anyone discovering one breed is better than other breeds for tolerating heat?

[bj taylor]

i haven't lost any this summer, but it's been tough. i have heavy breeds. my black australorps seem to tolerate the heat better than the wyandotte, the buff orp, or the barred rock. the delaware is also doing fairly well.

 

[BuffOrpington88]

Thickly feathered breeds like orpingtons and barred rocks do not like the heat as much. Breeds with tighter feathers from warmer climates adjust better.

 

[speckledhen]

Here, it isn't just heat, but very high humidity that makes the difference. That almost did in my Delaware rooster last summer. He would turn purple and gasp for air. This summer isn't quite as brutal.

My Orpingtons do better in heat than the Delawares. Delawares are not anywhere as heat tolerant as you would think. Mine are the first to pant and hang their wings. I think it may be due to their dense musculature-they are heavier than they appear.

So far, over the years, the Orps and the Rocks, both barreds and blues, do much better than the Delawares. Interestingly enough, my splash birds, both the splash Rock and the splash Ameraucana, have a very hard time in the heat. No idea why that would be except that the feathering on my splash Ameraucana seems to be thick almost like bunny fur. I've had to pull her in the house several times when she was laying on her side in distress. Splash Rock pants when temps are over 75*.

 

[galanie]

Thickly feathered breeds like orpingtons and barred rocks do not like the heat as much. Breeds with tighter feathers from warmer climates adjust better.

People say this all the time about Orps. I'm surprised to see someone say barred rocks are a thickly feathered breed. Any I've had weren't anything like the part English hen in my avatar but really sleek.

Overall most of my Orps do as well as any in the heat and better than some.

 

[cmclean]

Hey galenie, where in Houston are you? I am in Pasadena
My buff orps pant a lot, but I have a box fan against a shaded wall where they stay comfortable.
I hope cooler days are coming!!!

 

[galanie]

I'm north of I-10, the Spring Branch/Memorial area. No fans in the coop here, they're not in there in the daytime anyway. They're under this huge oak tree with the "pool" they have. I've had and have other breeds. The barred rock suffered most. Right now I have a couple leghorn mixes, a mutt, some EE, and my Orps. All suffer about equally.

 

[what did I do]

I took an amercana, EE, to the fair and ended up having to bring it home due to the heat. I switched it for another EE who did just fine. My leghorns do the best in the heat.

 

[Vickir73]

I'm north of Houston about 100 miles (although I work in Houston) and my guys and gals are handling the heat ok. Some are panting one day and then the next day they are fine and others are panting. I've got fans in my coop, but just the really cheap ones and they stay so full of dirt (even though they are hanging at the top of my coop) they really don't make a huge difference. They make a small difference and maybe that's makes all the difference Next year I will be getting better fans as when I first hung them and they were working really well, the girls like to stand in front of the (albeit) small breeze. I've got a mixed group: EE, Ameraucanas, Buff Orphs, Marans (Blue, Black, and BCM), Barred Rock, an ugly Naked Neck, and a few others.

 

[Drover]

I took an amercana, EE, to the fair and ended up having to bring it home due to the heat. I switched it for another EE who did just fine. My leghorns do the best in the heat.

I agree with the leghorns. They are definetly not dual purpose, or heavy breeds, but they tolerate the heat very well. The ones I had kept laying through the hottest part of summer, up to 105' F. Egyptian Fayomis might do well to, but I have no experience with the breed so I couldn't really tell you for sure.

 

[speckledhen]

Rocks do very well in the heat, generally, as do Orpingtons and Brahmas. I do believe it's more a function of the musculature than the feathering. True Delawares were bred to be a meat bird and they are quite heavy, though they don't always appear so-they are very "dense". That is my theory as to why they are not as heat tolerant in spite of being a white bird.

My Orps are very heat tolerant as are my Brahmas, Rocks, Easter Eggers and Ameraucanas, except for my splash Rock and my splash Ameraucana. There are individual exceptions to every rule and general overall health and age also influences how heat tolerant a certain bird may be.

My old 14 lb blue Orp in my avatar does much better in extreme heat conditions than my much younger 10 lb Delaware rooster.