Best Cold Hardy, Snowing, Below Freezing, Laying Breeds?

[RhodeRunner]

Quote:
yes! it's true! and uncle of mine got some this winter and let them mingle with his barred rocks. he gets a darn good amount of eggs from them all year long.

Mine are terrible layers, I rarely get eggs from them even in the summer. But, I am thinking they are from a bad line, Tractor Supply Birds.

 

[wjallen05]

My Silver Laced Wyandotte lays every day. Most of my Leghorns lay every day as well. I have one EE that lays 3-4 days a week, and I have either a RIR or a Buff Orp that lays about every other day but I am not sure which one or if it's both. But I'd say my Leghorns and my SLW are the best winter layers.

 

[Mrs MIA]

My pure-breeds are being persnickety with the cold, but my barnyard crosses are still laying faithfully. The only pure-breeds that are laying consistently now in the winter are the ones that just started laying within the last month.

 

[CMV]

Don't forget Jersey Giants. Cold hardy and lay every day.

 

[BedHead]

I am marking this thread. I need very cold hardy breeds - last week it was -46C without the wind chill overnight here!!

 

[Keara]

My barred rocks have always been the best, one egg a day year around for 3yrs now! NHR and RIR have been good too but tend to stop laying at a younger age. My EE's stop laying in the winter, my mix breed banties slow down but don't stop (the problem is finding thier eggs). I am trying a silver hamburg this year but got her late in the summer and have not seen her lay her first egg yet. By the way I live in Vermont get lots of snow and it is 2 degrees today.

 

[Eggscoozme]

Hi Patti, I'm also in Michigan, west side. I've never been around chickens - this was ALL new to me. Chicken's home consisted of 5ft chain-link dog kennel (chain-link top, too), a place to roost was a closet bar and vertical, 1 shelf, bookcase. The inside of kennel lined w/ straw stacks, & tarp covered outside. Didn't know kind of chickens we had. One day came home to close coop as weather took a turn for worse & found our chickens right outside coop drenched from rain w/ wind-whipped feathers. Felt like worst chicken owner in world to let that happen (coop door flung shut...they were unable to get in)) Was certain they would die as chickens don't do well w/wind/rain. They survived just fine. Oh, they did not have a heater in coop, nor heated water (the pilgrims did not use all those things, so...) I gave them a cereal bowl of water in morning & night. Treats daily -plain yogurt, blueberries, scrambled eggs, and/or mealworms. NO medicated feed. Once in awhile, small amount of apple cider vinegar to water. Come winter, I put a battery operated small lantern w/them at night, but battery would die out an hour later due to cold. After having worked a 16hr shift, came home one night, the coldest night of the year at -30 degrees with wind-chill, certain they were dead, I peeled away the tarp, opened up the gate, and using flashlight, checked in on them. What I saw next was jaw-dropping....there, on the book shelf, where our hen Amelia would sit, was her first egg. Wow! She laid 5-6 eggs every week since! Green eggs. She was an Easter-egger & the sweetest girl ever. So, Easter-eggers are definitely Michigan cold hardy - as well as several other breeds I've since purchased: Buff Orpingtons, Wyandottes, Australorps, Barred Rock, and Light Brahmas. I do have a Show-Girl Silkie hen who did fine this past (first) winter. I was concerned because she does not have that water-resistant feathering like other chickens, and has NO feathers on her neck. At night-time, she just camps out in a nesting box .

 

[ctub0126]

Large fowl cockerel expansion lol. I was given 2 almost year old (already in lay) severely feather pecked rhode island reds, they continue to live and lay (yay!). I wanted a flock of Buckeyes, so this spring I bought 12 hatching eggs from a breeder and threw in an americauna (easter egger as the man's chickens were feed store hatchery stock) egg that a friend gave me. Out of those 4 were infertile/ didn't develop (2 detached air cells), one got mishandled by a 4 yr old (oops!), and two had what I call smooshy chick syndrome (developed but didn't hatch and 2 days after the last one hatched I opened the shells to find 2 chicks mostly developed but all smooshy). So I had 1 americana (easter egger) and 4 buckeyes............ need to work on my hatch rate. But I was thrilled. Two weeks ago 2 buckeyes got killed by a wild animal or dog. So I bought 2 black sex link/ maran crosses (they were already in lay, NPIP and $5 a piece, and i really want enough eggs to cook with!) from a local poultry show. So now i have 4 laying hens and 3 approx 5 1/2 month olds. Now comes the cockerel part. My son fell in love with the americana and I was almost certain I had a pullet........... then this month my pullet grew sickel feathers and got the pointy yellow neck feathers........ hello dana....... dang, Donald. The two buckeyes I have left now are getting the pretty green sickle feathers too........ has anyone had a female buckeye with a green tail? I am pretty sure I have 4 hens and 3 roos.............. time for soup! i will wait a little longer, but I really need some buckeye hens! I will keep the best of the buckeye boys and hopefully get hens this year......Will the rest of these chickens survive a Rochester, NY winter without heat?

 

[rktytorrn]

Mine are terrible layers, I rarely get eggs from them even in the summer. But, I am thinking they are from a bad line, Tractor Supply Birds.

I bought my birds from tractor supply in March this year and they are still laying. No problems. Buff Orpington they are.

 

[MILOCHICKEN]

Black Stars from mcmurrays or EE's