Chickens need to be put up at night in a structure that a raccoon cannot get into. That rules out a horse stall, unless you’re planning to build a coop of some sort within the stall. For any parts of your coop that are not a solid material like wood, use heavy-duty hardware cloth . Chicken wire, woven wire fencing, etc are all easily defeated by raccoons.
I’m in Iowa, so similar climate extremes, and have had lots of different breeds without any problems. Depends on what structure you’re going to use as a coop, of course. Our coop building has thick wood siding, and is big enough that they can perch well away from the building walls and any drafts. In deep winter, they huddle together on the various perches and keep each other warm. They do just fine. In the summer, be sure to run a (safe!!) fan in the coop to keep air moving and reduce gnat problems.
I’ve used Murray McMurray Hatchery for ordering chicks and they’ve always done a great job.
The orpingtons and the australorps are all large birds with luxurious, glossy feathers-- Very pretty even though they’re “just” solid-colored .
For just whimsical fun, add a couple polish hens. The eggs are small, but you won’t get tired of their jaunty top-hat appearance.
The Americaunas are kind of mutts, they can be any color. But they tend to be interesting --I think they’re fierce-looking.
Breeds with "laced’ wing patterns tend to be very pretty – check out the Wyandotts.
I had a trio of Columbian Rock hens, good layers and the black/white feather patterns were beautiful.
I’d avoid blue andalusians – I got sucked into them for the beautiful dusty blue colored feathers, but the eggs shells were paper-thin and break easily.
