High from the western slope, new to Backyard chickens

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Coloradan

Coloradan

In the Brooder
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Aug 10, 2015
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Western Colorado
Hi, I am new to chickens and live in the western part of Colorado around 7200 ft elevation. We do get snow and sometimes it stays till spring, I am looking for any and all suggestions regarding your experiences with cold hardy layers. I live in the country and most of my neighbors have chickens year round, and yes I have spoke with them, very informative but I am interested in heritage or rare breeds that are broody and good layers. What breed have you had the best luck with? Thanks for reading.:D
 
As a rule chickens can withstand cold much better than heat. A friend raises Chanticleer's in Canada and says they originated there as a breed to handle harsh winters. They have a very low comb that is not subject frost bite damage. Breeds with big, single combs tend to have a lot of loss, damage and pain.
 
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Being in FL, I'm not the most experienced with snowy winter weather breeds but I've heard Australorps are very good in dealing with the cold. Your state thread members will give you some good ideas I'm sure.

It's nice to have you here, good luck with your flock-to-be!
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. I would second NorthFlChick on Australorps. I've raised them where winter temperatures dropped to -30 F and with a draft free, dry, and well ventilated coop, they handled the extremely cold weather just fine. Alaska Backyard Chickens has a list of recommended breeds for Alaska at http://akchickens.org/getting-started/recommended-breeds/ (Australorps are one of the breeds on the list). If these breeds can handle Alaska's brutal winters, they should be able to handle your winters with no problems. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Whatever breed you decide to get, good luck with your flock.
 
Thanks everyone for the fast responses. As my research continues it seems as though my list of possible breeds continues to grow as well. All of the replies have been a lot of help and I appreciate it. It is kinda difficult to navigate through the forums on my own, but simply using the threads provided from your replies I have been able to more easily find my desired information. Thanks again!
 
I would suggest a cornucopia of non single comb birds your first year and see what ones you enjoy most and perform best. Broody and good layers don't really go together as the ones that go broody constantly are not laying and the ones pumping out eggs are not interested in sitting. I have a Cochin who's job is to raise chicks and keets first and lay second. She's easy on the eyes as well. I have a few single comb hens in my flock in a non insulated converted stall with no issues in the winter. The barred rock are my favorite in that group. I have upwards of 15 different breeds including Brahma, Russian orloff, maran, ameraucana, ee, brabanter, Cochin, mixes... Makes for a fun egg basket.
 
Thanks for the response. That is probably what I will end up doing. I was also wondering if there is any benefit or problem or any reason at all with separating a broody hen from the main egg layers. Putting her into another coop so she can raise chicks, then reintroducing the chicks to the main flock, or is it better to just let them be and just keep one good broody hen in the flock?
 
People do both. I've done both. The problem with letting a hen sit on eggs in the main coop is she usually takes the favorite nesting box. When she hops off for a bite x someone else moves in and lays her egg. The broody might move to another box leaving the eggs for hours or she can return to the box while the other jen is still busy and eggs sometimes get broken in the melee.

Because I free range all day, I raise mine in a separate coop and run. They stay there until they are large enough to free range. 3-4 months.
 
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