Can I see your Australorp and speckled Sussex HENS please?

[nuthatched]

Actually BOTH. LOL I find giant combs unattractive, AND we have WINTER here. And I am NOT going to have to baby them. Animals that need babied suck the fun out of it for me.

It gets down to the teens here in the winter and I've never had a problem with frost bite. Just don't keep water in the coop and make sure it's well ventilated. I like pea combs on hens, personally.
Breeder and show quality with have smaller combs. Cacklehatchery carries show lines for both birds, I believe.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

It gets down to the teens here in the winter and I've never had a problem with frost bite. Just don't keep water in the coop and make sure it's well ventilated. I like pea combs on hens, personally.

Some winters, in the teens starts feeling warm. LOL We also live in a "fog zone". (Cna have fog for days or a week at a time with NO break.) And some days the fog is SO wet, it feels like trying to breathe under water. (Me too. But it is SO hard to find "everything" I want in ONE bird! LOL)

 

[MGG]

Actually BOTH. LOL I find giant combs unattractive, AND we have WINTER here. And I am NOT going to have to baby them. Animals that need babied suck the fun out of it for me.

Haha! I figured. I'm not a fan of big combs either. We have weeks in December-January that never get above -20 so all of my birds are very cold hardy. Are you open to suggestions for other breeds? I find my Wyandottes and Brahmas to be excellent cold weather birds, esp. mixes between the 2.

Some winters, in the teens starts feeling warm. LOL We also live in a "fog zone". (Cna have fog for days or a week at a time with NO break.) And some days the fog is SO wet, it feels like trying to breathe under water. (Me too. But it is SO hard to find "everything" I want in ONE bird! LOL)

Yuck! Lol! I'm glad we don't get much fog here. I don't like it.

 

[JewelBirds]

My black Australorp and Speckled Sussex hens have regular sized combs. I have Leghorns too and they have huge combs. It gets cold here too in the winter, but only 2 out 7 of my Leghorns have ever had a problem with frostbite. One of them being the one with the smallest comb... ventilation is more important in my opinion for frost bite, although big combs don't help. But aesthetically I can understand that some people may not like the larger combs. These two breeds usually have normal sized combs and mine are very friendly!
Echo

Charli

Leia

Raven

 

[nuthatched]

Some winters, in the teens starts feeling warm. LOL We also live in a "fog zone". (Cna have fog for days or a week at a time with NO break.) And some days the fog is SO wet, it feels like trying to breathe under water. (Me too. But it is SO hard to find "everything" I want in ONE bird! LOL)

Ok, so what all do you want in a chicken? I've missed your threads narrowing down your choices. Many breeds sometimes have a pea comb line from people trying get to better colors.
Brahmas are good for the bitter cold, peacombs and feathered legs, calm, relatively quiet, good for eggs and meat. They're not known for free ranging but my rooster has zero issues.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

Haha! I figured. I'm not a fan of big combs either. We have weeks in December-January that never get above -20 so all of my birds are very cold hardy. Are you open to suggestions for other breeds? I find my Wyandottes and Brahmas to be excellent cold weather birds, esp. mixes between the 2.

Yuck! Lol! I'm glad we don't get much fog here. I don't like it.

I am. But I HATE fluffy legs too. LOL (Just not practical here.) I had considered Wyandottes. UNTIL I kept reading people saying their hens are kind of bitchy bullies to others. I do NOT do bully animals. I have gotten rid of several horses that were bullies. (I'm not talking about "top of the pecking order" animals. But ones that bully others for sport. Because it is "fun" for them and they CAN. I know chickens aren't horses. LOL But with horses it is NEVER the dominant one that is the bully. It is those in the "middle" of the pecking order that can be that way. I also want breeds that are known to go broody occasionally (NOT constantly. LOL) They need to be able to free range AND tolerate confinement well tooWe have cold winters and hot summers. (But VERY low summer humidity.) NOT white, red or tan. (Don't like those colors either. And I want large. (And no silkies or polish.) Basically I want a unicorn. LOL

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

Ok, so what all do you want in a chicken? I've missed your threads narrowing down your choices. Many breeds sometimes have a pea comb line from people trying get to better colors.
Brahmas are good for the bitter cold, peacombs and feathered legs, calm, relatively quiet, good for eggs and meat. They're not known for free ranging but my rooster has zero issues.

