Best chicken breeds for cold?

[Going Quackers]

Ameraucana and easter eggers are really good for the cold. Not sure where you could find it online but often in some chicken magazines you can find breed profiles i have one that actually has a chart which lists whether the breed is cold tolerant and it's level of egg production, whether it's dual purpose etc.

Have to look up the mag for the exact title of it, pretty sure it's a Hobby Farm Magazine publication.

Yep. It is called Chickens, a HFM publication. Part of their popular farming series. Mine is older from last year, but i would guess a similar one maybe able to be located.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Henderson’s Breed Chart
http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

 

[lazy gardener]

Recommend pea and rose combed birds. Ditto What Ridge Runner said!!!

 

[Orp]

What a great chart! Thanks for the link. I have a Silkie in my kitchen for 3 days that I "rescued" from a neighbors collection of birds. It looked like it was on death's door in some of the worst of our bitter cold up here. She has revived and is quite sweet. (In fact, she's sitting on my lap while I type.) I have to return her though and the weather is still bad out there.

Any info on Silkie hardiness? My barn is quite drafty. I keep a heat light on for my Marans, Americanas, Guineas, etc. I really have to return her, not add her to my flock, even if it is "warmer" here.

 

[Northie]

People raise silkies up here but I'm pretty sure they heat the coop.

 

[Going Quackers]

We have silkies we do not heat them. Keys? good housing and we sweep back snow to keep that at a minimum since they have the fluffy feeties. Unless it's super nasty out they go outside, happily so...

 

[gander007]

The Russian Orloff is a cold weather chicken

And lays egg's of fair size

And is a good size bird

And can get up to 80 pounds

I mean up to about 8 pounds

We do very well as there is documented evidence of our
breed living and surviving in Siberia

And we do well in the hotter Clements too