We sold our place in town and moved to an acreage this past year, I am very excited to get chickens and am happy I found this website to learn from! We are in the process of making our little barn ready for chickens and setting up a big run for them. Is anyone else on here from Canada, or north-western states where the climate is similar? Any recommendations for breeds that do well would be awesome!
Glad you joined us! One breed that I would recommend is the Wyandotte. Wyandottes have small rose combs and plenty of feathering, which makes them very cold hardy. They are also docile, great layers of brown eggs, and are readily available from most hatcheries/dealers. Plus, they come in many beautiful color varieties. Two other excellent breed choices for your situation are the Chantecler and Buckeye. Chanteclers were developed in Canada for the sole purpose of creating hardy dual purpose breed. As a result of their careful development, Chanteclers are well suited for cold weather, are good egg layers, and are very vigorous. Buckeyes are also cold hardy, with their small pea combs. They lay plenty of eggs, usually have good temperaments, and take care of themselves well.
Welcome to BYC! We're glad to have you. I would also recommend the Wyandotte. Mine have been great layers, cold hardy down to below zero temperatures, and great layers. They are also very pretty and come in many color varieties. Because of their rose comb and fluffy bodies, they withstand the cold well. As Bantamlover21 stated, Buckeyes and Chanteclers are good cold weather breeds. Some other good breeds include Brahmas and Ameraucanas. Be sure to pick a breed (or breeds) with rose combs or pea combs. Stay away from the Mediterranean breeds, like Leghorns, as they have large combs and wattles. They do better in the heat than in the cold. Good luck with all your chicken adventures!
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. I would recommend Black Australorps. I've raised them for years (along with dozens of other breeds), and they are extremely hardy. I've raised them where the winter temperature dropped down to 30 F below zero and where summer temperatures frequently reached 117-118 F (123 F once), and in both extremes they did just fine. They are also very calm and gentle (my children, and now my granddaughter, made lap pets of ours), and they are the best layers of the standard, brown egg laying breeds. A Black Australorp holds the brown egg laying record with 364 eggs in 365 days, and while none of mine have ever reached that kind of production (and likely never will), I've had a few of them lay over 300 eggs in a year. There are some quick reference charts you can use to research the various breeds at http://albc-usa.etapwss.com/images/uploads/docs/pickachicken.pdf, http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/breed-list.aspx, and http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html. Also, Murray McMurray has an excellent "chick selector" tool at https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chick_selector.html to help you determine which breeds are best for you. Just be sure and click on "show more characteristics." Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Whatever breeds you decide to get, good luck with your flock.
Hello there and welcome to BYC! You have been given some great advice here. We do have lots of members from Canada. Here is the Canadian thread if you want to do some chatting with your chicken neighbors...https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/144/canadians-check-in-here Great to have you aboard and welcome to our flock!
