Cold Weather Breeds

[militaryranger]

Live in Hannibal NY, very cold with lots of snow. I have 4 children so that being said I buy a lot of eggs. What breed of chicken is best for the colder weather? from feed to heating to anything I need to worry about when I have 10 feet of snow on the ground. I have 30 acres of pasture so is a open range bird produce a better egg? how many birds would I need? any helpful suggestions would be great. Thank you

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

If you are really concerned about the weather, then you want birds with small combs, like pea combs (like Ameraucanas, or Easter Eggers) or rose combs (like Wyandottes). When choosing the number of birds to get, you just need to remember that in the harshest part of winter when they are all closed up, you need at least 10 square feet per bird for large fowl...also, if you free range your birds you need to consider the number of losses you may experience due to predation. I do not free range my birds for this reason - the eagles would have a hay day. But I feed my birds a variety of things and they scratch up bugs, and I pull weeds for them, so their eggs are very "free range like"...

 

[bantyshanty]

You've got a lot of questions, rightfully so, but I think you'll find a lot of good answers by, first, doing some research on this site about your concerns, and, second, picking up a good book... it sounds like the book featured on this site would be good at this point:
"Raising Chickens for Dummies" , not to take offense at the title.
This book, I think, takes you through questions at the planning stage, such as,
.....how many chickens can I comfortabley take care of?
.....to heat or not to heat?
.....free range or penned? etc.

You can flip through the pages of the book virtually on Amazon.com. That's what I did.
There is also "Story's Guide to Raising Chickens", which is thorough, but not necessarily the book to read,

And a few different books on hobby flock raising, which you could also read through, or read reviews on, on Amazon.

Sounds like you have a good situation to start a flock! Make sure you have a safe, secure coop & run area before you have adult chickens,
unless you're prepared to keep them inside a lot. This from my experience.

Good luck!

 

[Backyard Hencam]

I'd like to welcome you. I can't imagine what you face in raising chickens in a cold winter climate. My advice is do a lot of research, be prepared before you buy your chicks, and have fun! People here with experience will be glad to help! Best of luck!