Welsummer and Marans, seeking insight!

[Raubkatze]

I would like to add Welsummer and Maran hens to my flock next year to add a little more color my egg offerings. What is the personality of these birds? Do they do okay in both extremes of weather? It gets pretty cold where I am (we can have wind chills in the negatives during the winter), but also pretty hot in the summer with heat indexes in the low 100s. This summer my EEs really struggled, and I am worried to see how everybody does in the upcoming winter. Would love to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly of both of these breeds!

 

[Amer]

Welsummer hens do well in both weather extremes but the males can suffer frostbite with their large combs.
In my opinion, Welsummer hens are a "chicken's chicken." They are very active foragers. They are calm, unruffled, and never flighty but they are aware of their surroundings and they are not friendly, they will mostly ignore you and live their own lives.
They are also probably our best layers.
As far as birds for laying, they are the ones I would recommend the most.