Arizona Chickens

[FeatherPugs]

Those of you breeding specific lines are in a different boat than others so A/C is a whole different story. The rest of us can use a fan to move the air as needed - now to just understand solar so I can put in a solar fan/air mover with a place for ice!! I would always go with the almost open concept of a coop - that's what I have. When the storms come I just have tarps that I put up to keep out the majority of the wind and rain OR if its going to be a really cold night. I've almost never needed anything more - at least I can't think of one. Yes sometimes those tarps don't make it up and it wet as all get out in the coop but its so hot it dries in no time!!
Other thing I was thinking about with heat hearty is the comb and waddles? I think there is a bit or correlation there for some. AND I'm a gonna get me some of those NN and blue and splash aussies!!

 

[BlueBaby]

Those of you breeding specific lines are in a different boat than others so A/C is a whole different story. The rest of us can use a fan to move the air as needed - now to just understand solar so I can put in a solar fan/air mover with a place for ice!! I would always go with the almost open concept of a coop - that's what I have. When the storms come I just have tarps that I put up to keep out the majority of the wind and rain OR if its going to be a really cold night. I've almost never needed anything more - at least I can't think of one. Yes sometimes those tarps don't make it up and it wet as all get out in the coop but its so hot it dries in no time!!
Other thing I was thinking about with heat hearty is the comb and waddles? I think there is a bit or correlation there for some. AND I'm a gonna get me some of those NN and blue and splash aussies!!

Well, you know me... I'll be doing more hatches of these Aussies, and I have been in the process of helping to set up a couple more people (one lives over in Buckeye) with the right set of chicks to keep all 3 of the colors going for them, too. They just have to wait until they mature enough to lay the good sized eggs for hatching.

 

[Diannastarr]

I am beyond thrilled to see so much interest in my beloved NNs! I wholeheartedly believe that for our hostile desert environment they are an ideal breed. Now, there are a lot of points I want to address, so please bear with me....

1) A/C in chicken coops: I would say the ultimate goal is always adaptability in your birds. It certainly is in mine, but I will confess to having two window A/C units to use as necessary in the worst part of summer. One of my chicken coops is actually a cabin I think would have made a fantastic starter home for my husband and myself when we were starting out many, many....many years ago. This is the cabin before I divided the inside up into separate coops, added pop doors and outdoor enclosed runs, etc.
View attachment 1169542

The two windows on the front porch are where I put the A/C units in June. Why? Because not all of my chickens are NNs! When I first began keeping chickens I started with hatchery birds to "get my feet wet" and learn how much work it would be. Then I fell in love with the idea of having some Bielefelders, which are wonderful, wonderful birds....and not at all suited for this environment. The ONLY birds I've lost to heat have been the Bielefelders, and while I still have two hens (not very good layers but exceptionally sweet), and my favorite rooster of all-time, summer is VERY hard on them. My husband and I bought the A/C units to create a cool area for them outside so they could stop living in my master bathroom shower on hot summer days.

So, do you need A/C? That depends upon whether you want to work with the nature and the genetics of the birds, or thumb your nose at it and have what you want at any cost. I should note, however, that even my Biels have slooooowly adapted somewhat to the heat and I didn't use the A/C units nearly as much this year as I did the year before.

2) Coops: @cactusrota made an EXCEPTIONALLY good point. Open air coops with lots of shade are far better here than "traditional" coops that keep the birds all snug (and hot) inside. Here's an image of one I found on CraigsList that's similar to my own favorite: https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/grd/d/chicken-coop/6299868253.html

Notice that the back wall and roof are solid, but most of the coop is very airy and open. This is a very good thing out here, even during our brief cold spells. I'm a firm believer that more air is better for chicken health. After all, they're birds, and they evolved to live in the wild.

3) Mixing NNs with other fully feathered breeds - YES! Do it! There's no problem at all. I've been doing it for years, and cross-breeding my NNs with fully feathered varieties to improve on certain traits I'm looking for, especially heat tolerance. My NN x Bielefelders are not only my sweetest hens, but their egg laying improved during the summer months (X-Lg eggs!) and their heat tolerance improved exponentially. While many of my fully feathered breeds slowed dramatically during the summer, the girls in my NN egg-layer focused flock continued to each give me 4-6 eggs per week, weighing 2 ounces or more each (and in a variety of colors).

And if you are looking for good, slower-growing meat birds, NNs are definitely your breed. Having 50% fewer feathers makes processing a lot faster, and their skin crisps up like no other bird I've eaten. (Yes, I do eat many of my birds.)

