Wyandotte

I got one blue laced red and two silver laced and they have exceeded expectations. They have laid all winter in Montana in a coop without supplemental heat or light.

They are not wicked or mean, but they are not naturally friendly like a brahma.

This is my absolute favorite breed. I own Blrw,Slw AND glw.
I love them alll.This breed are gorgous! Good mothers, and hardy in winter.
They lay pretty well but are also a bigger framed birds, so could be for meat to.

Our Silver Laced Wyandotte has been the best at flight since she was a chick, making her "flightiness" even more literal. She has to be coaxed down from a standard-height fence surrounding a portion of our yard and occasionally needs a rescuing from the neighbor's yard; if she had company that liked to join her on the fence she would definitely need watching. Not the best at being held but her feathering is like nothing else in the flock, and the quality I think varies radically depending upon the breeder. At 25 weeks, she's beginning to show signs of giving her first egg.

I have five SLW and they are all so nice. They are very sweet. Mine love to be around me. They have never pecked me (none of my chickens have) I cannot think of any cons. I am not completly sure who is laying at the moment. I have RIR and Speckled Sussex's and I am getting from 2-4 eggs per day from 10 chickens. In the Summer, though, we were getting 10 eggs a day. So at least in Summer, they are good layers. They are so pretty.

In conclusion, I would recommend these chickens for families, because of their sweet nature and good laying.

Note:
I do not have any roosters, and therefore do not know anything about their temperment

Another Note:
I live in New Jersey, so our Winters are very cold and they may not slow their laying if you live in a warmer climate.

My golden-laced Wyandottes are gorgeous. I got them as pullets of indeterminate age from a craigslist listing. Without truly knowing how old they are, I still feel confident in saying that they were fairly slow to mature. I wonder if the season (late fall, early winter) delayed their maturation. Regardless, one of them has finally started laying and the other, I feel, will not be far behind. They are stunning birds, in my opinion, especially once they get their combs.

The silver laced variety of the wyandotte was developed right here in new york in the late 1800's so I am a little biased I guess. I also think that the silver laced are probably the prettiest out of all the varieties. There are 17 varieties (colors) of the Wyandotte although not all of them are recognized. The GLW was developed in Wisconsin around the same time. They are friendly and for the most part docile. I would say that this is one of the hardiest chickens when it comes to cold weather. They lay great through the winter and there rose combs are less likely to be frostbitten. I would recommend this bird for everyone, beginner or experienced. You wont be disappointed.

I bought 12 from a farmer who hatched his own birds from is flock in an incubator. I paid for 12 and he threw in 1. Lost one on day two. They other 12 made it, but 8 of them were cocks. One of the roos was cross-beaked. I ended up with one roster and four hens. I traded and sold the other roosters. 3 of the 4 hens wen broody by month 14 and hatched 4-5 chicks in the cold coop in early spring. The one roo I kept, was low man on the pecking order and I don't know if he ever crows or covers a hen. They are very nice looking and once they start laying, they do it well. No problems in the cold.

I only have one SLW - bought from a breeder. She is stunning to look at, slow to mature, but she sure is breath-taking! I wanted a wyandotte because of their beautiful lacing, but they are extremely hard to find. We do not have hatcheries that ship them, so they must be imported stock and bred here.

I haven't had any eggs from my girl yet, so that's why I am saying she is slow to mature.

I bought Silver Laced Wyandotte fertilized eggs in the mail (from across the country) and hatched myself. They are good egg layers, bear confinement well, winter hardy, and friendly. They are great because they also can be found in several varities (colours) and even in Bantam size. These were my first breed. Still one of my favourites.

I had 2 of these guys, male and female. Male made a good dinner and my female golden laced lays quite well even in the winter. I call her my mother hen just because thats what she looks like to me.

I got myself 10 Silver Laced Wyandottes from Murray McMurray hatchery years ago with a huge order of many other chicks, and, I was quite excited for these birds, but honestly I was expecting more. They weren't huge and fluffy as I hoped, their lacing wasn't much of "lacing," and what honestly had me disappointed was their personalities. The best is talkative, the worst is just downright unfriendly to both people and other chickens. They love to huddle into their own "gang" of Wyandottes, separate from others, but even bicker among each other. They were very hardy gals and very resistant to whatever came their way. They were good layers, too, but not of big eggs.

Now, these were hatchery Wyandottes though. I'm sure non-hatchery stock as I've heard and seen of in person are much bigger, prettier, friendlier, and actually go broody and supply a decent amount of meat as the breed should.

I have raised the Silver laced, Golden laced, Blue laced reds, White, and Columbians and these in my opinion are at the top of the most beautiful production birds. Very human friendly, curious and great layers of large brown eggs. Very cold hardy and dependable layer.

I cannot say enough good things about these birds!

Great with the kids,great egg layer even in Montana's cold winters. They love getting free range time and have some of the best personalities I have seen. Ours are Columbian Wyandottes.

I have raised Wyandotte Large Fowl and Bantam Wyandottes for a few decades now and have to say they are my favorite breed. The beautiful curves of the Wyandotte accentuate the many color varieties that exist. The oldest and most beautiful are the Silver Laced and there is good stock to be found from many breeders around the country.
I am currently only raising the LF Buffs and I really do enjoy them greatly. They are very large birds with the females laying a medium sized lightly tinted egg. I am also raising Silver Pencilled Wyandotte bantams for my 17th year. They are a work in progress but are getting better each year.
Wyandottes are a great American Breed and a great addition to any flock.
I do have to say there is a great difference between breeder/exhibition Wyandottes and those that come from hatcheries. While they are great birds that lay very well, hatchery birds do not exhibit many of the qualities of true Wyandottes......mainly there size,shap and gentle disposition. Hatchery males tend to be very aggressive as well.
Hope this is helpful information to all.
WyandotteTX / John