Best cold-hardy and friendly breed?

[what did I do]

It got to -40°F this winter with a good wind. We had frostbite on a few combed but it wasn't as bad as it could have need. I think the coop has a lot to do with winter hardiness. It is important that the chickens can cover their feet with their body and moisture needs to be kept to a minimum.

I have a Buttercups rooster that did just fine. Buttercups are listed as not cold hardy.
I have an Egyptian Fayomi that was bothered the most by the cold. The Egyptian Fayomi is the only breed that I have had that I would not have in the bitter cold. The cold adgatated him so much more than the others. He did survive just fine but has a frostbite comb now.

My leghorns are remarkably cold hardy.

 

[Kleo]

Hi Lazy Gardener, We have 7 hens and one rooster. Someone gave us 3 of their barnyard chicks when their mother got killed (I really did not want more than my 5 Rocks) but she said she couldn't mix them with her flock because they were too small. One turned out to be a rooster. They were the same age but much smaller due to lack of care, she said. I have a very small coop really for 6 girls, but it is well built ...no insulation, no drafts with good high ventilation. You can see a bit of it in the background of my avatar. I really think the heat generated by so many birds helped keep them warm. I tried a red heat lamp but they hated it so only used it a few times. We did leave it running outside during the day in their greenhouse type pen to give them a bit of a break when out on a roost. They never spent their days in the coop because of it's size. In Feb. I found and bought a ceramic reptile bulb (that gives off no light) and put that one on when it was below 0. It really doesn't give off much heat but thought that it might prevent their combs from getting frostbitten. Some of them had gotten nipped earlier and Brewster the rooster had some damage with his big comb. I didn't notice any frostbite after the ceramic bulb overhead was used. You know how cold our winter was but like you say, I may have been warmer. I know one morning it was 16 below. The little barnyard girls would cuddle right into the fluff of the Rocks. I think they are a tough breed and did well with using very little heat late in the season. I must say they are treated like queens, eat like kings and look like small buffaloes. Big girls, they are! . What fun to watch! Hope that you find the right breed that works for you. Kleo

 

[lazy gardener]

Love Brewster's name! I have a great mix to work with, and am looking forward to the outcome. Last winter, we built a flower pot heater: It was a 100W bulb under a clay flower pot, with a base made of 2 x 4's to keep it up out of the litter. It was warm to the touch, but never hot. It may not have done much for them, but, it did make me feel better, knowing that there was that little bit of heat. My girls hardly ever spend time in the loft which is 3.5 x 8, and about 3.5' tall at the top of the dome. (it's a cattle panel coop 8 x 8 with the loft spanning the back half of it.) So, most of their time was spent milling around in the bottom part, and we added an other 4 x 8 section to the front as a "sun room". The entire thing was covered with tarp/plastic, and there's an inch of Styrofoam in the walls/ceiling of the loft.