4) NN Personalities: In my years of keeping NNs I've had one truly aggressive NN rooster who absolutely hated my husband and son (but not me), and he was in my starter flock. Now, granted, I've worked very hard to breed out aggression in my NNs, but it honestly wasn't all that hard. Even the offspring of my lone aggressive rooster came out much more human friendly than their daddy was. Nearly all of my best, most attentive roosters have been NNs, and I have multiple roosters living together without fear of any real problems. Yes, the boys spat from time to time, but usually only during adolescence and to establish pecking order once the young'uns are released into the yard to interact with the older birds.

NNs are smart, very hardy, affectionate, friendly and quirky. Only my NNs and my Australorps have proven to be good hunters (lizards, mice and bugs), feed hardy, and super healthy. And personally I love that they can all look completely unique from one another or you can breed to SOP. Me? I love the eye candy...and playing with the color genetics. It allows me to focus on them as my primary breed while also allowing visual variety in appearance.

Oh...and I live south of Tucson in Green Valley, so feel free to message me with any chicken questions you may have. I've helped several people around here get started with chickens or improve upon their setup and had some lovely visits with them to boot.

i would be beyond thrilled to have a few of your NN hens with the blue egg gene, if i could from you Desert chick , you are closest to me here in Bisbee , plus i know the back roads over to your area, I have the same open air set up for all my feathered darlings, but mine is 12 x 18, i gave them 1/2 my back covered porch , its all theirs with a fan cooler to keep them all cool every day in the shade , then for winter we enclose their coop for the winter with fitted wooden sides to keep them warm, plus added a few glass walls for more light in winter , and so with this set up the one giant plus is i get to see all my chickens all the time laying eggs , or singing the eggs song HA eating or what ever is going on in their world & they come to my big glass window to talk to me and i them its such a wonderful experience to actually see all my girls & boys every morning & all day long, ive learned so much from my constant contact with them , its a perfect set up & i would have it no other way ,im planning on building a new home and now i would have this same daily access set up again by creating large windows like i have now ,in to my open air coop in summer & walled in for winter ,were i can see in the coop from my kitchen into their coop , for the love of all my feathered dears this idea turned out to be the best for me and them as well..!

 

[SonoranChick]

Yeah we are excited to adopt this pup, I'll post pics tomorrow. Our neighbor rescued her from the reservation in northern AZ, which happens to be where I am from, so I think it was meant to be!
I got some pics to compare the BO and australorp. The pics don't do justice compared to if you actually pick them up to feel the difference, but on the whole I would say my BO is the fluffiest & most fully feathered of all my flock. But, like I said, she rocked this summer no problem.

 

[Parront]

View attachment 1169724 View attachment 1169725 Yeah we are excited to adopt this pup, I'll post pics tomorrow. Our neighbor rescued her from the reservation in northern AZ, which happens to be where I am from, so I think it was meant to be!
I got some pics to compare the BO and australorp. The pics don't do justice compared to if you actually pick them up to feel the difference, but on the whole I would say my BO is the fluffiest & most fully feathered of all my flock. But, like I said, she rocked this summer no problem.

No diapers on those butts! Maybe the fluff insulates from heat as well as from cold? I think a light color would be an advantage in the heat, like those nice Splash Australorps @BlueBaby has.

 

[Parront]

You would think that the large-combed Mediterranean breeds would be the best in heat, with those giant radiators on their heads.

 

[SonoranChick]

You would think that the large-combed Mediterranean breeds would be the best in heat, with those giant radiators on their heads.

I know, I thought so too! They just seemed to pant the most. In their defense, they were not fully mature this summer & didn't have such large combs (or as I call them, "bows") Now my white leghorn has the biggest comb & everyone says, "oh what a nice rooster!" Hahaha no eggs for them!

 

[Parront]

I know, I thought so too! They just seemed to pant the most. In their defense, they were not fully mature this summer & didn't have such large combs (or as I call them, "bows") Now my white leghorn has the biggest comb & everyone says, "oh what a nice rooster!" Hahaha no eggs for them!

Panting is how they cool themselves, just like dogs. Did they still lay eggs when it was so hot, or were they so miserable that they quit laying, I guess is my question.

 

[Diannastarr]

No diapers on those butts! Maybe the fluff insulates from heat as well as from cold? I think a light color would be an advantage in the heat, like those nice Splash Australorps @BlueBaby has.

i agree...!!! my sentiments exactly...!! the splash is always better off just being a splash & light color in general...!!

 

[Diannastarr]

You would think that the large-combed Mediterranean breeds would be the best in heat, with those giant radiators on their heads.

Parront you are exactly right ..! i agree those giant combs are the best for that reason.!!