The 

Wyandotte is an American breed of chicken developed in the 1870s. It was named for the

indigenous Wyandot people of North America.[6] The Wyandotte is a dual-purpose breed, kept for
its brown eggs and its yellow-skinned meat.[6] It is a popular show bird, and has many color
variants.[4] It was originally known as the American Sebright.[1]

Contents

 1History
 2Characteristics
o 2.1Colors
 3Use
 4References

History[edit]
The Wyandotte was created in the United States in the 1870s by four people, H. M. Doubleday,
John Ray, L. Whittaker and Fred Houdlette.[6] The first type was the silver-laced, which was
included in the American Standard of Perfection in 1883; it was taken to Britain at about the
same time.[2]: 311  The origin of the breed is still somewhat a mystery, however silver spangled
Hamburgs and dark Brahmas are considered to be important breeds in the initial crosses to
developing the Wyandotte.[7] The Hamburg was used for the rose comb and the Brahma for the
color pattern. Prior to the breed's acceptance into the Standard of Perfection, the breed was
referred to as the "Sebright Cochin" and "American Sebright".[7] The gold-laced Wyandotte was
produced by breeding silver-laced hens with gold-spangled Hamburg and
partridge Cochin cocks, the white Wyandotte was a sport of the silver-laced, and the buff variant
came from crossing the silver-laced with buff Cochin stock;[2]: 311  the black variant was also a sport,
of both the silver-laced and the gold-laced.[6] The partridge Wyandotte came from crossing the
gold-laced with Indian Game, partridge Cochin, gold-pencilled Hamburghs, and a strain called
"Winnebago".[6] The Columbian was the result of a chance crossing of white Wyandottes with
barred Plymouth Rock birds; it was named for Columbian Exposition and World's
Fair in Chicago, Illinois, in 1893.[6][2]: 311  The first Wyandotte bantams were added to the Standard
of Perfection in 1933.[3]
In 2015 the Wyandotte was listed as "recovering" by the American Livestock Conservancy;[8] in
2016 it was no longer considered to be in danger and was removed from the priority list.[1] In
Germany it is listed in category IV, "alert", on the Rote Liste of the Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung
alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen.[9]

Characteristics[edit]
Silver-laced chick, three days old

The Wyandotte is a fairly large bird, but compact and rounded. The weight range is variable but
typically 5.5 to 8.5 pounds (2.5 to 3.9 kg) for pullets to cock birds respectively.[7] The breast is
deep, full and well rounded. The body of a Wyandotte is described as medium length but very
wide, carrying that width across the back and into the tail.[7] It is clean-legged and fairly close-
feathered, and has a broad skull with a rose comb.[2]: 311  The skin and shanks are yellow,[6] and the
ear-lobes, face and wattles are red.[1]
Silver-laced Wyandotte cocks may occasionally display hen feathering.[10]: 85–86 

Colors[edit]
In the United States, nine colors are recognized in the Standard of Perfection of the American
Poultry Association: black (1893), blue (1977), buff (1893), Columbian (1905), golden laced
(1888), partridge (1893), silver laced (1883) and silver pencilled (1902).[3] For bantams, the same
nine colors are recognized, with the addition of buff Columbian.[3]
In Canada, former Ontario Minister of Agriculture (1923–1930) John S. Martin, famously bred
and sold White Wyandotte chickens from his farm in Port Dover, Ontario. His chickens routinely
won awards and were highly prized all over Canada and the United States.
In Europe, the Entente Européenne lists thirty colors.[4] The Poultry Club of Great
Britain recognizes barred, black, blue, blue-laced, blue partridge, buff, buff-laced, Columbian,
gold-laced, partridge, red, silver-laced, silver-pencilled and white.[2]: 312–317