Need some experienced Wyandotte owner's feedback (Texas Heat)

[awagnon]

The degree of fluffiness will also depend on the type and source of the chicken within a breed. Hatchery stock tend to be less luscious and fluffy than breeder stock, hatchery chickens tend to look more "ordinary" than what the true breed calls for. With Orpingtons there's also a big difference between English style and American style. Hatcheries usually sell American style, which are slimmer and less fluffy and not much different than just generic chickens in terms of shape and fluff. English Orpingtons that come from a breeder, on the other hand, can be as round as a basketball and extremely fluffy. I've had both hatchery stock American Orpingtons and breeder stock English Orpingtons and they are like two completely different breeds! The hatchery Orps do fine in the summer, but my English basketballs suffer quite a lot - they pant and spread their wings out and get sluggish and just miserable (we have frequent 90-degree stretches and really high humidity in the summer). I haven't had breeder stock Wyandottes so no personal experience, but with the hatchery quality Wyandottes I have had I've noticed a similar difference - they don't get as round and fluffy as they are supposed to per breed standard. And mine have been fine in the hot summers. So, if you want to be on the safe side, get yourself some generic hatchery Wyandottes that won't get thick and fluffy, and they'll probably be fine.

Well that's good to know. I don't intend to participate in any chicken runway shows so breeder stock isn't a requirement. My current flock are girls I have purchased from various local farm stores and they have been very healthy and manageable so far. Although my happy accident Buff girl is pretty fluffy and round, she's probably an American Orpie. I have never seen any 'breeder quality' chickens in person so I don't have anything to compare to. She is the last to start panting when Summer cranks up. Wyandottes are usually on offer at all 3 of the options I have near me so hopefully they will be OK in our hot humid Summers, as much as they can be anyway. I will stick with the 'ordinary' stock of my local stores. I am not about to tell the girls they are 'ordinary' tho. They think they are REALLY SPECIAL! More like REALLY SPOILED. lol

 

[K0k0shka]

Well that's good to know. I don't intend to participate in any chicken runway shows so breeder stock isn't a requirement. My current flock are girls I have purchased from various local farm stores and they have been very healthy and manageable so far. Although my happy accident Buff girl is pretty fluffy and round, she's probably an American Orpie. I have never seen any 'breeder quality' chickens in person so I don't have anything to compare to. She is the last to start panting when Summer cranks up. Wyandottes are usually on offer at all 3 of the options I have near me so hopefully they will be OK in our hot humid Summers, as much as they can be anyway. I will stick with the 'ordinary' stock of my local stores. I am not about to tell the girls they are 'ordinary' tho. They think they are REALLY SPECIAL! More like REALLY SPOILED. lol

Of course they are all special I don't show mine either, I just fell in love with the round look. I wanted to hatch them myself, and hatching eggs are really hard to find in my area (feed stores only sell chicks and there are no farms nearby that sell hatching eggs either), so I figured if I have to order them online and pay for all that, might as well get some fancy fluffs that will be eye candy as well. The poor things hate summer though.

 

[awagnon]

Of course they are all special I don't show mine either, I just fell in love with the round look. I wanted to hatch them myself, and hatching eggs are really hard to find in my area (feed stores only sell chicks and there are no farms nearby that sell hatching eggs either), so I figured if I have to order them online and pay for all that, might as well get some fancy fluffs that will be eye candy as well. The poor things hate summer though.

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OMG SO fluffy and gorgeous! My buff girl looks alot like yours minus the fluffy pantaloons. lol

 

[K0k0shka]

OMG SO fluffy and gorgeous! My buff girl looks alot like yours minus the fluffy pantaloons. lol

Mine is actually Lemon Cuckoo, not Buff But gets mistaken for a Buff a lot because the other varieties are less known. She's lighter and more yellow than a Buff, and the males of her variety are white with yellow ("lemon") cuckoo patterning (Buff males are the same color as the females). The fluffy pants are adorable but too big for their own good... I need to give the ladies butt baths because they poop their pants no matter how low they squat But they enjoy the attention and don't give me a hard time at all, so it's all good.

 

[Leatherworker]

Looking to add some chicks to the flock again this year. I am interested in the silver laced wyandotte breed. One article I read says they are good with heat a cold but another one says because of their dense feathering, they have a lot of trouble in hot weather. I am in Texas and we get some scorching hot summers most years. Should I look into another breed? Current flock is 2 Red sl (comets), aka "The Terrorist Sisters", 1 Buff Orpington, 2 Sapphire Gems, 1 Speckled Sussex. My plan is to add 1 more Speckled Sussex, 3 Buff Orpingtons, and 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes. If the Wyandottes can't handle our summer heat, I will go with 2 Barred Rocks.

Any advice on the SLWs? Will this blend of breeds work well? I am effectively managing the 2 pushy girls, but when the go to chickie heaven NO more of that breed. lol

Wyandottes were bred in upstate NY and were bred for cold weather. They get their name from a native Indian in that area. I have 3 of them. One is very densely feathered, the other two not as much. She has terrible trouble in the summer. I spray cold water on the ground so they can cool off by walking in it. Also a kiddy pool and I freeze large chunks of ice to put in their water. It will depend on each bird, but I almost lost that one because for some reason she was being chased and got so over heated I had to bring her in and cool her in the air conditioning and more cool water to drink. If you don't mind doing that and have the time, they are lovely. My favorites. I have Rhode Island Blues, the heat doesn't bother them, and orphington, it doesn't bother them much either. The Orphs are more dense then the RIB are and at times they will pant if it gets in the 90s. I am in Virginia. Their coop in shaded and we have trees all around. All those elements make the whole picture.

 

[Blue gem]

Looking to add some chicks to the flock again this year. I am interested in the silver laced wyandotte breed. One article I read says they are good with heat a cold but another one says because of their dense feathering, they have a lot of trouble in hot weather. I am in Texas and we get some scorching hot summers most years. Should I look into another breed? Current flock is 2 Red sl (comets), aka "The Terrorist Sisters", 1 Buff Orpington, 2 Sapphire Gems, 1 Speckled Sussex. My plan is to add 1 more Speckled Sussex, 3 Buff Orpingtons, and 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes. If the Wyandottes can't handle our summer heat, I will go with 2 Barred Rocks.

Any advice on the SLWs? Will this blend of breeds work well? I am effectively managing the 2 pushy girls, but when the go to chickie heaven NO more of that breed. lol

 

[Blue gem]

For your climate I would advise to choose "mediterranean" breeds like Ancona, Leghorn, Minorca and similar which will be better equipped to endure scorching heat because of their large combs and wattles as well as clean legs.

But any breed would need lots of shade and bushes to hide under.

I would go with the barred rock, they also seem friendlier all around. I have both & red and blue sex Links speckled Sussex and buff& lavender orpington. The silver laced wyandotte is the least friendly, I live in the high desert and they seem to be fine in the heat and the snow. They do have a couple of trees for shade.

 

[awagnon]

Thanks for the info. I ended up getting 2 Speckled Sussex, 2 Buff Orpingtons, and 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes. The SLWs did just fine in the heat and have turned into my BEST layers. They are not exactly snuggle bugs, but mine are friendly and let me handle them when needed. They are, however, very bossy to their flock mates. The older girls are keeping them in line though.