Backyard Chickens in Mountain & High Altitude
Variable weather, thin air, intense UV, and predator pressure from eagles, coyotes, and bears — Colorado Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades, and Intermountain plateaus.
Variable weather, thin air, intense UV, and predator pressure from eagles, coyotes, and bears — Colorado Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades, and Intermountain plateaus.
The primary keeping challenge in Mountain & High Altitude is altitude stress, rapid weather swings, eagle/raptor predation. Below, all fourteen breed-purpose categories are filtered to what works best in your conditions.
Breed Categories for Mountain / High Altitude
Eggs + Meat
Heritage Dual-Purpose
Plymouth Rock, Wyandotte
Eggs
Prolific Layer
Leghorn, Australorp
Eggs in Cold Climates
Cold-Hardy Layer
Chantecler, Buckeye
Eggs in Hot Climates
Heat-Tolerant Layer
Leghorn, Minorca
Meat
Meat Broiler
Cornish Cross, Freedom Ranger
Show / Small-Lot Egg
Bantam & Ornamental
Serama, Belgian d'Uccle
Brooding / Small-Scale Hatching
Silkie & Broody
Silkie, Cochin
Eggs (no surprise roosters)
Sex-Link Hybrid
Golden Comet, Black Star
Conservation / Eggs + Meat
Rare & Conservation
Buckeye, Java
Meat (Premium Quality)
Heritage Meat
Delaware, Dorking
Show
Exhibition
Polish, Houdan
Pet / Eggs
Friendly Pet
Buff Orpington, Sussex
Eggs + Pasture Management
Free-Range Forager
Brown Leghorn, Campine
Natural Hatching
Broody Mother
Silkie, Cochin
States and regions in Mountain & High Altitude: Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico highlands