Hello BYC - Admired the site for the past year & finally decided to join

Raising chickens in the high desert of southern CA. Hope to gain some insight on the particular differnces of raising chickens in an area with significant weather extremes.

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Raising chickens in extreme heat and cold is tough! In the cold the chickens need proper ventilation, warm, dry bedding, heated waterers, 4" roosts and sometimes heat lamps. In the heat he chickens, again, necessitate ventilation, windows that can open, lots of cool water and plent of shade.

As far as bedding goes, straw is the best for trapping heat. It acts as a natural insulator also. Chickens love to dig and peck in it too. Sand is good in the hot months. However, I don't usually recommend it as it can cause crop issues in chickens if they eat it.

You need either a heated water base or heated waterer to keep the water from freezing in winter. Many people don't realize that chickens as well as other anime drink the same amount of water in the winter as they would the summer. So make sure it doesn't freeze. In summer, make sure it is cool and in shady areas.

If you plan to use 2X4" roosts be sure to position the roosts so that the chickens sit on the 4" side. Chickens, unlike other birds, like to sleep flat footed. This helps to prevent frostbite.

Hope this helps!
Good luck and welcome!

Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. I raised chickens for 7 years in CA where summer temperatures frequently reached 117-118 F (123 F once). Mediterranean breeds (which I don't personally care for because of their high strung and flighty temperament) can handle that kind of heat well, but most of my dual purpose breeds did not handle it well, even with shade, good coop ventilation, and plenty of fresh water. They spent the day in the shade, panting and raising their wings, and their egg production dropped off. The exception among my dual purpose breeds were my Black Australorps, which went about their business as usual even on the hottest days. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock in those temperature extremes.

Welcome to BYC, so glad you decided to join the flock. If you go to "where am I, where are you," in the social forum, you can locate and post on your state thread. That's how you can discover how people from your area manage their flocks in HOT weather and which breeds do best.

Welcome to BYC

Glad you joined the flock!

Morning and welcome to BYC! Nice to have you join us, feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Glad you joined us.

Hello and Welcome To BYC!

Welcome to BYC!