Wyandotte Chicken Breed Profile:
Today, Let us discuss Wyandotte Chicken Egg Color, Characteristics, Advantages, and complete breed profile.
Breed Profile:Â
- Name: Wyandotte, another name: American Sebright.
- Varieties: Buff Laced, Red, Buff Columbian, Mille Fleur, black, golden laced, partridge, silver laced, and silver penciled.
- Chicken Weight: Male Wyandotte weighs up to 3.5–4 kg (8–9 lb) and a female Wyandotte weighs up to 2.7–3.2 kg (6–7 lb).
- Eggs: Medium egg layers (produces around 200 eggs per year).
- Cost: A Wyandotte chick costs: 3 to 4 $.
- Rarity: Common.
- Purpose: Dual purpose chicken breed (reared for both meat and eggs).
- Egg Laying: Medium.
- Egg Color: Brown.
- Egg Size: Large.
- Comb Type: Rose Comb.
- Feathered Legs: No, they have clean Yellow Colored Legs.
- Number of Toes: 4.
- Cold Hardiness: Hardy in winter.
- Heat Tolerance: Not especially heat hardy.
- Breed Size: Medium/Heavy (6-8 lbs)
- Broodiness: Yes (Frequent)
- Personality: Wyandotte, in general, is a calm, docile and friendly bird.
- Uses: they are kept as pets and mainly reared for eggs and meat.
Introduction to Wyandotte Chicken Breed:
The Wyandotte chickens are an American breed of chickens developed in the 1870s. They are named after the indigenous Wyandot people of North America. The Wyandotte chickens are a dual-purpose chicken breed, they are reared for their large brown colored eggs and for their yellow-skinned meat. This is a popular show bird and comes in many color variants. Â It was originally known as the American Seabright.
The Wyandotte chicken breed is the prettiest and good-looking breed. Wyandotte chicken is not a pure breed. They are the crossed product from the Sebrights and Cochins, experts agree that Brahmas and Spangled Hamburg are also used in developing this breed. These birds are very hardy, productive birds and they lay right through the winter. They can easily tolerate low temperature and survive in the winter. Their striking and contrasting plumage makes them a standout in the flock.
Wyandotte chickens are a favorite amongst backyard flock owners for good laying capability, easygoing nature, hardiness, and the great variety of beautiful feather patterns available. Silver Penciled, Golden Laced, Blue, Columbian are most common Wyandotte chickens and White Wyandotte’s are all rather rare.
Origin of Wyandotte Chicken:
Wyandotte is a true American chicken breed introduced in New York state in the early 1870s. They got the name from the Wyandotte Nation, and they don’t have a direct historical association with the tribe. The original Wyandotte is a Silver Laced Wyandotte, which was first accepted by the Standard of Perfection in 1883. Other Wyandotte chickens were developed from the Silver Laced by crossing it with other breeds.
The Silver Laced Wyandotte is also referred to as the American Sebright or Sebright Cochin.   White Wyandotte’s and Black Wyandotte’scrossed from the Silver Laced Wyandotte’s. The Columbian Wyandotte is produced by crossing a White Wyandotte with a Barred Plymouth Rock. The name Columbian originated from the Columbian Exposition/World’s Fair or Chicago World’s Fair of 1893.
The Golden Laced Wyandotte is from Wisconsin and these are developed by crossing the Silver Laced Wyandotte females with a cross-bred Cochin-Brown Leghorn Cockerel, while the Buff Wyandotte was originally called as a light-colored Rhode Island Red.
The beautiful Partridge Wyandotte introduced in the east and west parts of the United States. The Partridge Cochin was reared for its color pattern of both the east and west strains. The eastern strain is developed from crosses of the Buff Wyandotte and the western strain was crossed into Cornish/Buff Wyandotte crosses.
The Silver Penciled Wyandotte chickens are native to east and west parts of the U.S. and are produced by crossing a Partridge Wyandotte with the Dark Brahma. Another strain of the Silver Penciled Wyandotte is developed by crossing the Silver Laced Wyandotte with a Silver Penciled Hamburg.
And today there are many more color varieties of Wyandotte, with the Blue Laced Red is one of the most recent. Famous for their docile disposition, the ability to lay in cold weather, and the utility value for table use remain popular today. Wyandotte also has taken their place in the show ring. These chickens are easy to handle, and they have a rose comb, and existing any many color varieties, have won the hearts of American poultry exhibitioners.
Read: Kadaknath Farming Guide, Loan, Subsidy, Contract Farming.
Varieties of Wyandotte Chickens:
- Silver Laced: The silver laced Wyandotte chickens will have white colored feathers with black edges to every feather, an effect called lacing. They have a black colored tail and yellow colored legs.
- Golden Laced: The golden laced Wyandotte chickens have a golden color with black around the edge of every feather and have a black colored tail.
- Blue Laced Red: The blue laced red Wyandotte chickens have a buff/red color with a blue that looks just like grey around the edge of each feather.
- Buff Laced: The buff laced Wyandotte chickens has a white color around the edge of the feathers.
- White: The white Wyandotte has white all over. The whites Wyandotte is the rarest birds.
- Black: The black Wyandotte chickens have black all over.
- Buff: The buff Wyandotte has a buff color all over. A buff color is a ginger orange color.
- Columbian: Columbian Wyandotte is a white chicken with a black tail, and with black wing tips and their neck is mainly black with some white.
- Partridge: A red colored chickens with three black stripes, meeting in the middle of the feather and the rooster looks like a typical farmyard rooster.
- Silver Penciled: These chickens look like the partridge variety, with silver under color in the hen and the cock is a white color, but with bits of black in there until the tail and the wing which are black.
- Blue: These hens are in blue all over, but the cock is black with the tail and wing blue on some birds.
- Barred: The barre Wyandotte chickens have black feathers with white stripes across the width of the feather, all over the body.
- Mille Fleur: The Millefleur Wyandotte chicken is a dark brown color chicken with black crescents with white spots on the tips.
- Buff Columbian: this looks like the Columbian Wyandotte except for buff.
- Red: The red Wyandotte will be in dark red/brown all over.
Physical Characteristics of Wyandotte Chicken:
- Wyandotte chickens are large sized birds with quite long clean legs and with a rose comb.
- These chickens have a yellow colored leg.
- The feathers of the chickens are broad feathers and loosely fitting. The area around the vent is very fluffy.
- Wyandotte chickens feathering is often laced and always glamorous.
- Wyandotte chickens are in 17 known colors, including the most common silver laced, golden laced, buff, black, partridge, silver penciled, lavender, blue laced, pure white etc.
- The comb and wattles of Wyandotte chicken will be in a deep and glorious red.
- On average, a Wyandotte male weight around 8.5 lbs and a female weighs around 6 lbs.
Personality and Temperament of Wyandotte Chicken:Â
Wyandotte chickens are docile and friendly birds which make the best choice for backyard chickens. They are good for free range and forage in an open area, they can also tolerate confinement – so a mix of both run enclosure time and backyard roaming time will make them satisfied and thriving in their environment.
Incubating and Hatching of Wyandotte chickens:Â
Wyandotte chickens have strong broody tendencies and are reliable sitters on fertile eggs. And they are great mothers that will lovingly tend to their baby chicks with ease.
Egg Behavior:Â Wyandotte chickens are medium egg layers, they lay approximately 200 large brown eggs per year. These chickens generally lay through the winter months as well as summer, whereas other breeds tend to cease egg production.
Care of Wyandotte Chickens:
- Wyandotte chickens are quite self-sufficient birds. The only main concern is, feathery and fluffy behind them, as the droppings occasionally cause a mess. If this the problem, a quick trim of the feathers should fix it right up.
- We should provide them with fresh water and nutritious feed should, and we should provide them with a safe and secure chicken coop where they can roost and lay their eggs.
The health of Wyandotte chickens:Â
Wyandotte chickens, highly resistant to disease, they don’t have any health issues particular to their breed, and their health should be treated as well as any average chicken. You need to implement the regular worming schedule, to keep them away from the parasites at bay, as well as vaccinations if necessary.
Hardiness: The Wyandotte chickens are hardy in cold winter conditions, due to their heavyweight and feathering. Therefore, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem if it gets a bit nippy, if we provide them with a well-ventilated coop to shelter in, then the flock will be comfortable and happy.
Advantages of Wyandotte Chickens:
- These breed chickens are extremely active. And are good foragers, Wyandotte chickens are popular for their ability to be energetic and playful.
- The Wyandotte chickens come in many colors and which makes them very special to many chickens keeping enthusiasts.
- Wyandotte chickens lay a decent number of eggs.
- These breed chickens are cold hardy.
- They are easy to care.
- Wyandotte chickens are great mothers.
- They like to play around. They tolerate confinement.
- It is best for dual purpose
Disadvantages of Wyandotte Chickens:Â
- Wyandotte chicken has a heavy body, Due to their size they will feel superior to fellow chickens and this makes to bully the other chickens until the pecking order is formed.
- These chickens are aggressive towards other animals and children, and if we take proper care and give them proper training, they can be friendly with children and other chickens.
- The Wyandotte chickens are not resistant to heat, and we should take special care during the hot summer days.
- Wyandotte chickens are noisy birds.
Read: Raising Free Range Chickens.
Hi Jagdish,
I am Abhay from dehradun.
We were looking for some backyard chicken and our search pointed towards rhoad island red. Though after reading your article on chicken wyandottes seem to be just too pretty and descent producers of eggs.
Searches and searches galore we still have not been able to find a Wyandotte breeder in India. Would be greatfull if you could point us in the right direction.
Thanking you for great articles
Warm regards
Abhay Dhar Jayal
From where i can get these breeds chickens