Chickens for hot summer/cold winter areas

[jnicholes]

Hi everyone,

Right now, I am planning out my chicken coop I’m going to be building. I’m also planning out what types of chickens I’m going to raise. I just have one question.

I live in an area, specifically near Twin Falls, Idaho, that has very hot summers, and very cold winters.

Is there a breed of chicken that does well in this type of climate?

Just so you know, I plan on raising about eight chickens, primarily for eggs, and maybe meat later on. Dual purpose, basically.

If somebody can recommend some breeds to me, I will appreciate it.

Jared.

 

[Percheron chick]

I'm in Denver so we probably have a similar climate. I pretty much stick with dual purpose breeds and haven't lost one to weather. The only Mediterranean big floppy comb breed I've had are leghorn. One lived to 8 and laid until she died. I do like tiny single combs like Plymouth rocks, Australorp, Sussex, Marans and even Cochin for a little eye candy. Most of mine have rose, pea, V or walnut combs. EE, OE, Wyandotte, Ameraucana and more eye candy with a Brabanter and a Russian orloff or two. You don't really need to restrict your options when you go with full size chickens.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Hi everyone,

Right now, I am planning out my chicken coop I’m going to be building. I’m also planning out what types of chickens I’m going to raise. I just have one question.

I live in an area, specifically near Twin Falls, Idaho, that has very hot summers, and very cold winters.

Is there a breed of chicken that does well in this type of climate?

Just so you know, I plan on raising about eight chickens, primarily for eggs, and maybe meat later on. Dual purpose, basically.

If somebody can recommend some breeds to me, I will appreciate it.

Jared.

My cochin bantams and spitzhaubens seem to handle Montana weather the best so far

 

[Sally PB]

Hi Jared. Can you give a little more specific numbers? What is very hot/very cold? How humid is it in the summer? How windy is it in the winter? Those issues will change the perception of the heat/cold.

Can you plan to build in some shaded areas to mitigate the heat? Or maybe you have some natural shade you can take advantage of? Also, keep in mind the direction(s) of your prevailing winter winds.

Sorry, this isn't a list of breeds, but maybe this info will help you figure out which will work out the best in your individual climate.

 

[jnicholes]

Hi Jared. Can you give a little more specific numbers? What is very hot/very cold? How humid is it in the summer? How windy is it in the winter? Those issues will change the perception of the heat/cold.

Can you plan to build in some shaded areas to mitigate the heat? Or maybe you have some natural shade you can take advantage of? Also, keep in mind the direction(s) of your prevailing winter winds.

Sorry, this isn't a list of breeds, but maybe this info will help you figure out which will work out the best in your individual climate.

Well, it’s hard to say about winter, because it has been unusual here the last two years. The summers, however, have been an average of 90F.

 

[RojoMarz]

Southern Colorado here. Cold winters with lots of snow. Summers are not "hot" though, due to our elevation. We have asst flock that includes Orpington and Brahma. I have noticed the Orpington seems to get hot in our summers...she walks around with her wings away from her body. I have not noticed the Brahma's doing that.

 

[Sally PB]

90 F Average... yup. Hot.

Mixed Climate Chicken Breeds That Can Survive Hot and Cold Weather

• Australorp.
• Delaware.
• New Hampshire Red.
• Orpington.
• Plymouth Rock.
• Rhode Island Reds.
• Sussex.

Thus sayeth Google.

I have 5 Australorps and 1 Orpington. All of them seem to do quite well in winter. I had an Orpington rooster, and he did get frostbite on his comb and wattles during both of his winters here. He's the only one who had any issues. My Chantecler rooster (got him in August) had no issues with frostbite this winter, but he has almost no comb or wattles, compared to the hens'.

I've seen all my chickens walk around with their wings out and panting on occasion in the summer. We had a few days in the 90 last year. This winter was fairly mild.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Where I live we get high 90s and HUMID in the summer. Winter we rarely get snow, and typically have dips down into the teens or 20sF but mostly warmer. So warmer than you.

We have had orpingtons, easter eggers, and cuckoo marans no issues. I do make sure they have plenty of shade and cool water. Even put out blocks of ice on the really bad days since humidity means the shade doesn’t lower the temp that much.

Our coop is not super draft-proof and they all did fine.

Perhaps you can adapt that to your situation?

It seems like roosters and breeds with the EXTRA tall combs (leghorns and similar) are most likely to get frostbite.

 

[Tervuren]

Hi! I’m over in the Treasure Valley! Last summer’s weeks of 100F temps taught me a lot about what you read on the internet vs reality.

Off the top what does not work is my Bielefelder. Even with a fan, mister, and lots of shade she had a tough time last summer. She didn’t lay from July to December (obviously the fall and winter had to do with molting, but the summer heat stressed her out of laying). If you’re just a bit cooler than we are in the TV you might be able to do a breed like a Bielefelder. But you can google pics of the breed to get an idea of the small comb and big orb body shape that is not conducive to staying cool. So I would avoid breeds like Orpingtons, Brahmas, Cochins, etc for sustained 100+F temps.

My Australorp, Dorking, and EE do very well in the extreme heat and cold. I think the moderate body type and medium sized comb of the Australorp are ideal for Idaho. The Dorking’s comb might be a little too big for sustained temps in the single digits. She got a little bit of frostbite last winter, but adding more ventilation stopped that. The EE has a little bit of a harder time in the summer with her tiny comb, but her smaller body means she still does waaaay better than the Bielefelder!

I’m going to add pics of my Australorp Amelia because I think she’s the perfect Idaho chicken!

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Hi! I’m over in the Treasure Valley! Last summer’s weeks of 100F temps taught me a lot about what you read on the internet vs reality.

Off the top what does not work is my Bielefelder. Even with a fan, mister, and lots of shade she had a tough time last summer. She didn’t lay from July to December (obviously the fall and winter had to do with molting, but the summer heat stressed her out of laying). If you’re just a bit cooler than we are in the TV you might be able to do a breed like a Bielefelder. But you can google pics of the breed to get an idea of the small comb and big orb body shape that is not conducive to staying cool. So I would avoid breeds like Orpingtons, Brahmas, Cochins, etc for sustained 100+F temps.

My Australorp, Dorking, and EE do very well in the extreme heat and cold. I think the moderate body type and medium sized comb of the Australorp are ideal for Idaho. The Dorking’s comb might be a little too big for sustained temps in the single digits. She got a little bit of frostbite last winter, but adding more ventilation stopped that. The EE has a little bit of a harder time in the summer with her tiny comb, but her smaller body means she still does waaaay better than the Bielefelder!

I’m going to add pics of my Australorp Amelia because I think she’s the perfect Idaho chicken!
View attachment 3406158View attachment 3406159

I agree that australorps seem to be the ideal “all climate” chicken. And now that you can get blue and splash ones, you could potentially have a pretty cute flock with mostly australorps. Assuming you like the look of different chickens. Some like the all-the-same thing, or plan to breed them.

My orpington did fine in our weather, but she did have a decent sized comb. Pretty much identical to that australorp photo above. And she was a hatchery bird - not the English style or bred to the SOP, so she was skinny for an orp. I can probably find a photo of her.

Ok there she is with our easter egger.

Anyway, hope that helps? She was also super duper friendly.