Winter Hardy Chicken Breeds

[Brahma Chicken5000]

My brahmas, leghorns, and Andalusian came from My Pet Chicken. Very pleased with them. You could get leghorns but you would need to watch their combs for frostbite.

 

[chickens really]

My brahmas, leghorns, and Andalusian came from My Pet Chicken. Very pleased with them. You could get leghorns but you would need to watch their combs for frostbite.

Plus Hybrids are more complex to raise...

 

[sbhkma]

Plus Hybrids are more complex to raise...

How so? Could you elaborate a bit? Just curious

 

[chickens really]

How so? Could you elaborate a bit? Just curious

Leghorns are flighty..Require 20% protein and do not handle confinement too well..Combs freeze and sometimes do not like Birds of another Colour.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Leghorns are flighty..Require 20% protein and do not handle confinement too well..Combs freeze and sometimes do not like Birds of another Colour.

My leghorns weren’t flighty they would let me pick them up and carry them around probably because we socialized them a lot as chicks.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

@chickens really when you said hybrids were you referring to sex links or leghorns? As far as I know leghorns aren’t hybrids.

 

[lazy gardener]

I had rose comb leg horns. They ate the same feed as the rest of my flock, and grew and produced well on that feed: Layer feed once of age, 16%.

I do agree that the standard white leghorns do not play well with others (though YMMV). But, this was not the case at all with the rose combs. They were nice birds, a bit timid, but fit into the flock well, though a bit flighty. Didn't lay quite as well as the straight combs.

 

[sbhkma]

I'm confused.. I thought leghorns were used to cross to create hybrids, but the leghorn breed is not itself a hybrid. Am I incorrect?

 

[sylviethecochin]

you're correct, @sbhkma.

Also, @Better Than Rubies, I love my cochins, but they are terrible layers, no matter the time of year. They're commonly called "lawn ornaments" for a reason.

 

[MillersFarm]

Thank you very much, guys.
Are Cochins good winter layers, too?
I can't get chickens this year, but I want to prepare for if I do get them (hopefully). I want to order from Cackle Hatchery, but my mom probably doesn't want more than ten hens, so I probably wouldn't order from there unless she changed her mind (which she probably did not ). So I was considering Meyer's Hatchery or MyPetChicken, though I was leaning towards the former. But what was your experience like from MPC, @MillersFarm?
@PirateGirl, I would like to get an Australorp, so that sounds good. =D
@GardenTillers44, that helps a lot, since I also want to get a Red Sex Link. And that's nice; I want at least one breed that lays huge eggs, lol.

Again, thank you, everybody!

I've only had good experience ordering from Mypetchicken, Just ordered 60 chicks two weeks ago and 62 chicks came in the mail all healthy, Have lost one yet. I've ordered many times from mypetchicken and only lost one chick the first day we got it which I got my money back for. Mypetchicken Hatchery is located in Ohio so it isn't very far from where i live so thats another plus.