Breeds

Wyandotte Chickens: Silver Laced Wyandotte Breed Facts, Brown Eggs, Cold Hardiness and History

Field guide · Updated October 21, 2026 · about 7 min read

The Wyandotte is an American dual-purpose breed developed in the 1870s and admitted to the American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection in 1883, first in the Silver Laced variety. Extension services describe it as a calm, cold-hardy bird with a low rose comb that resists frostbite, and The Livestock Conservancy took it off its Priority List in 2016. This page collects the standard facts, the egg figures sources report, and where sources disagree.

Quick facts

Appearance: curves and lacing

Breed writer Edgar L. Petty notes that the APA Standard describes the Wyandotte as "a bird of curves," and Oklahoma State points to its "curvy" shape. Wikipedia describes a medium-length body that is broad in the back with a deep, full, well-rounded breast, clean (unfeathered) legs and fairly close feathering. Illinois Extension stresses feather texture: broad feathers and smooth-fitting plumage keep the rounded outline, especially in the White.

The Livestock Conservancy describes a fairly flat rose comb with small rounded points (smaller in hens), bright red face, wattles and earlobes, and a male tail carried at a 40-degree angle. In the laced varieties, Illinois Extension describes sharply defined black lacing around the broad oval center of each feather, and says the Sebright bantam's pattern has been the model for breeders of Silver and Golden Laced Wyandottes.

Weight and size

The APA weights above appear at Oklahoma State and in Wisconsin Extension, and The Livestock Conservancy gives the same hen and cock weights (about 6.5 and 8.5 lb). Other sources give ranges: Mississippi State and the University of Arkansas list adults at 5.5–8.5 lb, The Livestock Conservancy a market weight of 6.5–8.5 lb, and Wikipedia 6–9 lb. PoultryHub Australia's metric table lists a cock at 3.2 kg, a hen at 2.95 kg and a cockerel at 3.4 kg, heavier than its cock, as printed. That makes the Wyandotte a mid-weight among the breeds in the breed directory, lighter than the Plymouth Rock and Orpington; size your coop with the coop space calculator.

Eggs: how many, and what shade

Most sources describe Wyandotte laying in words rather than numbers. The Livestock Conservancy calls the hens good egg producers and Wikipedia calls them good layers of large brown eggs. The only yearly count found comes from PoultryHub Australia (University of New England): about 180–200 eggs, which it calls a reasonable output. Mississippi State and Arkansas both note the breed is a show favorite; none of the sources says how show and utility strains compare at the nest box.

Sources describe the shell as brown, from very light to rich brown (Illinois; Kentucky; Arkansas) or light to dark brown (Mississippi State). Illinois Extension adds that the shade varies with the individual hen, the strain and the stage of production, so one flock can lay several shades. Compare shells in the egg color chart, and see how long hens keep laying and the egg production calculator for output by age.

Cold, heat and the rose comb

• Cold: a strength. Oklahoma State says the rose comb does not freeze as easily as a single comb and calls the breed "a good, medium-weight fowl for small family flocks kept under rugged conditions." Mississippi State and Arkansas call it cold hardy; PoultryHub says it suits cold conditions and free-range keeping.
• Heat: a weakness. Mississippi State says Wyandottes "do not do well in the heat," and Arkansas agrees. In hot regions, plan shade, airflow and water early; see heat stress.
• Winter housing. For frostbite, frozen water and moisture in the coop, see winter care and coop ventilation.

Temperament, broodiness and known faults

• Calm. The Livestock Conservancy calls Wyandottes friendly and calm and "not good flyers"; Mississippi State and Arkansas say relatively docile; Oklahoma State notes a generally good disposition.
• Good mothers. Oklahoma State and The Livestock Conservancy say hens make good mothers, Kentucky lists the Wyandotte among breeds that may go broody, and PoultryHub says hens go broody and care well for chicks. See broody hens.
• Breeding faults. Oklahoma State lists narrow backs, undersized birds and relatively poor hatches as common faults. Single-combed chicks sometimes hatch from rose-combed parents; Oklahoma State and Wisconsin both say not to keep them as breeders.
• A parent of hybrids. Kentucky Extension says a Silver Laced Wyandotte hen crossed with a New Hampshire rooster produces the Cinnamon Queen sex-link.

History and the nine varieties

1. Origins in the 1870s. Wikipedia and Petty (SPPA Bulletin, 2001) credit four men: H. M. Doubleday and John Ray of New York, L. Whittaker of Michigan and Fred Houdlette of Boston. Illinois Extension calls the true origin "shrouded in mystery."
2. Ancestry: sources differ. Illinois and The Livestock Conservancy point to Dark Brahma and Spangled Hamburg; Illinois says Hamburg combs and Dark Brahma markings cropped out in early strains. Petty names the Silver Sebright, with the Dark Brahma or Chittagong as possible partners.
3. Early names. "American Sebright" (Oklahoma State; The Livestock Conservancy) and "Sebright Cochin" (Illinois). The Livestock Conservancy says the name changed to Wyandotte on APA admission in 1883, after a Native American people of upstate New York and Ontario.
4. Golden Laced, Wisconsin. Illinois says Silver Laced hens were mated to a Partridge Cochin × Brown Leghorn cockerel; Petty says Joseph McKeen crossed Silver Laced females with a "Winnebago" in 1880.
5. Sports and crosses. White and Black came from sports (off-color chicks) of the Silver Laced (Illinois). The Columbian, from a White Wyandotte × Barred Plymouth Rock cross, was named for Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition (Illinois).
6. A breed book. In 1921 the APA published The Wyandotte Standard and Breed Book, the second in its series of single-breed standards after the Plymouth Rock (USDA National Agricultural Library).
7. Bantams and conservation. Wyandotte bantams entered the Standard in 1933 (Wikipedia). The Livestock Conservancy graduated the breed from its Priority List in 2016; Wikipedia says it was listed as "recovering" in 2015.

Admission years for the large-fowl varieties also differ by source. The chart shows them:

Is it a fit for your flock? A checklist

1. You have cold winters. The rose comb and cold hardiness are the breed's most consistent strengths across sources.
2. Your summers are mild, or you can manage heat. Two extension sources say it does poorly in heat.
3. Your egg expectations are moderate. The one count found is about 180–200 brown eggs a year.
4. You are fine with a broody hen now and then. Several sources call the hens good mothers.
5. You want a calm, mid-weight bird. The Livestock Conservancy also says Wyandottes are not good flyers.
6. If you breed them, keep single-combed offspring out of the breeding pen and watch for narrow backs and undersized birds.
7. Compare breeds in the breed directory, including the Rhode Island Red and Australorp, and see the glossary for terms such as broody, sport and APA Standard.