I typed out my main "wants" in the post above.

 

[nuthatched]

I am. But I HATE fluffy legs too. LOL (Just not practical here.) I had considered Wyandottes. UNTIL I kept reading people saying their hens are kind of bitchy bullies to others. I do NOT do bully animals. I have gotten rid of several horses that were bullies. (I'm not talking about "top of the pecking order" animals. But ones that bully others for sport. Because it is "fun" for them and they CAN. I know chickens aren't horses. LOL But with horses it is NEVER the dominant one that is the bully. It is those in the "middle" of the pecking order that can be that way. I also want breeds that are known to go broody occasionally (NOT constantly. LOL) They need to be able to free range AND tolerate confinement well too. NOT white, red or tan. (Don't like those colors either. And I want large. (And no silkies or polish.) Basically I want a unicorn. LOL

Yeah, you have very......specific wants for a chicken....
I've had zero bullying issues with my dottes, but I couldn't make a blanket statement across the breed. Neither can anyine else.
Chickens can tell who is the favorites in flock and they pick on the favorites or if they are the favorites, pick on others.

Ok, so not red, white, buff or tan, clean legged, small combs, cold hardy...
How about Dominiques?

Pardon me for saying, but you've kinda cornered yourself. Breeds that are good for cold are really fluffy, which isn't the best for free ranging since it's hard to run in a snow suit. Any preference on egg color? I'll give this some thought.

 

[MGG]

I am. But I HATE fluffy legs too. LOL (Just not practical here.) I had considered Wyandottes. UNTIL I kept reading people saying their hens are kind of bitchy bullies to others. I do NOT do bully animals. I have gotten rid of several horses that were bullies. (I'm not talking about "top of the pecking order" animals. But ones that bully others for sport. Because it is "fun" for them and they CAN. I know chickens aren't horses. LOL But with horses it is NEVER the dominant one that is the bully. It is those in the "middle" of the pecking order that can be that way. I also want breeds that are known to go broody occasionally (NOT constantly. LOL) They need to be able to free range AND tolerate confinement well tooWe have cold winters and hot summers. (But VERY low summer humidity.) NOT white, red or tan. (Don't like those colors either. And I want large. (And no silkies or polish.) Basically I want a unicorn. LOL

Good quality Wyandottes are almost never bullies. I've had a number of good quality ones, and they are so big and docile. I get mine from Meyer hatchery and from local breeders. TSC birds or other poor quality birds are turds. Every "Wyandotte" I've ever gotten from a feed store or from a crummy hatchery has been mean.
Here's my favorite girl from Meyer. She is a perfect bird. Broody in spring, but easy to break, (also a great mother) friendly and docile, heat tolerant, but very cold hardy, not overly fluffy, a great layer, and produces big chicks. She is my friendliest hen, her name is Bella.

I totally agree with not wanting aggressive birds.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

Yeah, you have very......specific wants for a chicken....
I've had zero bullying issues with my dottes, but I couldn't make a blanket statement across the breed. Neither can anyine else.
Chickens can tell who is the favorites in flock and they pick on the favorites or if they are the favorites, pick on others.

Ok, so not red, white, buff or tan, clean legged, small combs, cold hardy...
How about Dominiques?

Pardon me for saying, but you've kinda cornered yourself. Breeds that are good for cold are really fluffy, which isn't the best for free ranging since it's hard to run in a snow suit. Any preference on egg color? I'll give this some thought.

Don't care at all about egg color nor number of eggs. Mottled Java's are still in my top 2 (Along with Brabanters.) I've also thought about Barnevelders. There are breeds that aren't fluffy and are said to be very cold hardy. (Brabanter and Spitzhauben for example. But they don't check all of the boxes either. LOL) Like I said, I'm probably looking for a unicorn. But I know what I like and what I don't too. So I am trying to as much research ahead of time as possible. Rather than just running out and getting the first thing I see, THEN learning that they are a BAD fit. I'm also thinking I will get more than one breed. So I want breeds that aren't known to be too "bossy" to flock mates. (While also knowing that they are all individuals. And not every individual of a certain breed is like the breed is said to be.)