5 Outstanding Chicken Breeds for a Cold Climate

Few chicken breeds are truly outstanding for a cold climate. Specifically, three features make these breeds exceptionally cold hardy. They are:

• Small wattles
• Small cushion, pea, or rose comb
• Tight or dense feathering

A lot of chicken breeds do well in cold weather. But they lack some of the features that protect them from extreme cold. For example, many breeds have dense feathering, but they also have large single combs that leave them susceptible to frostbite. However, these 5 breeds are truly outstanding in their ability to withstand cold weather.

Ameraucana

The Ameraucana chicken breed sports a pea comb, as well as a beard and muffs surrounding the beak and protecting the face. Ameraucanas are also well-feathered for good cold weather insulation. This breed comes in several color varieties and may be either large or bantam.

Like the other outstanding cold climate chickens, Ameraucanas lay well during the winter months. You can expect between 180 and 200 medium-size eggs per year. Unlike most breeds, which lay eggs with either white shells or brown shells, Ameraucana eggs come in various shades of blue.

Buckeye

With its small pea comb and tight feathering, the Buckeye chicken adapts particularly well to cold weather. It comes from the buckeye state of Ohio as a dual-purpose farmstead chicken.

This breed comes only in one single color — a rich reddish brown of about the same shade as a buckeye nut. The hens annually lay 180 to 260 medium-size eggs with brown shells.

Chantecler

The Chantecler is considered at the top of the list of outstanding chicken breeds for a cold climate. The original plumage color is white. The conformation of the Chantecler, however, is strikingly similar to that of the Buckeye, except for the comb. The Chantecler has a small cushion comb and tiny wattles, and has tight feathering.

This breed was developed in Canada as a dual-purpose chicken that can lay well while withstanding the rigors of the country’s bitter winters. The hens lay 150 to 200 large brown-shell eggs per year.

Dominique

The Dominique chicken is reportedly America’s oldest breed. It was brought to the United States by early settlers as a dual-purpose farmstead breed. Thanks to its tight feathering and rose comb, it does extremely well in cold weather.

Dominiques may be either large or bantam, and come in one color — irregular barring, or cuckoo. The hens lay between 150 to 260 medium to large brown-shell eggs per year.

Wyandotte

The Wyandotte is a dual-purpose breed from the United States. It may be either large or bantam and comes in a large selection of color patterns.

Its rose comb, combined with loose feathering and lots of insulating down, makes this breed especially cold hardy. Each year Wyandotte hens lay 180 to 260 medium-size eggs with brown shells.

Helpful Links

How Chickens Keep Themselves Warm in Winter

How to Help Your Chickens Stay Warm in Winter

Cold Weather Chickens from Cackle Hatchery®

And that’s today’s news from the Cackle Coop.

Gail Damerow has written numerous books about keeping poultry, many of them available from the Cackle Bookstore.