whats the hardiest winter breed of standard chicken?????????????

[lcw1995]

i have lost all of my non-hardy breeds over the "pre-winter" so far.
the other night i lost a serama that fell off the roost and froze to death.
last night i lost a sebright hen that froze to death, and im about to loose another sebright pair and a rooster to the one lost last night, as well as a half-grown chick.
so what im going to do is get rid of the rest of my flock this spring...
keep 2 roosters and 6-8 hens of a really winter hardy breed, keep a trio or quad of call ducks, some guineas, some peafowl, and some bobwhite quail.

so what is a popular, winter hardy breed of chicken????
thanks.cole.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Chanteclers probably have the reputation of being cold hardiest. Small combs and very small wattles.

Where do you live? Even in northern Michigan in an unheated, uninsulated coop my birds all live quite nicely. I have several different breeds too.

Breeds with smallish single combs like Australorps and Welsummers will do better than large combed birds like Leghorns.

Larger chickens like Plymouth Rocks and New Hampshires fare better than smaller, skinnier chickens

Breeds with non-single combs: pea, rose, walnut are more frostbite resistant than those with single combs. Brahmas, Buckeyes, Wyandottes, Ameraucanas, dominiques, rose-comb RIR and Hamburgs are some examples

Fluffy birds like Cochins, Wyandottes, Brahmas, Orpingtons and Dorkings all prefer cooler weather to hot although short-legged Dorkings have trouble in snow.

Some breeds like Rhode Island Reds, Old English Games, Sussex, Delawares, Marans, Campines and Naked Necks all are cold hardy breeds but they tend to have large combs that may need a little more attention to avoid frostbite, especially for the roosters.

Most breeds as long as they have shelter, food and water will survive. Heck, my cochins even hang out in the SHADE on sunny cold days. My hybrid hens with large combs get a bit of frostbite at the tips but they still lay all winter long.

Good luck and I hope this gives you an idea of a good chicken breed for your needs.

 

[Robert Blosl]

Rose comb rhode island reds. Tough a nails as a rhode island red and a comb that is perfect for cold weather. bob

 

[phasianidae]

Quote:
Ameraucanas, whats your really hardy breed you mentioned?

 

[Wifezilla]

What about those Icelandic chickens?

 

[phasianidae]

Quote:
they have single combs, at least the one I know of. And they are awful thin, they would probably freeze awful fast.

 

[ninjascrub69]

EE's
Brahmas
Chanteclers
Russian Orloffs
Wyandottes

 

[phasianidae]

Quote:

 

[Cowgirl71]

These Buckeyes are supposed to do real well in cold weather: http://www.buckeyechickens.com/

Other good cold hardy breeds include Chanteclers, Wyandottes, and Brahmas. I try to stay away from feathered legs though because they track mud into the nest box.

 

[phasianidae]

Buff Orpingtons crossed with EEs also make great cold hardy chickens, heres an example although it would be nice if he had a smaller pea comb:

and heres his half siblings by the same BO father but with a different EE mom:

and heres there sister: