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Considering Wyandotte chickens? The 13 things you must know first

Bri Wyzard

Wyandotte chickens are a versatile breed. They’re great layers, pets, show birds, and they’re even good for meat.

They’re funny. They’re characters. And they are so beautiful.

Wyandottes are right for a lot of different people. They do well on the open range and they may also thrive in a backyard run (assuming they have enough space and stimulation). They’re good for beginners and advanced.

But they might not be good for you. There are things about these birds you need to understand, such as that they struggle in hot temperatures and they’ve got a lot to say (and they’ll let your whole neighborhood know it!).

There are many things you need to know about Wyandottes before committing to adding them to your backyard flock. In this article, I cover them all for you.

You’ll learn:

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What are Wyandotte chickens?

Wyandotte Chicken facts

Category: Pet, eggs, & meat
Origin: United States
Egg-laying ability: Good
Broodiness: Moderate-high
Meat production: Good
Cold tolerance: Exceptional
Heat tolerance: Poor-moderate
Predator evasion: Moderate
Foraging ability: Good
Toleration for confinement: Moderate-high
Temperament: Friendly (but some roosters aggressive)
Aggression toward flock members: Low-moderate
Noise level: Moderate-high

Why are they called “Wyandottes” and where do they come from?

Wyandottes are an American breed, developed in the northeastern U.S. in the 1870s. I found two different origins for the breed’s name. They are:

  1. The Wyandotte was named after the Native American tribe, the Wendat (known today as the Huron), who lived in upstate New York and Ontario, Canada.

  2. The Wyandotte was named after the ship—the Wyandotte—of one of the original breeder’s father.

Interestingly, the Wyandottes were originally called the “American Sebrights.” The Sebright is a bantam chicken breed that comes in a silver or golden laced plumage pattern. The original Wyandotte chickens were developed in the silver laced pattern, hence the original reference to the Sebright breed.

The name was changed to Wyandotte when the breed was accepted by the American Poultry Association (APA) in 1883. But not everybody was happy with the name change.

Nobody is certain how the original Wyandotte (i.e., the Silver Laced) was created because the breeders aren’t known to have kept records. However, poultry historians and fanciers have proposed several different birds that may have been used to develop the Wyandotte, including:

The popular Golden Laced variety of Wyandotte was developed by crossing Silver Laced Wyandottes, Partridge Cochins, and Brown Leghorns.

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The 13 things you must know before getting Wyandotte chickens

#1 Wyandottes are gorgeous.

Wyandottes come in almost any plumage color or pattern that you can dream of.

Wyandotte chickens are gorgeous. No question.

And if you have a certain feather color or pattern that you love, chances are, you’ll be able to find a Wyandotte in that variety.

In the U.S., 18 varieties are recognized for poultry exhibition.

These are:

  • Barred

  • Birchen

  • Black

  • Black-Breasted Red

  • Blue

  • Blue Red

  • Brown Red

  • Buff

  • Buff Columbian

  • Columbian

  • Golden Laced

  • Lemon Blue

  • Partridge

  • Silver Laced

  • Silver Penciled

  • Splash

  • White

  • White-Laced Red

You can also find specialty breeders who breed Wyandottes in even more patterns and colors, including Lavender, Black Laced Red, Violet Laced, and Chocolate.

In the video below, you can see examples of several different types of Wyandottes, including Silver Laced, Silver Penciled, Golden Laced, and even White-Laced Red.

And in the video slideshow below, you can see examples of Black, Black-Laced Red, Blue-Laced Red, Chocolate, Columbian, Lavender, Partridge, and Splash Laced.

Other notable features of Wyandotte chickens

Wyandottes are a fairly large, soft, and fluffy breed. Their bodies are round with short tails. Overall, the Wyandotte looks very curvy—this makes it distinct and easily recognizable from most other breeds of chickens.

Wyandottes have rose combs that lay close to their heads, medium- to large-size wattles, and red earlobes. Their beaks are shades of yellow, eyes are reddish bay, and shanks are yellow.

How big do Wyandotte chickens get?

Because Wyandottes are so round and fluffy, they look larger and heavier than they actually are. Their feathers contain just such a large volume of fluffy down.

Wyandottes come in both a standard size and a bantam (i.e., miniature) size.

Roosters: 8.5 lbs
Hens: 6.5 lbs
Bantam roosters: 30 oz
Bantam hens: 26 oz

In the video below, I’m not crazy about how the guy is handling his Wyandotte rooster (it’s not very respectful), but you really can see in this video just how big Wyandotte roosters are.

Please note that in one part of the video above, the man holds the rooster upside down. This is a very dangerous and unkind position to put a rooster in. Please don’t ever do it. For more information about why, please see my article, Holding a chicken upside down: Is it Safe?

What do Wyandotte chicks look like?

Wyandotte chicks come in many different patterns and colors.

In the video slideshow below, you can see some examples of different varieties of Wyandotte chicks. You’ll see Silver Laced, Golden Laced, Columbian Bantam, Black Laced Red, and Black Bantam, respectively.

#2 Wyandotte hens are excellent layers.

Wyandotte hens lay 200-240 large brown eggs a year. Some strains are better layers than others, and the shade of the eggs can vary quite a bit between strains, from very light (almost white) to a deep, rich brown. Many strains will lay well through the winter.

Egg color: Brown
Egg size: Large
Age of lay: 6 months
Eggs/week: 4-5
Eggs/year: 200-240

In the video below, you can see a Golden Laced Wyandotte laying an egg.

And here, you can see a Silver Laced Wyandotte laying an egg.

#3 Your Wyandotte hens may want to be mamas.

Wyandotte hens do occasionally go broody, meaning they’ll sit on their eggs in the hopes of hatching them and raising babies. They tend to be excellent and protective mothers.

Buf if you don’t want your Wyandottes to go broody, well, some hatchery strains are much less likely to go broody than others. You should check with your hatchery or breeder before ordering.

Below is a video of a broody Silver Laced Wyandotte hen.

And here’s a video of a Partridge Wyandotte Bantam mama caring for her 18 little chicks.

#4 Wyandottes can provide a good amount of meat for your family.

If you’re into slaughtering your own birds for meat, Wyandottes are a good choice. They provide a decent amount of meat at their market weight of 6.5-8.5 lbs. And they’re said to be quite tasty.

Although they will take much longer to grow than your typical Cornish Cross broiler, they are relatively fast growing for a heritage breed.

In the video slideshow below, you can see how quickly Wyandottes grow. You can see their growth from 1-6 weeks (first video), from 7-12 weeks (second video), and at 15 weeks (third video).

#5 Wyandotte chickens are extremely hardy in the cold.

There are many chicken breeds out there that everyone refers to as cold hardy that really aren’t. I learned this the hard way my first year raising chickens.

For example, Barred Rock chickens are often referred to as cold hardy. While I love this breed for more reasons than I can count, many of these chickens are prone to frostbite with their medium- to large-size single combs (particularly the roosters). By modern humane standards, that’s not cold hardy.

Thankfully, you can counteract this problem by installing Sweeter Heaters in your coop over your chickens’ roosting bars. This prevents their combs from freezing in the night when temperatures reach their lows.

But Wyandottes, on the other hand, are one of the handful of breeds that are extremely cold hardy. This is in large part due to their somewhat flat rose combs that fit closely against their heads. Additionally, these chickens are super fluffy with a lot more down than most other breeds. This really helps them insulate in the cold.

This truly is one of the best breeds you can choose for a cold climate.

Check out the video below of Silver Laced Wyandottes in the snow—you can see this at about 30 seconds in.

#6 Your Wyandottes may need extra care in the heat.

Small rose combs are wonderful in the winter time, but unfortunately, not so desirable in the hot weather. Chickens’ combs help them to regulate their body temperatures during the hot weather, and Wyandottes aren’t as good at this because their combs are so small and close to the head.

Additionally, you know that wonderful down that keeps Wyandottes so warm in the winter and makes them so darn cute? Well, it’s no stretch of the imagination to think about what that down must feel like to them in the summer. It’s hot!

Sadly, you will find many anecdotes online about chicken keepers who have lost their Wyandottes to heat stroke during summer heat waves.

In the video below, you can hear one chicken keeper’s story about how her Wyandottes struggle in the heat and how one died from it. Fast forward to about 2 minutes 15 seconds in to hear the tale.

If you do get Wyandottes, you will likely need to take some extra measures to keep them cool. If you’re not able to provide abundant shade in your chicken run at the very least, then these really aren’t the birds for you.

#7 Wyandotte chickens are great foragers, but might tear up your yard and garden.

Most chickens are experts at tearing up your yard, and Wyandottes are no exception. These birds are great at foraging and scratching up the earth for food.

One chicken keeper had this to say about her Wyandotte flock, “They are very good at tearing up mulch and flower beds, and are deadly accurate for taking out insects and spiders.” Hey, at least the second part sounds pretty good, right?

#8 Wyandottes can be raised free range or in a confined run, but never in close confinement.

Like most chickens, Wyandottes prefer to free range, and as foragers, they are built for it.

And as these are somewhat large birds, you do want to make sure they have plenty of space for exercise.

Below, you can see a video of Wyandottes happily free ranging.

However, Wyandottes can also be kept in backyard runs. Full-grown Wyandottes are typically not good flyers, so you likely won’t get the escape artists you find in some other breeds.

If you are keeping your Wyandottes confined to a backyard run, they will need to be kept entertained. This can be done by providing them with fresh grass as in the video below.

However, be aware that chickens tear up the grass in their run very quickly—seriously, their run will be a wasteland in no time. So the only way you can consistently provide them with fresh grass is if you have a coop tractor setup. That is, you manually move the coop and run to fresh grass each day.

If a coop tractor setup isn’t your thing, then check out the video below. You can see these Columbian Wyandottes are in a relatively small, stationary run, but they have several roosts to play on, and they have some leaves in the run that they’re happily scratching in.

#9 Wyandotte chickens are friendly, but not necessarily docile.

Wyandottes are generally calm birds that may become very fond of their keepers. They may run to greet you when you come out into the yard, and they may like to forage next to you while you’re outside

However, they may not necessarily like to be handled. If you want to be able to easily handle yours, your best bet is to get them used to handling when they’re young.

You also might get lucky and end up with Wyandottes who are docile chickens by nature. These individuals like to be pet and held.

One chicken keeper said her Wyandottes are “very sweet once they finally warm up to you. They get fairly large but are soft and make nice lap chickens.”

Below is a video of a Silver Laced Wyandotte rooster and hen who are easily handled.

#10 You may end up with a Wyandotte who’s aggressive.

Unfortunately, the Wyandotte breed is known to carry an aggressive streak. You may end up with an individual or two who are human aggressive. Typically, these will be roosters.

Let me be clear—I’m not saying that all Wyandotte roosters are aggressive. One chicken keeper had this to say about her Wyandotte roosters: “All of my birds have been friendly, and at least tolerant of being handled. I have yet to find a rooster that has been aggressive.”

What I am saying is that it’s a gamble. If you have small children who will be interacting with your chickens, you may want to be careful about buying a rooster from this breed.

Or, if you have the heart for it, you can eat your rooster if he ends up being aggressive. One chicken keeper had this story to tell:

“The first Wyandotte I have ever owned was an accidental rooster from a friend, Barbecue. It was soon found out why they did not want that bird. He was the first bad experience I had ever had with a rooster. After being chased a few times and often scared to go out, he became dinner. My only regret is not giving his name its proper respect. Instead of preparing a barbecue for his funeral, he went into the slow cooker.”

I, for one, have a soft spot for roosters—they all have a place in my flocks, friendly or otherwise. So, if you’re like me and you don’t have the heart to kill them, then maybe just save yourself the potential headache and go with a different breed.

#11 Wyandotte chickens do well in a mixed-breed flock.

Most Wyandotte chickens get along well with each other and other breeds of chickens. Check out the video below of a bunch of young Wyandottes of different varieties dust bathing together.

However, if you keep your Wyandottes in too close of quarters—meaning, they don’t have much space in their coop or run—they may get bossy with your other birds. This is a stress reaction. As long as they have the space and stimulation they need during the day, this shouldn’t be much of a problem.

#12 Wyandotte chickens can be very noisy.

Listen up, urban chicken keepers, because this may be a deal breaker for you. Wyandottes are, generally speaking, very chatty and vocal chickens.

If you’re new to chickens, you need to know that chattiness isn’t unusual. The majority of breeds will talk softly throughout the day (and sometimes not so softly), but Wyandottes are known to be noisier than average.

I, myself, absolutely adore talkative chickens. They are hilarious and I love how they are so expressive, you always know what they’re thinking. But if you have neighbors who aren’t as into your chickens as you are, this could be a problem.

And just to end this on a positive note, check out the cute little Wyandotte in the video below, busily clucking as she goes about her daily business.

#13 Your Wyandottes may need help keeping their vent feathers clean.

It’s the curse of the poofy-butt chicken. Believe me, it’s not just Wyandottes. It’s Buff Orpingtons. It’s Cochins. It’s Barred Rocks. It’s a lot of other breeds.

They have the cutest, fluffiest butts imaginable, but unfortunately this comes at a small cost. Occasionally, they get poop stuck on their vent feathers. For me, I have to wash my Barred Rocks poofy backsides every spring. The change in vegetation makes their droppings runnier for a bit.

It will likely be the same for you if you own Wyandottes. You’ll need to wash them if it happens. It’s no big deal, but something to be aware of.

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Breeds you may want instead of Wyandottes

If you love everything about Wyandottes, but you want your chickens to be more docile, take a look at Plymouth Rocks or Orpingtons. Your Plymouth Rocks are also less likely to go broody.

Although all varieties of these two breeds are amazing birds, the most popular varieties are Barred Rocks and Buff Orpingtons. You can find them almost anywhere.

And the English Sussex is another excellent backyard breed if you’re looking for a real sweetheart.

You can learn more about these chickens in my articles:

Other super cold-hardy breeds include Chanteclers and Buckeyes—both of these breeds are soo underrated. They are amazing birds!

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