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.

 

[servant_of_fluffs]

"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?

I literally had to double check what OP meant It's a picture of a ptarmigan in summer. It's plumage looks quite a bit like lemon millefleur or just normal millefleur to me.

 

[servant_of_fluffs]

Hawk (hatched 2020?)
She's a little shyer than some of my other girls, but not in a "OMG it's going to EAT ME!!!" way. This girl has heterozygous muffs and a pea comb. She's an "easter egger" mutt and lays lovely blue eggs. Her definite son is Abby, my current roo, and she either has Jinu or Romance as a daughter (I'm leaning towards Romance.)

 

[servant_of_fluffs]

Jinu (hatched August 2025)
Jinu is the daughter of Griffin and either Beauty (most likely) or Hawk. She has a pea comb and lays greenish eggs with brown SPECKLES! I love speckles! This girl is VERY VERY small. I haven't weighed her, but I'm pretty sure she only weighs 2-3 lbs. She does very well, though, so I don't care much. She is very friendly and has just the hint of gold/mahogany leakage on her head feathers.

 

[servant_of_fluffs]

Cranberry & Croatia (hatched 2025?)
I'm putting these guys together since they are at least half-sisters and look a bit similar. Their dad is Griffin and their mom is probably one of my Wyan/Aussie mixes (Velociraptor or Vengeance). Their mom could also be someone else, but the Wyan/Aussie mixes are most likely with how dark their coloring is. Cranberry is the upcoming boss hen as far as I can tell. Croatia is a bit more shy towards me than Cranberry. Either one or both lay nice sized speckled brown eggs. They are very fluffy girls and quite hefty (in the politest way possible!). They should produce tasty eating roosters.

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Cranberry has incomplete lacing along with the barring.

Ignore the wall: it needs to be repainted
Cranberry in front; Croatia in back