Sourdough Hens

[servant_of_fluffs]

Have you tried Chanteclers? I’m definitely not in the right climate to be giving personal advice and opinions, but I have heard good things about how they handle the cold

I have heard that they are good, too! I did have an "easter egger" that looked a LOT like them and she did pretty well. In my opinion, Chanteclers seem pretty similar to Wyandottes which is one of the base breeds for this project. (I don't know if you can tell, but I love Wyandottes!) The main idea for this project is for them to be as close looking to summer feathered ptarmigan as possible while also being unique, in case I'm ever able to free range them. If loose dogs ever stop being a problem

 

[fluffycrow]

I have heard that they are good, too! I did have an "easter egger" that looked a LOT like them and she did pretty well. In my opinion, Chanteclers seem pretty similar to Wyandottes which is one of the base breeds for this project. (I don't know if you can tell, but I love Wyandottes!) The main idea for this project is for them to be as close looking to summer feathered ptarmigan as possible while also being unique, in case I'm ever able to free range them. If loose dogs ever stop being a problem

I honestly don’t know enough about Wyandottes to be able to comment on that, but they do appear to have at least a few differences.
Their comb types, most notably. Rose combs can get quite large and do hold a lot of surface area, so perhaps a cushion comb is more well-suited for the cold.
Partridge Chanteclers are also similar-ish to the summer feather colours of a Ptarmigan, so that’s another plus!
@Canadian Wind (apologies if you don’t want to be tagged, Wind!) has kept them, so he might be more useful here.

Hopefully you get the dog situation under control. I’m sure they’ll love ranging

 

[servant_of_fluffs]

I honestly don’t know enough about Wyandottes to be able to comment on that, but they do appear to have at least a few differences.
Their comb types, most notably. Rose combs can get quite large and do hold a lot of surface area, so perhaps a cushion comb is more well-suited for the cold.
Partridge Chanteclers are also similar-ish to the summer feather colours of a Ptarmigan, so that’s another plus!
@Canadian Wind (apologies if you don’t want to be tagged, Wind!) has kept them, so he might be more useful here.

Hopefully you get the dog situation under control. I’m sure they’ll love ranging

Sorry, I meant that they both have similar dual purpose natures and both are known for being friendly. I agree about the partridge looking pretty similar to ptarmigan. Hmmm I wonder what mottling would look like on them...

 

[BigBlueHen53]

"Alaskatarian," I love it!
Also love the look of the bird in your OP. Is thst a real bird or a rendered image of what you hope to produce?

 

[Canadian Wind]

I was summoned!

Yes, Chantecler are great in the cold. They were developed for the Canadian winter and mine did wonderful. Then again, so did my backyard mutts. But, the Chanties layed consistently through the winter on top of everything, so that's a bonus.