, waiting for me to bring them food. So, there go a few more points.
Despite all of the bad, I really do love them. They are sweet to the other birds and sweet to us. They aren't flighty, nor noisy, and are fun to watch. If you are looking for a chicken that will care for itself and be a good choice for homesteading, look elsewhere(ime), if you are looking for some lawn bling that will give your family a few eggs a week and give your guests something to ooh and aah over, then these are your birds.

Big hardy birds that are good layers. Not friendly in my experience.

I have a golden laced wyandotte pullet, who is easily the prettiest chicken in the yard. She is even friendlier than my silkie, and will follow me around, begging for treats. She is a clever little girl, and figured out how to slip through the coop barrier and into the yard (where she is normally forbidden.) Her name is Nutella, and is certainly as sweet.
We bring her treats from the house, and one day she decided it was her mission the come in. She succeed to get far as the living room, and there her trip ended, and was "escorted" outside. The next day she tried over and over again to come through the back door, only to be unsuccessful. I guess she figured she was shooting too high, and then tried to go on the deck, another forbidden place. I did not get a bit of work done!
But overall, Wyandottes are great birds!

This is our Sarah Vaughn. She came to us as a pullet and her BFF was a tiny little seabright name Ella Fitzgerald. There is no comparing the temperaments! Sarah's sweet nature made her picked on until she got a little older but now her size allows her to fend for the treats with the rest of the girls. and not get left out.. Yes, the seabright in her smallness was up the pecking order ladder from Sarah. Oddly, Sarah protected little Ella and Ella always shared with Sarah. Was a mutual admiration society and now nearly a year later they are laying and lovely to have in the flock

I have a Blue Wyandotte named Chanel (that should be self explanatory, the name defiantly suits her!). She lays daily and gets along with the other hens pretty well, except for getting picked on a little, she is so docile. Gorgeous. Great breed to have!

I have silver laced wyandottes. They are very friendly birds and get along well with the other birds . They do eat a lot and get fat. They lay pink eggs with white speckles on them. They are very pretty and have great temperament.

They have been an ok bird. Not bad not great either, although I have hatchery stock. With some work will improve in a few years. Medium maturity although one pullet was first to lay in the mixed flock. Not impressed with amount of meat the excess roos had on them but they were hatchery stock.

I had two gold laced hens that I loved to look at. They would run around and steal feathers off of other hens backs to the point of making them scream, bald backs, vents, and bloody vents. They even did it to each other (but not to themselves). It was like they couldn't help it-walking along, looking for food, and then suddenly "FEATHERS!!! NOM!!!". We tried everything from a higher protein diet to even MORE space, but in the end I gave up and I got rid of them to someone who fell for their looks with a full disclosure. I'm tempted to try anther strain, but it will probably wind up the same way so I'm sticking to what I've got left and avoid the mess.